"Engaging Primary Students: Teaching History Through Role Play"

1. Teaching History Through Role-Play “Terra Pentorum” Nick Adeney, B Com B Teach (Pri) M Ed St Michael’s Grammar School HTAV Primary Conference Monday August 18, 2014

2. Outline • Context • Project Overview • Essentials • Process • Guiding Principles • Opportunities “Terra Pentorum was a very fun long term project. It was a fun way of learning Australian history and beyond.” Tom, 2014

3. Context • Outcomes • Inspiration • Year 5 Novice • History Novice • Blind “I loved making the map about the land we found.” Nick, 2014

4. Project Overview Students imagine they are living in 1800, colonising an unknown distant land and may never return to their homeland. Students create and document the history of their imagined colony while learning about the development of colonies in Australia and elsewhere. Together, students use their imagined colonies as a lens through which to explore a range of learning opportunities.

5. Essentials • Map • Pairs • Land Claim • Monarch • Learning “The big map was wonderful because we learned about what happened then recreated it by ourselves in our own way.” Charlotte, 2014

6. Essentials • Map • Pairs • Land Claim • Monarch • Learning “I was a Lieutenant and found it hard because Governor Hughes didn’t make the right decisions” Will, 2014

7. Essentials • Map • Pairs • Land Claim • Monarch • Learning “Terra Pentorum was fun because we got to make up our own colony and nobody told us it was wrong.” Maddy, 2014

8. Essentials • Map • Pairs • Land Claim • Monarch • Learning “I thought being a Governor was like being a king but boy was I wrong.” Em, 2014

9. Essentials • Map • Pairs • Land Claim • Monarch • Learning “I learned what to write when you want to ask the King for new land.” Isis, 2014

10. Process • Introduce the map • Establish pairs and ranks • Claim land • Establish immediate terrain • Allow colonial identity to emerge • Facilitate investigations and discussions • Teacher plays the role of supportive monarch

11. Guiding Principles • Long term • Stimulative, Formative and Summative • Guidance and Autonomy • Inquiry and Discussion • Chronology • Creativity • Flexibility • Acknowledgement “The point was that we were learning about Australia and some other made up land.” Alex, 2014

12. Opportunities “I learned how hard it was to survive without medicine in a remote and harsh environment.” Steph, 2014

13. Opportunities “I thought it was fun when we got to name our settlement and towns.” Billee, 2014

14. Opportunities “Through Terra Pentorum I learned that when an exploration happens the leader is remembered and the others are forgotten.” Ted, 2014

15. Opportunities “I think it was a great idea to put us in their shoes.” Gillie, 2014

16. Opportunities “The point was to see what it was like in the 1800’s. I think it showed why people explored and how it affected them.” Joshua, 2014