Welcome
Welcome: Australian Bushrangers
Description: The web quest is designed to inform the students about the Australian
Bushrangers from the 19th century.
Grade Level: 3-5
Curriculum: Social Studies
Keywords: Bushrangers, Ned Kelly, Australia, Victoria, Guns, Gangs, Wanted,
Introduction
In the early days of Australia’s history, Bushrangers roamed the countryside during
the 19th century. The first bushrangers were mainly escaped convicts who fled to
the bush and organized gangs. Their crimes were checked effectively by various
Bushranging Acts passed after 1830. With the discovery of gold, however,
Bushrangers of a new type flourished from 1850 to 1880, largely brigand
adventurers who attacked gold convoys.
The last of these were the men of the Kelly gang. This band of desperadoes was
exterminated in 1880 when three members were trapped and killed at a hotel in
Glenrowan, Victoria, and Edward (Ned) Kelly was hanged at Melbourne. Despite
the frequent brutality of the gangs, they often held the status of folk heroes
among the poor.
More than 2000 bushrangers are believed to have roamed the Australian
countryside, beginning with the convict bolters and drawing to a close after Ned
Kelly's last stand at Glenrowan.
Task
You have been transported back to the 19th Century. You must imagine
that you are a bushranger. You find yourself roaming the vast dry
bushlands of Victoria. Your mission is to carefully acquire information
about the local bushrangers without anybody suspecting you are from
the future. The following information that you need to acquire before
coming back to the future is:
1. What were the occupations of your chosen bushrangers before they became
bushrangers?
2. What type of crimes did bushrangers commit?
3. Where any of these crimes violent. If so why?
4. List 5 Australian bushrangers?
5. Who was the most famous Australian bushranger?
6. Did this bushranger have a nickname?
7. Was this bushranger liked by the police?
8. Why were the police trying to capture him?
9. Was he finally captured by the police?
10. How did his life end?
11. What did the rest of the community think of him?
12. Were there people in the community who thought he was a hero?
13. What do you consider to be his good points and his bad points?
Process
Step 1: Choose a bushranger to research.
Choose a bushranger from the list of bushrangers link below
Step 2: Where can I find the information?
The links below have information about specific Bushrangers that might get you
started:
Ned Kelly (Kelly Gang) - Kelly Gang
Early Australian Bushrangers - Australian Bushrangers
Australian Bushrangers - Frederick Ward
Australian Bushrangers - General Information
List of Bushrangers - Bushrangers
Step 3: What information do I need?
You must complete the Bushranger PowerPoint for your chosen bushranger.
You might like to add more information to your PowerPoint:
On each slide there should be two boxes, one for the information and the other for a
picture.
Step 4: What do I do with the information?
Record all the relevant information for your bushranger in your PowerPoint
presentation.
Your presentation must include:
An introduction page stating your name
Answers to all the questions on the task page
Your thoughts on whether your chosen bushranger is a hero or a villain.
Assessment
The evaluation will consist of 4 sections:
Introduction- out of 25
Task- out of 25
Process- out of 25
Presentation- out of 25
Evaluation Rubric
4
Introduction All questions were
answered completely
and justification for
the answers was
clearly stated.
3
2
1
Scor
e
All questions were
answered
completely, but
justification for all
the answers was not
clearly stated.
Not all questions
were answered
completely, or
justification
provided
All questions were
not answered
completely.
25%
Task
All areas of the web At least one area of
quest were addressed the web quest was
and handled with a
not addressed
high degree of
sophistication.
At least two areas
of the web quest
were not
addressed.
The web quest is
25%
incomplete and/or it
is apparent that little
effort went into the
development of the
task
Process:
Originality
The ideas expressed The ideas expressed
by the body of work by the body of work
demonstrate a high
are mostly original.
degree of originality.
The ideas
expressed by the
body of work
demonstrate a low
degree of
originality.
There were no
original ideas
expressed in this
project
25%
The final
presentation had
2-5 grammar,
spelling, and
formatting errors.
The final
presentation had
major grammar,
spelling, and
formatting errors
25%
Presentation The final presentation
was free of grammar,
spelling, and
formatting errors.
And well presented
The final
presentation had 1
error relating to
either grammar,
spelling or
formatting.
Total Score: 100%
Conclusion
The purpose of this web quest is to engage students in
online activities. Students will understand that they are
finding out about a certain period of Australian history
and about an individual's history. They will form an
opinion about whether the bushrangers were heroes or
villains and the types of people who became
bushrangers.
Teacher’s page
Victorian Essential Learning Standards
Level 4 standard
Historical knowledge and understanding
At Level 4, students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding
of significant events in Australian history including Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander history, European settlement, the development
of the colonies, the development of the wool industry, the 1850s gold
rushes; the moves to self-government, Federation; and World War I.
They demonstrate an understanding of the histories of some cultural
groups which make up Australia today. They make links and
appropriate comparisons with contemporary Australia.
Students demonstrate an understanding of key aspects of an Asian
country or countries within the Australian region. They explain
significant events and people in the history of that country or
countries. They describe aspects of governance, customs, religious
traditions and daily life. They explain the values important to other
societies and their own and links between other countries and
Australia.
They compare and contrast the values and beliefs of Australians and
people of other cultures. They compare aspects of different cultures
and countries, in both the past and present, and ask questions about
their own society. They sequence events and describe their
significance in bringing about particular developments.
Historical reasoning and interpretation
At Level 4, students use a range of primary and secondary sources
to investigate the past. With support, they frame research questions
and plan their own inquiries. They comprehend and question sources
and make judgments about the views being expressed, the
completeness of the evidence, and the values represented. They use
appropriate historical language and concepts to develop historical
explanations. They present their understandings in a range of forms.