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Digital Classroom

Explore Australia's history at the National Library's Digital Classroom, aligned with the Australian Curriculum. With over 10 million items, we support diverse learning styles, fostering inquiry-based learning for students to analyse sources and draw conclusions about the Australian story.
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A hand drawn, colourised image of seventeen Australian animals including fish, lizards, birds and mammals from the early 1880s.

Gustav Mutzel, Australische fauna, c1880s. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136360975

First Australians’ contributions to early Australian science

Topic
This topic encourages students to connect with local First Australians groups to explore traditional knowledge of flora and fauna.

Science
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
A black and white photo of a man with a frostbitten face.

Frank Hurley, Madigan's frostbitten face, Adelie Land [Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914], nla.gov.au/nla.obj-145067660

Exploring weather

Topic

Antarctica has been explored by meteorologists since the early 1900s. Blizzards are common there.

Humanities
Science
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Environment and biodiversity
Geography
Image of a colour sketch of a heavily snow covered town of Hobart houses with water and mountains in the background in 1882

HJ Graham, Severe snow storm over Hobart, 1882, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135529606

Experiencing weather

Topic

There are many stories of extreme weather and descriptions from those who survived the ordeals of droughts, bushfires, floods and cyclones in Australia.

Humanities
Science
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Environment and biodiversity
Geography
An old map of Australia showing the distribution of Aboriginal tribes across the country.

Norman B Tindale, Map showing the distribution of the Aboriginal tribes of Australia, 1940, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-230054338

Describing weather

Topic

Colonial settlers brought with them to Australia the concept of four distinct seasons. While this works for much of southern Australia, non-Indigenous people in the other parts of Australia identify seasonal change as wet and dry.

Humanities
Science
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Environment and biodiversity
Geography
A hand drawn and colourised image of a koala hugging a tree branch from 1810.

Thomas Lord Busby and Isaac Cruikshank, Koalo [i.e. koala], 1810. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-133278770

Comparing early European illustrations of Australian fauna

Topic
This topic explores the early documentation of Australia’s unique flora and fauna.

Science
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
A spiderweb illuminated by the sun. The web is strung between the branches of a green leafy tree.

Peter Dombrovskis, Spiderweb detail, Cradle Mountain, Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, Tasmania, 1986, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-151194004

Circle of life

Topic

Every living thing is part of a cycle. Plants and animals are born, they grow, they consume or produce, and they eventually die, making way for new life in their place. Without this cycle of life, ecosystems and the biosphere would not be able to survive.

Science
Year 4
Environment and biodiversity
Cover of the book 'Australia's Weird Wild Wonderful Weather'

Stephanie Owen Reeder & Tania McCartney, Australia's wild weird wonderful weather, 2020, nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn8406703

Australia's wild weird wonderful weather

Module

This resource is aligned with the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences (Geography), and Science for Year 4, 5 and 6 students.

Humanities
Science
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Environment and biodiversity
Geography

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