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Descriptors›Humanities and Social Sciences›Year 8›Knowledge and understanding›Medieval Europe and the early modern world›AC9HH8K02
AC9HH8K02: Year 8 Humanities and Social Sciences Content Descriptor – Medieval Europe and the early modern world
AC9HH8K02 Year 8 Humanities and Social Sciences

AC9HH8K02 – Year 8 Humanities and Social Sciences: Medieval Europe and the early modern world

Strand
Knowledge and understanding
Substrand
Medieval Europe and the early modern world

This Content Descriptor from Year 8 Humanities and Social Sciences provides the specific knowledge and skills students should learn. Use it to plan lessons, create learning sequences, and design assessments that align with the Australian Curriculum v9.

Content Descriptor

the roles and relationships of different groups in Medieval, Renaissance or pre-modern Europe

Elaborations

  • • describing the structure of feudal society, including the role and responsibilities of the king, nobles, church, knights, peasants, and women and men
  • • explaining the continuities and changes in society in one of the following areas: crime and punishment; military and defence systems; towns, cities and commerce; farming and the impact on the environment such as tree clearance
  • • explaining how medieval society changed and affected the environment; for example, harnessing water and wind power for milling, urban settlements and agriculture, management practices and legal structures of medieval forests such as the English royal forests
  • • describing key changes of life in the late Medieval period such as the spread of literacy and the development of new ways to disseminate ideas through schools and universities, scientific academies, debating societies, literary salons, coffee houses, and the reach of printed books, journals and pamphlets
  • • explaining reactions to the Black Death, such as the emergence of flagellants (those who would whip themselves to be free of sin) and the persecution of Jewish people
  • •

    identifying the similarities and differences of daily life between the popolo minuto and popolo grasso

  • • describing the way of life of people in Renaissance Italy; for example, the role of men in tending the fields or merchant shops, the role of women in the society and the influence of government in particular city-states such as Naples (a monarchy) and Florence (a republic)
Show 3 more elaborations
  • • identifying the spread of Renaissance culture to England; for example, the rise of literature through Shakespeare
  • •

    describing the contribution of key theories such as Nicolaus Copernicus’ De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems and Isaac Newton’s Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica to the changes brought about by the Scientific Revolution

  • • examining the changes in economic activity created by the discoveries of new commodities, making the costs of basic foodstuffs lower and the quality higher, and the advancements of technologies such as in tools, armaments and shipbuilding

Achievement Standard This Supports

This Content Descriptor contributes to the following Achievement Standard:

Year 8 ASHAHISY8
Year 8 Humanities and Social Sciences Achievement Standard
By the end of Year 8, students describe the historical significance of the periods between the ancient and modern past. They explain the causes and effects of events, developments, turning points or challenges in Medieval, Renaissance or pre-modern Europe, or in the societies connected to the empires or expansions, or the societies of the Asia-Pacific world during these periods. They describe the social, religious, cultural, economic, environmental and/or political aspects related to the changes and continuities in a society or a historical period. Students describe the role of significant individuals, groups and institutions connected to the societies of these periods and their influences on historical events. Students develop questions about the past to inform historical inquiry. They locate and identify a range of primary and secondary sources as evidence in historical inquiry. They describe the origin, content and context of sources and explain the purpose of primary and secondary sources. Students compare sources to explain the accuracy, usefulness and reliability of sources as evidence. They sequence events and developments to explain causes and effects, and patterns of continuity and change across societies and time periods. They describe perspectives, attitudes and values of the past, and suggest reasons for different points of view. They explain historical interpretations about significant events and people. Students use historical knowledge, concepts, terms and references to evidence from sources to create descriptions, explanations and historical arguments.