Grade 3-4a First Fleet Settlement in Australia

Grade 3-4a - Congratulations on finishing

                      your work this semester! 

           As a reward you get investigate and be creative!

We now know the following:

-why adults and children became convicts in the mid-late 1880's.

-what it was like for the convicts on the prison 'Hulks' in England.

-why the British government sent the First Fleet and the convicts to Australia.

-what the conditions were like for the convicts on the ships to Australia.

and

-what it was like for the convicts once they were assigned.

But we don't know what it was like for the first settlers in Australia.  

So your job is to find and report to the class:

                          A settlement story

You can write a story about what it was like for new Australians. 

This could be from the perspective of a solider, a solider's wife, a ships crew member, a settler or a settlers wife.

Your story could involve: 

-how the first settlers created homes and colonies, 

-the effects of the Australian weather on crops and settlement,

-the trials and sufferings of the first settlers, for example; food, diseases, the supply ship.

Or you could write your story from an Indigenous Australian's point of view.

Your story could involve:

-the effects on the Indigenous Australians,

-what changed?

You have proved to be a great investigator, a real super sleuth!

Choose a character and investigate what it was like for them - some information on the conditions for the settlers has just been given to you.  Go through the information with your highlighter and highlight what information is suitable for your character.  

You can also google more information on early settlement if your handout is not enough (but don't spend too much time investigating, remember you need to write a personal story). 

Then write a story in the first person.  This means, pretending you are the character you have chosen and writing a story about what it was like for them.  It will be a personal story, that includes how they are feeling and what they are thinking..

ie, investigate the problems for the first Australian settlers or the effects of colonisation on Indigenous Australians, depending on the character you are writing about.

Some opening sentences could be..  

-All I kept thinking, is that this place is so different to my home in England....

-Today we rebuilt our home with the canvas from the ship.  The wind keeps blowing it down.  I wish...

-Life was hard in England and life is hard here, because.....

-"The seeds are no good, now what do we do?" I said to myself.......

Or from an Indigenous Australian's perspective

-We have had two phases of the moon, since the white man came to our home.  We know they are out there, but we just stay away..  I keep thinking to myself.......

-I didn't know they were coming...

The story can be as long or as short as you like, but it has to be finished by Friday!

To start:  create a goggle doc and title the doc; Early Settlement in Australia

Give your doc a title: Early Settlement in Australia, Story by ………

If you would like to see a sample story that I have written then click on this link:

Congratulations on finishing your work this semester and writing a story about colonisation in Australia.

Your personal story will demonstrate or include the following:

1, You will show that you have investigated and know what conditions your character had to endure (endure means put up with or went through).

2, You have written your story from the personal point of view of the character and have included thoughts and feelings, or even worries as well as some factual information.

3, You have checked your working for spelling, grammar and punctuation.  

4, Your story is to be finished by Friday.

When you have finished your story, we can print it and put it on a poster for you to decorate, 

or we can print it and stain the paper with tea bags to make the story look authentic! 

250 Points are available for your table if you finish your story by Friday