St Angela's Students Strike Gold

Year 5 students at St Angela’s Primary, Castle Hill recently engaged in an exciting project-based learning (PBL) unit about the early Australian colonies.

As part of this unit, students went on a three day trip to Bathurst. This camp was more than just a fun excursion, it was a hands-on search for information about how a significant event or individual impacted on the development of Australian Colonies in the nineteenth century.

Given the significance of Bathurst as a gateway town to the goldfields and the nearest town to the earliest discovery of gold in Australia, this was a logical destination for the St Angela’s students to hone their skills of historical inquiry and communication.

As part of the research phase of the unit, the students needed to locate and analyse a range of primary and secondary sources.

They also learnt how to identify events and individuals that shaped Australia’s identity, and how to discuss their significance.

The excursion itself provided students with an experience of gold panning, observing rock formations and learning about cave formations at nearby Abercrombie Caves. They also had the opportunity to camp at the Bathurst Goldfields located near Mount Panorama.

Year 5 student, Jason Herbas said he used to think he knew a lot about Australian history, but after the trips to the museum and Bathurst he realised he was wrong.

“We were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to the challenge put forward to the students,” Year 5 teacher, Michelle Yager, said.

“The deep learning that took place during the project was collaborative and the final project launch reflected the students’ efforts.”

The original driving question challenged students to become museum curators, investigate the impact of events and individuals on the early Australian colony, and then demonstrate their learning in designing a range of exhibits.

The engaging and informative exhibits included: highlighting the event or person’s life on a Google site, creating an iMovie that reenacts the event or interviews the significant person, designing an advertising pamphlet, analysing a range of primary sources, creating a timeline of significant events, and creating artifact replicas.