AC9HH8S04 Year 8 Humanities and Social Sciences

AC9HH8S04 – Year 8 Humanities and Social Sciences: Using historical sources

Strand

Skills

Substrand

Using historical sources

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

identify and describe the accuracy and usefulness of primary and secondary sources as evidence

Elaborations

• examining the validity of sources by asking questions such as “Where does it come from?”, “What information is provided?”, “Is the information factual or an opinion?” and “What other sources may be needed to support/challenge this source?”
• distinguishing between fact (for example, “The moai were constructed on Easter Island [Rapa Nui]”) and opinion or interpretation (for example, “The moai on Easter Island [Rapa Nui] are representations of gods”)
• using strategies to detect whether a statement is fact or opinion, including word choices that may indicate an opinion is being offered; for example, the use of conditionals “might” and “could”, and words such as “believe”, “think” and “suggests”

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.