Levels 5-6 (EAL Pathway B Levels B1 and B2)
This resource introduces students learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) to the ways the Australian environment was altered by colonial settlement and European pastoral and agricultural practices during the nineteenth century. Prompted by John Glover’s depictions of Van Diemen’s Land, students will evaluate the causes and effects of these environmental changes and generate ideas to counter and reverse them. Students will then produce and present an illustrated poster promoting a course of action that could reverse the negative environmental impact of the colonisation and settlement of Australia.
Learning Objectives
- Practise key vocabulary needed to interpret ideas and attitudes towards the Australian environment in John Glover’s artworks.
- Identify the causes and effects of significant environmental changes in Australia during the nineteenth century.
- Describe the ways these changes impacted upon the lives of Aboriginal peoples, as well as the native flora and fauna/environment.
- Design and present a poster suggesting a course of action to restore balance to the natural environment.
The following worksheets have been designed for use in conjunction with the Art and History resource Colony to Nation: Changes to Australia’s Environment. It includes important background information about the artworks and links to the Victorian History Curriculum.
