History – Stage 4 and 5
Integrating sustainability education in your subject
The NSW Department of Education and Communities (DEC) is committed to sustainability education
through the: Environmental Education Policy for Schools and the Sustainability and Environment
integration (Learning across the Curriuclum) in revised NSW syllabus.
Together these aim to outline the understandings, skills and values that develop the capacity to live
more sustainably. Schools should provide sustainability education programs and experiences that:
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are interdisciplinary and systematically programmed, taught and evaluated as part of the
curriculum K-12
progressively build knowledge and skills through the stages of schooling that allow students to
use the school site and other built and natural environments to investigate, plan and take
action for biodiversity and the natural environment
allow students to consider a range of viewpoints and to make judgements based on evidence,
their personal values and social justice
provide students with opportunities to learn about, and from, Aboriginal peoples’ relationship
with country, land use, heritage and culture, preferably through engagement with members of
their local Aboriginal community
allow students to explore their relationship with their community and the environment and to
explore, design and where possible implement responses to sustainability solutions
promote collaboration and partnerships within the community.
Further information and guidance on how education for sustainability may be structured to support a
progression of learning from Kindergarten to Year 10 can be found in the Sustainability Curriculum
Framework published by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. This
document sets out three dimensions to learning for sustainability: Sustainability Action Process,
Knowledge of Ecological and Human Systems and Repertoires of Practice.
The three above three dimensions can be applied in all curriculum areas. The following pages
provide lnks to learning resources that support student development in each of these three
dimensions.
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
History, Stage 4 and 5
Sustainability Curriculum Framework
Sustainability Action Process
Knowledge of Ecological and Human
Systems
Repertoires of Practice
NSW DET Sustainability Education Policy
 allow students to experience, value and take action to protect biodiversity and the
natural environment
 allow students to use the school site, other built environments and their local area
to investigate, plan and take action to improve sustainability
 promote collaboration and partnerships within the community
 are systematically programmed, taught and evaluated as part of the curriculum K12
 are interdisciplinary; applying, connecting and progressively building knowledge
and skills from across learning areas and through the stages of schooling
 provide students with opportunities to learn about, and from, Aboriginal peoples’
relationship with country, land use, heritage and culture, preferably through
engagement with members of their local Aboriginal community
 allow students to consider a range of viewpoints and to make judgements based on
evidence, their personal values and social justice
 allow students to explore their relationship with the environment and to explore,
design and where possible implement responses to sustainability challenges for
both natural and built environments
 include different spatial scales (local to global, home to community).
Stage 5 unit of work
Saving our Heritage
Examine the heritage of Kelly’s Bush and Susannah Place and collect evidence about the places, sites and issues of important
heritage value to Australians
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
History
Sustainability Action
Process
1. Making the case for change
Outcomes Skills
Learning for Sustainability
4.4
Brainstorming
Changes for the Good of All
Showing Evidence Tool
Making Decisions
Visual Ranking
Talk it Out
4.5
5.5
4.8
5.8
4/5.9
2. Defining the scope
4.6
5.6
4.7
5.7
3. Developing the proposal
4/5.10
Identifies major periods of historical time and
sequences people and events within specific
periods of time
Identifies the meaning, purpose and context of
historical sources
identifies, comprehends and evaluates historical
sources
Locates, selects and organises relevant
information from a number of sources, including
ICT, to conduct basic historical research
locates, selects and organises relevant historical
information from a number of sources, including
ICT, to undertake historical inquiry
Uses historical terms and concepts in appropriate
contexts
Draws conclusions about the usefulness of
sources as evidence in an inquiry
uses sources appropriately in an historical inquiry
Identifies different contexts, perspectives and
interpretations of the past
explains different contexts, perspectives and
interpretations of the past
Selects and uses appropriate oral, written and
other forms, including ICT, to communicate
effectively about the past
Oral History project
Seeing Reason Tool
Using Google Sketch-Up
Digital Story Telling
Agreement by Consensus
Visual Ranking
Persuasive Writing
Writing a Discussion
Create a Laptop Wrap
How Do We Use Language to
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
Persuade?
Mind Mapping
Writing a Project Brief
Seeing Reason Tool
Decision Making Techniques
Tuning Protocols
Communication Checklist
Effective Communication
Making a Difference
Getting Things Done
4. Implementing the proposal
5. Evaluating and reflecting
Knowledge of Ecological
and Human Systems
Living things
Major forms of life
Biochemistry
Ecosystem and ecosystem
relationships
Evolution of life and the
biosphere
Biosphere processes
Methods of mapping,
monitoring and assessing
living systems
Forces and energy
Structure of the Earth
Solar system
Climate
Social systems and culture
4.2
Knowledge and Understanding
Learning for Sustainability
Describes significant features of Aboriginal and
Ancient Observatories
Threats to Aboriginal Land
Indigenous peoples,
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
indigenous cultures, prior to colonisation
4.3
Explains the ways indigenous and non-indigenous
peoples of the world have responded to contact
with each other
The class is divided into expert groups and use
historical sources and other references to evaluate Plains Indians
the cultural and environmental impact of contact on Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
the indigenous group studied in class.
Wounded Knee - The Museum
5.1
Explains social, political and cultural developments
and events and evaluates their impact on
Australian life
Sub systems
Methods of assessing
ecological sustainability
colonisation and contact history
- allows an exploration of
relationship with country, land
use, heritage and culture e.g.
Plains Indians
5.5
Identifies, comprehends and evaluates historical
sources
Individually students identify and justify a feature in
their life that is worthy of conservation and
preservation for the future.
Collectively students negotiate criteria for
determining the heritage significance of a site or
practice.
In the classroom students are provided with three
examples of sites from a local, national or global
environment to which they need to apply their
agreed criteria and justify their choice.
Australian Biographies
Biggest Family Album
Old New Land
Koori History
Law & Justice in Australia
ABC Archives
Heritage – investigating the
preservation and conservation
of the built and natural
environment e.g. mandatory
site studies Teaching Heritage
Aboriginal Sites
Sydney Olympic Park Site
The Abandoned City
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
Historical evaluation and
processes of historical change
4.1
Describes and explains the nature of history, the
main features of past societies and periods and
their legacy
4.4
Identifies major periods of historical time and
sequences people and events within specific
periods of time
The river Nile was central to Egyptian society,
providing life-giving water, transport and
resources. Students use primary and secondary
sources to examine key questions:
- What natural features and resources enabled
Egypt to play a prominent role in the Near East?'
- What types of natural resources did Egypt
possess?
- How did the natural world affect the ancient
Egyptians’ beliefs and values?
Students collate their answers to the focus
questions and:
4.2
- Frame a hypothesis based on the importance of
the geography, topography and natural
resources of ancient Egypt from the evidence.
- Create a graphic overview or plan based on the
- importance of the Nile to ancient Egyptian
society.
- Identify primary & secondary sources that
support their argument.
- Present the ancient attitude to the natural
Past societies, periods and
their legacy – evaluating the
history and development of
human society, technology and
their relation to the natural
environment, including whether
or not present and past
societies can be judged to be
or have been ecologically
sustainable e.g. ancient Egypt
Jared Diamond - Collapse How
Societies Choose to Fail or
Succeed
Egyptians
Learning From Past Societies
Ancient China
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Greece
Inside Romans
Ancient Cultures
The Abandoned City
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
4.3
environment by writing hymns to Hapi and Seth
Describes significant features of Aboriginal and
indigenous cultures, prior to colonisation
Explains the ways indigenous and non-indigenous
peoples of the world have responded to contact
with each other
Students design a series of 10 postcards that
describe the threats to Aboriginal culture and
heritage and outline the way they have responded
to them. Students should use the following
categories to guide the development of the
postcards.
• Traditional heritage of local Aboriginal community
• European colonisation
– Economic and spiritual erosion/dispossession
– Changing cultures
Aboriginal pre and post contact
history – provides students with
opportunities to engage with
Aboriginal culture and heritage
and with members of
indigenous communities e.g.
changing rights and freedoms
of Aboriginal Australians.
Frontier Education Online
Screen Australia – Contact
History
Australian Colonisation
Indigenous Australia
The Crimson Thread of Kinship
First Australians Exhibition
Aboriginal Timeline
Threats to Aboriginal Land
• Reclaiming autonomy
– Self-determination
– Political and social activism
Each postcard needs to be A5 size, with a
picture/backdrop applicable to the local aboriginal
community and an 80-word description of a
person, theme or issue related to one or more of
the above categories.
Civics and citizenship
5.1
Explains social, political and cultural developments
Civics and citizenship –
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
and events and evaluates their impact on
Australian life
5.2
- Brainstorm a definition for the term ‘activist’ and
write a list of well-publicised current causes that
encompass some form of public protest or
activism. For example environmental issues
such as global warming, the hunting of whales,
destruction of rainforests or the persistent
discovery of asbestos in buildings.
- Discuss the causes that were important in
Australia in the 1960s and 1970s. Explain that
this period of history has become viewed as a
watershed when social structures and attitudes
went through a period of significant change.
- Investigate Jack Mundey and the Green Bans
and have students research the impact of
Green Bans on The Rocks precinct.
- Instruct students in groups to construct a
newspaper article or blog detailing some of the
characters, issues and incidents involved in the
fight for the cultural and environmental heritage
of The Rocks.
Topic for debate: That Green Bans should be
stopped
See: www.shfa.nsw.gov.au/.../4D6154E2-F54A5C1A-B041D5377E47ECAB.pdf
explores, designs and
responds to sustainability
challenges through civic action
e.g. Jack Mundey & BLF Green
Bans
People and power - Jack
Mundey and BLF Green Bans
Learning For Sustainability
resource links
Democracy
Federation Gateway
Civics and Citizenship
education
The Franklin Dam
Assesses the impact of international events and
relationships on Australia’s history
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
Students investigate Australia’s international
commitments through treaties and the United
Nations e.g. UNHCR, UN Environment Program,
Kyoto Protocol, Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, etc. and carry out a cost benefit analysis.
Divide the class into groups. Students use a table
or mind map to identify and list the social,
economic and environmental costs and benefits of
the Australian international obligation being
studied. Students assess how economic, social
and environmental costs and benefits relate to one
another? Which are more important and why
Ownership and property rights
5.3
Explains the changing rights and freedoms of
Aboriginal peoples and other groups in Australia
Topic: Land Rights
Focus Question: Do people have the power to
change situations that are unjust?
Investigation - students answer the following:
Why did European settlers see the Aborigines as
having no ownership of the land?
Australia as a global citizen –
examining mechanisms for
global cooperation e.g. United
Nations, Kyoto Protocol.
Civics & Citizenship
Civics in Practice
The United Nations – lesson
ideas
Cost Benefit Analysis
Australia as a Global Citizen
Historical personalities, Eddie
Mabo – evaluating systems of
ownership and property rights
that are fundamental to issues
of sustainability e.g. Land
Rights and Native Title
Eddie Mabo & Native Title
Frontier Education Online
Native Title
Mabo
From your knowledge of Aboriginal culture explain
the view Aborigines have of the land and why this
differs from the European settlers' viewpoint? Roleplay:
A mining company has proposed the construction
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
of a dam at an important Aboriginal site. They may
very well get government approval. What is your
response to this?
a) Teacher divides students into four groups:
Aboriginal community representatives;
environmentalist lobby group; mining organisation;
and Australian Government representatives to
role-play about proposed mining on Aboriginal
land.
b) Each group is given a package of sources to
support the point of view of their stakeholder
group. Students are given time to analyse the
sources and come up with responses. The student
response needs to be in line with that of the
stakeholder group to which they have been
allocated.
c) Teacher to act as mediator as the various
stakeholders discuss their views on the proposed
mining operation. Teacher can then insert a variety
of situation changes, e.g. Human remains that
could be 30,000 years old have been found at the
site – does this change your point of view?
d) Students write a response to the following from
the points of view of two stakeholders (one must
be the Aboriginal community representatives):
'What do you see as a possible solution to this
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
issue?'
Economic systems and costs
Native Title
History of Economic Thought
Water technologies
Materials and production
Built environment technologies
Archaeology
Dictionary of Sydney
Canberra- An Ideal City?
A Capital Choice
Old New Land
Build a Pyramid
Transport
Agriculture and food
production
Information and
communication technologies
Old New Land
Repertoires of Practice
World viewing
Outcomes Values and Attitudes
Systems thinking
5.4
Futures and design thinking
Other Resources
Sequences major historical events to show an
understanding of continuity, change and causation
Mitchell Library
Connecting the Continent
From Wireless to Web
Learning for Sustainability
What are My Values?
The Dreaming
Aboriginal Spirituality
The People Rule
The Abandoned City
Year 7 & 8 Assessment & Work Samples
Year 9 & 10 Assessment & Work Samples
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
Saving our Heritage
In 1974 protesting Sydney residents were responsible for delaying in excess of $3 000 million
worth of development in the city. Examine the heritage of Kelly’s Bush and Susannah Place and
collect evidence about the places, sites and issues of important heritage value to Australians.
Susannah Place and Kelly's Bush
Focus questions
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What do Susannah Place and Kelly’s Bush reveal about the influences on life in contemporary Australia?
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How do the influences revealed by these places contribute to our understanding of: the meanings of citizenship and civic
participation in Australia; the role of governments in heritage preservation; past and present values of Australians towards
preserving heritage?
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What is being preserved in these places; who decided what was important and should be kept; and how is it being done?
The Green Ban period was a time when community groups mobilised to save parts of Sydney's built and natural environment.
Verity Burgmann describes the background to the struggles:
[It] is the story of the destruction of Australia’s major cities in the 1960s and early 1970s, when vast amounts of money were poured
into property development: giant glass and concrete buildings changed the face of our cities and valuable old buildings were razed
in the process. The interests of homebuyers and architectural heritage lost out before often purely speculative construction. At one
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
stage there were ten million square feet of office space in Sydney’s business district, while people looking for their first homes or
flats could find nothing.
Against this backdrop, 42 Green Bans were imposed in Sydney by 1974, holding up well over $3000 million worth of development.
The Rocks area and Kelly’s Bush are places where community members acted to save Australia’s heritage from redevelopment.
Susannah Place - 58-64 Gloucester Street, The Rocks, Sydney
View Larger Map
Kelly's Bush - Nelson Parade, Hunters Hill, Sydney
View Larger Map
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
Susannah Place
Built in 1844, Susannah Place – located in The Rocks – is an example of the urban consolidation that
occurred in Sydney during the 1840s. An early Victorian terrace row of four individual dwellings –
including a corner shop – Susannah Place survived the demolitions that followed the outbreak of the
plague in 1900. Resident resistance saved the row of terraces from demolition in the early 1970s.
Susannah Place was saved from redevelopment when the Builders Labourers’ Federation (BLF)
enforced a green-ban on the area.
Green Bans were only imposed in areas where union action received community support; the bans
represented an alliance between unionists and community activists.Susannah Place shopfront
The Green Bans Movement began in 1971 with action to save Kelly’s Bush. Six hundred people attended a
public meeting where they voiced opposition to AV Jennings building homes on native bushland on the
foreshore of the Parramatta River. The action was spearheaded by a group of thirteen women – known as the
‘Battlers for Kelly’s Bush’ – and the Builders Labourers’ Federation.
On 4 September 1983, the Premier of New South Wales announced that Kelly’s Bush would be set aside for full
public access on a permanent basis.
Acting to save Australia’s heritage protestors in Victoria Street
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
Houses in Woolloomooloo being demolished in 1968 for the Eastern Suburbs
railway.
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
Memorial to the 25th anniversary of the world’s first Green Ban
Investigating Heritage
Susannah Place and Kelly’s Bush are linked to investigations focusing on
heritage and environmental issues in Australian communities.
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Examine the images and text information relating to Susannah Place
and Kelly’s Bush. What can the buildings, artefacts, landforms and
vegetation tell us about the past? Look for evidence of technology,
commerce, housing, townships and environment.
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Consider the recollections of those involved in the Green Bans. What
did environmental activism in the 1970s represent to communities
threatened by redevelopment? How did people decide what was
worth preserving? What attitudes and values
Memorial to the 20th anniversary of the
world’s first Green Ban
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come through in the accounts of participants? Do you recognise
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any attitudes or assumptions that are evident in current heritage and environmental debates?
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Consider the perspectives presented on the Green Bans – what the movement stood for, the processes involved, the
effectiveness of alliances, peoples recollections of the way actions were organised and evolved. What can these oral accounts
tell us about the role of memory in reconstructing the past?
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Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of oral histories and testimonies. What other sources would you access to gain a fuller
picture of the green-bans period?
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What can Kelly’s Bush and Susannah Place tell us about the experience of social change and environmental activism in
Australia communities?
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
Investigating Heritage and Citizenship
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Examine local newspapers and community newsletters (environmental group, local historical society, National Trust committee)
for a current action in your locality aimed at saving part of the natural or built environment.
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Identify the key players in the discussion/debate and the main arguments being put forward.
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Access newspaper articles in the local media and local studies collection of your community library. Can you identify any links
between the current issue and past discussions and actions in your community? What can you say about the way community
members have viewed development in your locality over time?
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Consider the opposing arguments of key players in the issue under investigation. What are the main arguments for and against
development?
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Invite individuals or group representatives to the school to present their position on the issue. What strategies for advocacy and
action are they using? How have they interacted and worked with other community members over the issue? What are their
predictions about future discussions and actions?
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Analyse the way issues are managed and strategic positions are developed in local area politics.
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Reflect on the opportunities for youth to participate in actions at the local government level. What strategies would you utilise to
ensure young people had a voice in community decisions that impact on the environment and/or local heritage?
Extension
Debate the proposition “That Green Bans should be stopped”
See: Sydney Harbour Foreshore ”Battle for the Rocks” Resource Pack
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
Resources
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Plan of Kelly’s Bush
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Environmental Protest timeline
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Kath Lehany, Battlers for Kelly’s Bush
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Tracy Ireland, School of Archaeology, University of Sydney
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Protestors in Victoria Street[image]
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Demolition in Woolloomooloo [image]
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Kath Lehany’s perspective on Kelly’s Bush [transcript]
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Hunter's Hill Council’s perspective on Kelly’s Bush
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Chronology of the campaign to save Kelly’s Bush
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Perspective on Sydney’s green ban campaign, 1970-74
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Bulldozers and people
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After the green bans
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Peter Garrett on crunch time for the harbour-city
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Robert Hughes on learning to value what is local
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Tour Susannah Place with Ann Toy
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Letters to the editor on the Kelly’s Bush issue
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Excerpts from Susannah Place oral histories
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Heritage challenges in light of concrete and glass
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The Sydney experience of conservation and modernity
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011
Sustainability Education policy for schools - Support document - History Stage 4 and 5
Extension activity
Identify the central figure in this photograph.
What was his role in the Battle for The Rocks?
Why do you think he looks so relaxed?
Why did the Builders Labourers Federation support preservation
of the built environment of The Rocks?
Write a sentence or two as a caption to this photograph.
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© State of New South Wales through the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011