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Assignment 1: Depth Study 6 Unit of Work

Weighting: 40%

Length and/or format: 10 A4 Pages equivalent maximum.

Purpose: The purpose of this task is to develop knowledge and expertise in an area of the 1980’s – present and to develop an engaging unit of work on this area of history which would be suitable for Year 10 students. Its aim is to help develop your skills in sequencing historical lessons, selecting and organising material for classrooms, and understanding the concepts and structure of the K-10 History syllabus.

Learning outcomes assessed: 1,2,3

Return of assignment: Electronic feedback 3 weeks post submission date Assessment criteria:

• Demonstration of the ability to understand, interpret, and implement the K-10 History Syllabus for New South Wales
• Evidence of consulting the works of key historians and other experts
• Preparation of creative and original material to support quality teaching and learning
• Linkage of relevant content, teaching strategies, outcomes, skills, resources and activities in an appropriate and engaging way
• Evidence of individual initiative & presentation of a professional unit of work

Nature of the task: 

“History is a disciplined process of inquiry into the past that helps to explain how people, events and forces from the past have shaped our world. It allows students to locate and understand themselves and others in the continuum of human experience up to the present. History provides opportunities for students to explore human actions and achievements in a range of historical contexts.” (extract from the Rationale of the History Syllabus K-10, 2014) In the spirit of the Rationale of the History Syllabus, this task is to develop a topic to be taught as a school-developed study for Depth Study 6 in Stage 5. The topic is to be constructed using the guidelines on p. 103 of the pdf version of the History Syllabus and to align with the overview for ‘The Modern World and Australia’ (p. 94). Further guidance will be given in the lectures in the first few weeks of the course regarding the choice of a topic.

Completion of this assignment will result in a ready-to-use school-developed unit of work for Depth Study 6.

What is a ‘unit of work’?

Units of work are written for each depth study that is chosen for a teaching program for a year or stage. For example, in Year 10, a class may do three depth studies – ‘Rights and Freedoms’, ‘Popular Culture’ and ‘Australia in the ‘Vietnam War’. A unit of work would be written for each depth study. The overview for Stage 5 may be written up as a separate unit of work or may be incorporated into the other three units of work.

The Finished Product: 

The Unit of Work The outcome of this task will be the creation of a 18-hour long unit of work for a topic to be taught at the end of Year 10. This will be in a landscape document of no more than 10 A4 pages (Standard format, 10 pt Arial/TNR font) in length.

This unit of work will:

• Have an original and engaging title, if this is possible
• Be based on more contemporary history 1980 – present.
• will include from the History K-10 Syllabus – the ‘key inquiry questions’, the relevant ‘historical skills’, the ‘historical concepts’ tailored to this unit, and reference to a site study
• Also to be included in this unit of work – a statement indicating how this topic relates to the overview for ‘The Modern World and Australia’, framing questions (up to 10), key events (1015), key historical terms (up to 30).
• Identify the key content of this topic and determine how this content can be best presented to students of this age
• Divide the unit of work into logical sections
• Throughout the program there should be references to key historians and experts, historical debates (where they exist), books, and resources. Live urls may be used for online sources.
• Include details of individual lessons such as the teaching and learning strategies, activities, discussion questions, historical skills and historical concepts. (Note: No actual activities or resources need to be constructed)

How to proceed with the task: 

1. Brainstorm ideas for possible topics and decide on an area of study. Once a number of possible areas have been identified ensure that they meet the requirements of fitting in with the Stage 5 overview (p. 94 Syllabus) and the criteria for a school-developed study (p. 103 Syllabus). Decide one area of study.
2. Research the topic individually
3. Identify the key content of this area of study and set the parameters of what will be covered in this unit in terms of content. Decide how to break the unit up into logical sections.
4. Create an engaging title for the unit
5. Identify the key events, key terms, and key people
6. Design the detail of the lessons. Divide up the tasks
7. Type the unit of work into the required format using Word or an equivalent in landscape view. Examples will be given in the first few weeks.
8. Review all parts of this task. Ensure that you are happy with the final product.
9. No later that 24 hours before the due submission time, convert documents into pdf and submit them on LEO them as separate documents.