AC9HH8S01 Year 8 Humanities and Social Sciences

AC9HH8S01 – Year 8 Humanities and Social Sciences: Questioning and researching

Strand

Skills

Substrand

Questioning and researching

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

develop historical questions about the past to inform historical inquiry

Elaborations

• developing a key question such as “How did the decline of Rome’s western empire change the organisation of European society?” or “Why did Easter Island (Rapa Nui) society decline?”; identifying related questions to inform the inquiry, such as “What evidence is there?” and “What theories have been developed?”
• developing questions about historical significance such as “How many people were affected by the Black Death?” and “How long did it last?”
• reviewing questions when faced with unexpected or challenging developments posed by the historical investigation; for example, “How was the organisation of Japanese society influenced by world events?”

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.