AusVELS
Teaching depth studies Years 7 – 18
A few ideas
An overview of possible approaches and
resources.
R. Smith Executive Officer HTAV.
How to look at the overview.
How long?
What do I cover?
I’ve got a semester – can I get
it done in the time?
The Ancient Past
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The content provides opportunities to develop historical understanding through key concepts, including evidence,
continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy, significance and contestability. These concepts
may be investigated within a particular historical context to facilitate an understanding of the past and to provide
a focus for historical inquiries.
The Level 7 curriculum provides a study of history from the time of the earliest human communities to the end of
the ancient period, approximately 60 000 BC (BCE) – c.650 AD (CE). It was a period defined by the development of
cultural practices and organised societies. The study of the ancient world includes the discoveries (the remains of
the past and what we know) and the mysteries (what we do not know) about this period of history, in a range of
societies including Australia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and India.
The content provides opportunities to develop historical understanding through key concepts, including evidence,
continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy, significance and contestability. These concepts
may be investigated within a particular historical context to facilitate an understanding of the past and to provide
a focus for historical inquiries.
The history content at this level involves two strands: Historical Knowledge and Understanding and Historical Skills.
These strands are interrelated and should be taught in an integrated way; and in ways that are appropriate to
specific local contexts. The order and detail in which they are taught are programming decisions.
A framework for developing students’ historical knowledge, understanding and skills is provided by inquiry
questions through the use and interpretation of sources. The key inquiry questions at this level are:
Key inquiry questions
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How do we know about the ancient past?
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Why and where did the earliest societies develop?
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What emerged as the defining characteristics of ancient societies?
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What have been the legacies of ancient societies?
Overview
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The following content is to be taught as part of an overview for the historical
period. It is not intended to be taught in depth. An overview will constitute
approximately 10% of the total teaching time for the level. Overview content
identifies important features of the period, approximately 60 000 BC (BCE) - c.650
AD (CE), as part of an expansive chronology that helps students understand broad
patterns of historical change. As such, the overview provides the broader context
for the teaching of depth study content and can be built into various parts of a
teaching and learning program. This means that overview content can be used to
give students an introduction to the historical period; to make the links to and
between the depth studies; and to consolidate understanding through a review of
the period.
Overview content for the ancient world (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Greece,
Rome, India, China and the Maya) includes the following:
the theory that people moved out of Africa around 60 000 BC (BCE) and migrated
to other parts of the world, including Australia.
the evidence for the emergence and establishment of ancient societies (including
art, iconography, writing tools and pottery)
key features of ancient societies (farming, trade, social classes, religion, rule of
law)
Historical understanding
Getting students to develop questions
and then possibly their own
conclusions
Historical Understanding underpins both strands and a particular focus in the achievement
standards:
continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, significance, evidence and contestability
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Can become the focus questions in teaching and learning activities
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EG. Continuity and change: What’s the same? Different? Why?
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EG Cause and effect: What motivated young Australians to go to war? Why did the
environment become a political issue in the 1970s and 80s? What were the short term and
long term causes of WWII? What impact did Australia’s signing of the UNDR have on
Australia?
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EG Perspectives: Whose viewpoint? How the same/different from others? What shaped/
possibly shaped particular views of events, people etc.?
Investigating the Past - What about your
own dig?
Using archeaology as an introduction – but creating ideas of
questioning and building hypotheses.
Let’s use the sand pit and our imaginations. You will need to
decide which era and culture you will dig for
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But first some props that need to be found bought or
created.
Tools and props needed.
Camera/s
Rulers
Artefacts
Recording sheets
Pegs
Digging tools
Paint brushes
Evidence
Preparation
• You will need to bury either artefacts or
photographs of artefacts in various parts of the
sand pit
• Put them at varying depths
• If you can borrow parts of a plastic skeleton and
bury these as well
• Explain to the class that the sand pit is a newly
discovered archeaological site and that they are
going to carry out the dig
Artefacts
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Decide on your period
Locate images or replicas of artefacts
Some examples are below
Copy and laminate them
Bury at different levels; particularly if you want
more than one period at your site
Starting
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Divide the class into two groups; diggers and recorders
As the lesson progresses they can swap roles
Peg out the site creating a series of equal size squares using the
string and the pegs
Allocate diggers to each square
Get them to slowly remove layers using the trowels (you will need to
have buckets and a place to store the sand)
If discoveries are made the diggers need to stop and then the
recorders move in to photograph, measure and record. Artefacts
should be drawn as well as photographed. Their positions need to be
carefully recorded on a site map
Once the initial records are made the diggers can move back in to
reveal more of the artefact, using the brushes
Questioning
• As each find is made the students need to
question what it is and what it could tell them
about the site or culture they are discovering
• By the end of the lesson the students should be
able to hypothesise about the time period that
they are exploring and how or why the skeletal
parts are located there. For fun you might put an
appropriate weapon part into the body
WRITE UP
• Create a timeline
• Produce archeaological reports
based on their evidence
• Use photographs and drawings to
support their findings
Source based analysis
Being able to identify the origin and
purpose of primary and secondary
sources
Being able to locate, compare and select
and use information from a range of sources
as evidence
Being able to draw conclusions
about the usefulness of sources
How to use sources.
• The best advice is simply to read or look at the sources
and think: what is this telling me? It sometimes helps
to picture how the source was originally produced: to
picture the person writing it (where were they? In what
conditions?) or to picture the people who originally
read, heard or saw it. Indeed, in many ways the most
important question to ask of a source is also the most
basic: 'What is this?' However, there are other
subordinate questions – who wrote it? What for? Who
for? When? – which help towards an answer to that
overarching question and which help the historian to
see how this source might be useful.
COMA:
Content?
Origin?
Motivation?
Audience?
Ancient past - cave paintings
Cave Painting Tum Pra Toon, Thailand
Quite different parts of the world yet there are similarities. What can
students see in the paintings that would help them talk about life at this
time? What types of weapons are used and are they similar or
different?
In the Thai painting what animal do they believe is depicted (it is
thought to be a tame dog) and what does that say about the living and
hunting methods?
Other questions could be raised about how the age of the painting is
established.
Deer and Hunters
17,000 BCE
unknown shaman
Paleolithic
cave painting
Lascaux, France
Comparison and contestability
http://www.readersdigest.com.au/files/aus-en/attachments/pictures/abart-istock.jpg
Hand stencils in El Castillo cave
Examples like the two above are good sources to create debate. The El Castillo example is thought to date back to at
least 41,500 years ago. Any older and it is believed it would be the work of Neanderthals rather than modern humans.
The Australian example to the right can be contrasted to it. Students could then talk about similarities and differences
and questions that are raised about Aboriginal settlement in Australia. Does the Australian painting help prove an
arrival time?
Creating a museum exhibit –
identifying sources and questioning
the past.
In setting up a display students would have to
think about
• What was the objects purpose?
• What is it made of?
• Who was it made for?
• Should it be displayed with other items?
• What information should be provided
about it?
• How can it be seen but be safe?
Plan the display to show that all these
questions have been answered.
Stela 51 Mayan society Mexico
Perspectives
In a group develop a script for an
interview as if the person being
interviewed was an Incan of the
period. They should explain why
human sacrifice occurred and their
beliefs about its effect and its
importance to their life as a
society.
She is La Doncella and she's at least 500 years
old, a human sacrifice to the Andean
elements.
Then look at the questions – Why
do we find this practice wrong
nowadays?
What beliefs does the practice
reflect that are no longer held?
Would all of Incan society have
held the belief at that time?
Sources for the Ancient Past
NMA.gov.au/education
Years: 6–10
Key curriculum links: Time, Continuity and
Change; Culture; Investigation, Communication
and Participation
An important part of 'us' and our story is
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage.
This unit of work asks students to think about
how the National Museum's First Australians
gallery presents Indigenous cultures and history
by looking at a number of important themes and
events included in the gallery including:
the origins of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander life in Australia
traditional land ownership and land rights
trading materials and routes
diversity, spirituality and technology
early contact and conflict with European settlers
the mission experience
land rights
The First Australians: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples gallery represents the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia and incorporates historical collections
and exhibitions.
To improve audience understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture,
this National Museum of Australia gallery presents stories, objects and images that explore the
culture and experiences of Australia's first peoples from time immemorial, through colonisation to
contemporary Australian life.
Sources - continued
For teachers – articles such as
The Arrival of Humans in Australia
Peter Hiscock
University of Sydney
AGORA
No 2 Vol. 47
2012
Pre history and Archaeology
Case Study in Australian History
What are the Mysteries of Lake Mungo?
Explore the nature of the sources for ancient Australia and what
they reveal about Australia’s past in the ancient period, using the
discovery of Mungo Lady and then Mungo Man as a case study.
Students ‘visit’ the World Heritage Willandra Lakes site, of which
Lake Mungo is part, through a 25-minute virtual visit film. They
see both the environment, and the archaeological evidence that
exists about life in that place in ancient times. They realise that the
Lake Mungo of today is not the same as Lake Mungo in the past.
And they are challenged to solve some of the mysteries of that
past!
For students and teachers
China
The Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors
Chinese mythology tells us about the first legendary rulers of Ancient China. These wise men
and demigods ruled long before the first Chinese dynasty.
The Three Sovereigns were powerful demigods who lived to be very old and brought peace
and prosperity to the land during their rule. Fu Xi - Fu Xi was said to have invented fishing,
trapping, and writing. His sister was Nuwa. It was Fu Xi and Nuwa who crafted the first humans
out of clay.
Nuwa - Nuwa was the sister of Fu Xi. She helped him to create humans and also repaired the
wall of heaven.
Shennong - Shennong's name means "Divine Farmer". He brought the knowledge of
agriculture to the Chinese people. He invented the plow, axe, hoe, irrigation, and the Chinese
calendar.
Other names for the Three Sovereigns include The Heavenly Sovereign, The Earthly Sovereign,
and the Human Sovereign.
The Five Emperors were perfect kings who ruled wisely and with honor. The most famous of
the Five Emperors was the Yellow Emperor. He ruled for 100 years and brought about the start
of the Chinese civilization. In addition to the Yellow Emperor were Zhuanzu, Emperor Ku,
Emperor Yao, and Shun.
The Yellow Emperor
The dragon was the
symbol of the emperor.
His throne was even
called the Dragon
Throne. It is said that the
Yellow Emperor turned
into a dragon and flew to
heaven when he died.
Mythology as a
starter
Link to existing
knowledge by asking
students to suggest
‘foundation’
mythology from
Australia and at least
two other cultures.
Depth study 3: The Asian world
China
> Online Resources:
East Asian History Sourcebook
This website has information on Chinese cultural origins and
religious traditions.
Asia for Educators
This site from Columbia University offers an on-line curriculum
about East Asia including lectures, discussion questions, handouts
and supplementary materials.
The British Museum Young Explorers
This website has a number of games that allow students to travel
back in time to explore ancient cultures and rescue precious objects
from imminent disaster.
China Game
This site asks students a series of true or false questions related to
Chinese culture and historical traditions.
BBC- Ancient China -NEW
This website contains information on Crafts & Artisans, Geography,
Time, Tombs and Ancestors and Writing.
http://www.ancientchina.co.uk/menu.html
Year 8
Level Description
The Ancient to the Modern World c. 650 - 1750
Depth study 1: The Western and Islamic World
> The Ottoman Empire (c.1299-c.1683)
The Ottoman Empire Lesson Plan - Discovery Education Lesson Plan Library
This is a lesson plan provided by Discovery Education that aims to inform students about
the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent. It explores trade routes within the Empire, and
emphasizes the unique position of the Ottoman Empire as being at the crossroads of
trade and culture between Europe and Asia.
Discover the Ottomans
A highly detailed resource that contains an array of excellent material pertaining to the
history of the Ottomans, the army, family, art and culture.
National Museum Australia - Travelling the Silk Road
A journey along the Silk Road of the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618-917).
The Silk Road - Smithsonian Folk Festival
An interesting overview of the history of the Silk Road categorised by the major cities
along the route stretching from Venice, through Istanbul, Samarkand, and Xi'an, to Nara
in Japan.
Virtual Walking Tour - Suleymaniye Mosque
This is a fantastic virtual walking tour of the Suleymaniye Mosque the largest mosque in
the city of Istanbul.
Teaching Ottoman History a Primer - Teach Mideast
A detailed overview of the Ottoman Period designed for teachers including further
resources, glossary and multimedia links.
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection - Historical Maps of the Middle East
A large list of historical maps of the Middle East.
Year 8 Feudal through a modern
example
A role play
This hypothetical activity is an ideal
lead-in to the feudal system. Your students will
become expert wheelers and dealers in this
problem-solving
role play.
Lynda Robertson, Henderson College, Irymple
Group scenario
A massive bushfire has swept across the Sunraysia District [northern Victoria-southern NSW].
Most people survived by taking cover in their homes, in pools or other buildings. The power
station has been burnt to the ground, as has the water tower and the water treatment plant.
Gas is leaking from pipes underground and sewage pipes across the district have exploded
from the intense heat. Local businesses that survived the fires, including supermarkets, are
closed since most of their products have been destroyed by smoke. There is no prospect of
outside help or supplies – due to the drought and the hot weather, fires are raging right
across Australia and local communities are struggling to survive. A few cars and trucks are still
drivable, but eventually fuel will run out with no short-term prospect of resupply. In short,
there is no food, water, fuel, electricity or gas. How will you survive?
I allow students to organise themselves into groups of no more than four. Each group is then
given a ‘Personal Circumstances’ sheet which explains how they have survived the bushfire,
where they are located and the immediate resources they have access to.
Personal circumstances
A Personal Circumstances sheet might look like this:
Your group has found shelter in the Mildura Football Clubrooms on Eleventh Street.
There is no bedding but the building seems to be structurally secure. There is
no tap water and the toilet does not flush. The Club’s bar survived the bushfire and you
have access to a small amount of bottled water and soft drink. All the alcoholic drinks
exploded in the intense heat. The Clubrooms are located close to the Mildura Army
Barracks, and although the building itself was demolished by the blaze a shed containing
a car and an army transport truck survived. Both the vehicles still work and there
appears to be around 150 litres of petrol in the facility’s underground fuel storage
tank.
The first task of each group is to take stock of the situation. I usually encourage groups
to discuss this quietly, as they will later take part in a ‘District Meeting’ where they must
negotiate with other groups in order to trade resources. Students are asked to allocate
roles within their group; they must have a leader, a recorder and a reporter, and if
possible a time-keeper and morale-raiser. They must maintain these roles throughout
the task – the Reporter will be the group’s representative at the district meeting. When
analysing their Personal Circumstances, each group must consider the advantages and
disadvantages of the location and their building (or site). They then complete a
mind-map of the problems their group faces. I provide groups with detailed maps of the
local area (these are readily available from local council websites).
District meeting
The next step is the district meeting. Students are told the following:
Whilst collecting water from the river, your group has encountered a number of people
who survived the fire.
You decide to hold a meeting to see how you can help each other in this time of crisis.
The Reporter from each group will attend the meeting. In your groups, discuss how
much information you will give to the neighbouring groups. If you think your prospects
for long-term survival are good, you may not want to tell everyone exactly where
your group has found shelter OR the resources you have access to. However, if you think
you have resources that other groups desperately need, you might use this to gain
leverage or power in a time of crisis.
At this point groups need to consider ‘Strategy’. When preparing for the meeting,
students are asked to write down responses to the following points:
• How are you going to find out which resources other groups have access to?
• How will you gain access to these resources? What will you need to offer in return?
• Do you NEED to help other people, or can you survive on your own?
• Who will you ally yourself with?
• Is your group’s long-term objective to place itself in a position of power, or is
it merely to survive?
I usually stir things up a bit here – the temptation is too great to resist! There
are some groups in a much better trading position than others, and I usually
visit each group individually to ask if they are going to assist others, or if they are
after ‘Absolute Power.’ There is ALWAYS at least one group that decides
to pursue power, which later becomes an excellent way for me to introduce the
concept of the feudal system.
This hypothetical activity is an ideal lead-in to the feudal system.
When I did it recently with a Year 8 class, the following
social system emerged:
I then go through this model in detail on the board (of
course the students all LOVE being down the bottom of
the pyramid!) I then get them to complete the
following reflection questions:
Describe the scenario in which your
group found itself (e.g. where did you
find shelter? What resources did you
have access to?)
• If you were to live in this environment, what do you
think would be the biggest challenge to your survival?
Why?
• In what ways is this environment different to the way
you live normally?
• Did your group gain access to other resources as a
result of the district meeting?
• Do you think the formal structure of the meeting was
effective for the exchange of information? Why/why not?
• Suggest an alternative way of running the meeting that
might have enabled more effective negotiation between
groups.
• As a result of the meeting and subsequent
negotiation, did your group’s long-term prospects for
survival improve? Why/why not?
• Why do you think some groups were prepared to share
resources while others weren’t?
• Why do you think money was not discussed in the
meeting? Explain why other items were more valuable
than money.
• Did you enjoy this activity? Explain your answer.
• Do you have any suggestions or comments?
• Do you believe you put your best effort into this task
and followed class norms? Explain.
http://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/prospective-undergrads/virtualclassroom/primary-source-exercises/sources-medieval
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Source Exercise 1: The Athenian Empire
Source Exercise 2: The First Crusade
Source Exercise 3: The Medieval Universe
Source Exercise 4: The Wars of the Roses
Source Exercise 5: The Henrician Reformation
Source Exercise 6: The Divine Right of Kings
Source 1
• In the time of King Henry II, when Bartholomew de Glanvill was
castellan of the castle of Orford, it happened that some fishermen
who were fishing in the sea caught a wild man in their nets. At this,
the castellan of Orford was lost in wonder. The wild man was
completely naked and all his limbs were formed like those of a man.
He was hairy and his beard was long and pointed. Around the chest
he was very rough and shaggy. The castellan placed him under
guard, day and night, and would not allow him to return to the sea.
He eagerly ate anything that was brought to him. He devoured fish
raw rather than cooked, squeezing the raw fishes in his hands until
all of the moisture was removed and then eating them. He did not
wish to talk, or rather did not have the power to talk, even when
suspended by his feet and tortured. On being led into the church,
he showed no sign of belief or of reverence and he did not
genuflect or bow his head when he saw anything holy. He always
sought out his bed at sunset and always lay there until sunrise.
Tasks needing alteration.
Source 1.
Try to work out an answer,
however tentative, to each of the
following:
From what sort of work might this
passage have been extracted?
What sort of person might have
written it?
Who and what might it have been
written for?
Is there any evidence that the
writer was directly connected with
the events described? If so, how
might that affect the way we read
this account?
Simple task
• What is this object?
What is it for?
Secondary source exercises from
Cambridge
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The Roman World
The Whig Tradition
The Troubled Mind of Thomas Carlyle
The History of the People
The Uses of Facts
Two Ways of Presenting a Crusade
Two Liberal Prime Ministers
Two Assassinations
The Beliefs of the People
New Fields of Study
Vikings
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> Vikings (c.790-c.1066)
Australian National Maritime Museum - Vikings Teacher
Resource Material
This resource for teachers provides an overview of the
Viking era, information about key artefacts and contains
questions for class discussions.
Australian National Maritime Museum - Viking Traders
An interactive resource that explores Viking trade
routes, trading centres and goods, through animated
maps.
Discovery Education - The Vikings
This lesson plan aims to help students understand; how
the Vikings' physical environment helped shape their
culture, the characteristics of Viking civilisation, and how
biases affect historical understanding. It includes
discussion questions and suggested readings.
The Amazing Vikings - Time Magazine
An interesting and informative article covering many
aspects of Norse and Viking life. This would be useful for
teachers hoping to gain a contextual overview of Viking
history.
BBC History - Vikings
A detailed resource with a wealth of information
concerning Vikings. This resource would also be valuable
for teachers hoping to gain background knowledge and
contextual insight.
BBC History - Viking Quest Game
A fun, interactive game whereby students retrace the
793 Lindisfarne Raid.
BBC Primary History - Vikings
Although this is a primary resource it does contain
useful sources including letters, drawings, photos and
videos that help to illuminate the history of the Vikings.
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Jorvik Viking Centre - Classroom Resources
The Jorvik Viking Centre website contains a number of
information sheets pertaining to many aspects of Viking
civilisation. They include maps, drawings and photos as
well as useful written information.
BBC - Who were the Vikings?
Neil Oliver goes in search of the truth about the Vikings
beyond the accepted history of a band of blood-thirsty
pirates raiding the peaceful monasteries of Christendom.
This documentary comes in three episodes and covers
the Viking age.
1066 online game New
In this game students get to control the English, Viking
or Norman armies.
Follow Me Cards – Vikings
http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/history/followmevikings.htm
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The downloadable file below contains 32 questions and matching answers. To use
them as 'Follow Me' cards, follow these instructions:
Cut out the 32 cards and shuffle them.
Share the cards amongst the children in your class. If you have less than 32 pupils,
some children may have 2 cards.
Ask one of the children to read the question on their card.
The answer to that question will be on another child's card. The child who has the
correct answer reads it out and then reads the question on their card.
Another child will have the answer to this question and the process continues until
all 32 questions and answers have been discovered.
If the class has answered the questions correctly, the game should end with the
child who started it!
You could also give a child, or a group of children, the entire set of cards and ask
them to put them in the correct order, matching the questions and answers
together.
You might also challenge children to make their own sets of follow me cards based
on their own knowledge of the Vikings.
The Asian World - Japan
Resources on HTAV site.
Japan Under the Shoguns (c.794-1867)
Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire
A fantastic visual resource, this website contains an excellent interactive timeline, numerous
images and profiles on the many people that made up the ancient Japanese empire.
Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire - Resources
The resources section of the above website contains a number of informative resources
including; bibliography, classroom guide, glossary and web resources.
Japan: Memoirs of A Secret Empire - Episodes
Episodes from the PBS Empire series.
British Museum - Japanese Samurai and Shoguns
This website contains an overview and sidebar with links to relevant museum objects.
Medieval Japan: Ideas for Teachers - featured in Agora 2008, no. 3, vol. 43.
This article outlines the political structures and cultural innovations that characterised medieval
Japan during the Kamakura, Muromachi, Azuchi-Momoyama and Tokugawa periods respectively.
It includes a number fun and practical classroom activities.
Encyclopaedia Brittanica - Shogunate
Useful for teachers hoping to contextualise the period.
Tokugawa Shogunate
This short video outlines the rise of Ieyasu Tokugawa the first Shogun of the Tokugawa
shogunate.
Questioning documents and
influences.
Prince Shotoku
Prince Shotoku was a Yamato prince born in 573ce – the second son of
Emperor Yomei. Around 593, Shotoku began his rule on behalf of his aunt,
the Empress Suiko. Shotoku planned to strengthen imperial authority by
building a strong government based on China’s example. He created a new
constitution, outlining his plans for government. Shotoku’s constitution
gave all power to the emperor, who had to be obeyed by the Japanese
people. Control was centralised and all rice cultivation was brought under
the control of the emperor’s court. Independent farmers were obliged to
pay tax on their rice production and to offer military service for their right
to hold land.
Shotoku also created a bureaucracy and gave the emperor the power to
appoint all the officials. The constitution listed rules for working in the
government and set out a social system where people were promoted
through 12 ranks based on their ability rather than their birth. The rules
were taken from the ideas of Confucius, a Chinese scholar and teacher.
Written sources
Source analyse.
Harmony is to be cherished, and opposition for
opposition’s sake must be avoided as a matter of
principle … When an imperial command is given,
obey it with reverence. The sovereign is likened to
heaven, and his subjects are likened to earth.
With heaven providing the cover and earth supporting
it, the four seasons proceed in orderly fashion, giving
sustenance to all that which is in nature. If earth
attempts to overtake the functions of heaven, it
destroys everything. Cast away your ravenous desire
for food and abandon your covetousness for material
possessions. If a suit is brought before you, render a
clear-cut judgement … Punish that which is evil and
encourage that which is good.
Translated extract from The Seventeen-Article
Constitution created by Shotoku
What was the influence of other cultures on
this Constitution? Is this important?
COMA:
Content?
Origin?
Motivation?
Audience?
When was it created?
Who created it? What position
did they hold?
Why was it created?
What can an extract such as
the one to the left tell us about
the rules or mores that
Japanese society had to
follow?
Draw up the rules in modern
form.
Why was harmony considered
to be so important?
Additional resources
• http://www.historyteacher.org.au/
• www.scootle.edu.au
The World According to Student Bloopers
Without the Greeks, we wouldn't have history. The Greeks invented three kinds of columns - Corinthian, Doric and Ironic.
They also had myths. A myth is a female moth. One myth says that the mother of Achilles dipped him in the River Stynx
until he became intolerable. Achilles appears in "The Illiad", by Homer. Homer also wrote the "Oddity", in which
Penelope was the last hardship that Ulysses endured on his journey. Actually, Homer was not written by Homer but by
another man of that name.
Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. Socrates died from an
overdose of wedlock.
In the Olympic Games, Greeks ran races, jumped, hurled the biscuits, and threw the java. The reward to the victor was a
coral wreath. The government of Athen was democratic because the people took the law into their own hands. There
were no wars in Greece, as the mountains were so high that they couldn't climb over to see what their neighbors were
doing. When they fought the Parisians, the Greeks were outnumbered because the Persians had more men.
Eventually, the Ramons conquered the Geeks. History call people Romans because they never stayed in one place for
very long. At Roman banquets, the guests wore garlic in their hair. Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields
of Gaul. The Ides of March killed him because they thought he was going to be made king. Nero was a cruel tyrany who
would torture his poor subjects by playing the fiddle to them.
Then came the Middle Ages. King Alfred conquered the Dames, King Arthur lived in the Age of Shivery, King Harlod
mustarded his troops before the Battle of Hastings, Joan of Arc was cannonized by George Bernard Shaw, and the victims
of the Black Death grew boobs on their necks. Finally, the Magna Carta provided that no free man should be hanged
twice for the same offense.
In midevil times most of the people were alliterate. The greatest writer of the time was Chaucer, who wrote many poems
and verse and also wrote liter- ature. Another tale tells of William Tell, who shot an arrow through an apple while
standing on his son's head.
The Renaissance was an age in which more individuals felt the value of their human being. Martin Luther was nailed to
the church door at Wittenberg for selling papal indulgences. He died a horrible death, being excommunicated by a bull. It
was the painter Donatello's interest in the female nude that made him the father of the Renaissance. It was an age of
great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented the Bible. Sir Walter Raleigh is a historical figure because he
invented cigarettes. Another important invention was the circulation of blood. Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world
with a 100-foot clipper.