Year 8 History

The Australian Curriculum: Classroom Approaches history units were originally designed to align with Version 3 of the Australian Curriculum (2012) but have recently been updated to align with Version 9 (2024). The three units provide adaptable and scalable learning pathways that can be shaped for use in diverse classroom contexts, and hopefully provide inspiration for locally-developed units of work for other depth studies and areas of the curriculum. Click the "Download Year 8 Units" button to get a PDF of the units outlined below.

Year 8 Overview

The Year 8 units of work seek to build on students’ understanding of the periods between the ancient and modern worlds. They address questions such as:

  • How did societies change from the end of the ancient period to the beginning of the modern age? 

  • What key beliefs and values emerged, and how did they influence societies? 

  • What were the causes and effects of contact between societies in this period? 

  • What were the perspectives of people from the time? 

  • Which significant people, groups and ideas from this period have influenced and shaped the world today? 

  • How and why have historians interpreted this period differently?

Year 8 Units

UNIT ONE: RATS IN THE RANKS (MEDIEVAL EUROPE C.590-C.1500)

  • Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas:

    • That interactions between societies in the past have brought a wide range of different consequences.

    • That humans have interpreted and understood natural phenomena in different ways over time.

    • That the Black Death had far-reaching effects in Europe, Asia, and Africa that impacted the shape of societies.

  • Performance Task: 'Black Death' Museum Exhibition

  • Links to Australian Curriculum v9 Content Descriptions: AC9HH8S01, AC9HH8S02, AC9HH8S03, AC9HH8S04, AC9HH8S05, AC9HH8S06, AC9HH8S07, AC9HH8S08, AC9HH8K01, AC9HH8K02, AC9HH8K03, AC9HH8K04, AC9HH8K05, AC9HH8K06

  • General Capabilities: Personal & Social Competence, Intercultural Understanding, Critical & Creative Thinking, Numeracy

UNIT TWO: SHOGUNS AND SHINTO (THE ASIA-PACIFIC WORLD, JAPAN UNDER THE SHOGUNS C.794-1867)

  • Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas:

    • That the relationship between the military and governments has often been complex in past societies.

      That power and authority can be shifting and dynamic within societies over time.

  • Performance Task: Episode of The Samurai

  • Links to Australian Curriculum v9 Content Descriptions: AC9HH8S01, AC9HH8S02, AC9HH8S03, AC9HH8S04, AC9HH8S05, AC9HH8S06, AC9HH8S07, AC9HH8S08, AC9HH8K12, AC9HH8K13, AC9HH8K14, AC9HH8K15

  • General Capabilities: Personal & Social Competence, Literacy, Critical & Creative Thinking, Intercultural Understanding

UNIT THREE: A NEW WORLD (THE RENAISSANCE C.1400-1600)

  • Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas:

    • That the Church played a significant and powerful role in Renaissance Europe.

    • That the Renaissance heralded a ‘rebirth’ of culture whose legacy is still visible in western societies.

  • Performance Task: PR Campaign for Galileo

  • Links to Australian Curriculum v9 Content Descriptions: AC9HH8S01, AC9HH8S02, AC9HH8S03, AC9HH8S04, AC9HH8S05, AC9HH8S06, AC9HH8S07, AC9HH8S08, AC9HH8K01, AC9HH8K02, AC9HH8K03, AC9HH8K04, AC9HH8K05, AC9HH8K06

  • General Capabilities: Intercultural Understanding, Personal & Social Competence, Critical & Creative Thinking

Alternatively, if you prefer to create your own unit of work, please click the 'DIY Design Template' button below to download an attached Word document template.