Digital Classroom | National Library of Australia (NLA)

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.
Showing 1 - 12 of 22 results
A black and white photograph showing a steam train on a track

Ian Mitchell & Australian News and Information Bureau, Steam locomotive hauling a passenger train on the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, 1970, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-137739465

Transport

Topic

In the 1970s, the ways people moved around the country and around the world was changing. 

Humanities
Year 3
Australian history
A streetscape of Bourke street, Melbourne.

Tom Roberts, Bourke Street, Melbourne, 1885, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134285521

Time and place

Module

Explore how communities evolve over time, how different cultures influence and contribute to communities, and how symbols convey meaning.

Humanities
Year 3
Australian history
A colourful illustration featuring a group of anthropomorphic koalas dressed in clothes, along with other animals like rabbits and birds, gathered in a grassy area. A caption reads, "What shall I name this young bear?"

Dorothy Wall, Blinky Bill: The Quaint Little Australian, 1933, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-943876

Symbols in children's literature

Topic 

For students to explore the depiction, representation and meaning of Australian symbols through beloved stories like Blinky Bill and Possum Magic.

Humanities
Year 3
Australian history
Literature and writing
Santa Claus presenting gift to family entering the room

Jane Jolly and Robert Ingpen, Tea and Sugar Christmas, 2014, nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn6420587

Picture books

Topic

Reading picture books is important in speech development, building literacy skills, helping children to use their imagination.

English
Year 3
Drawing of a boy throwing a book out of a window

Emma Allen and Lisa Coutts, The Great Book-Swapping Machine, 2021, nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn8630184

Narratives and story telling

Topic

The word narrative means story. As we write or tell stories, we are creating a narrative by describing a series of events that are connected.

English
Year 3
Black and white photo of a factory floor lined with steaming pressure cookers.

Robert Deane, Retort line cooking tins of pie apple. Mountain Maid Pty., Ltd., Batlow, New South Wales, 1997, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-143408852

Multiplication

Topic

Recipes can be multiplied (scaled up) to increase the number of serves (portions) or people being fed. 

Mathematics
Year 3
Year 4
Book cover for 'Lee’s Priceless Recipes'

William H Lee, N T Oliver & C Van Zandt, Lee's priceless recipes : the standard collection of famous formulas and simple methods (detail), 1912, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2334677540

Measurement

Topic

The Metric System became Australia’s formal measurement system in 1970.

Mathematics
Year 3
Year 4
Five figures depicted on postcard with captioned rhyme.

May Gibbs, We are the Gumnut Corps, we're going to war, 1916, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-153093166

Early children's fiction in Australia

Topic

The Library has an extensive collection of Australian children’s literature ranging from the first children’s book published in Australia to the latest releases.

English
Year 3
Cover of ‘The Guide to Successful Baking’, featuring a cut up sponge cake decorated with white icing and strawberries.

Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking (detail), 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070534781

Division

Topic

Division can be used to decrease recipes and serving sizes, and can also handy for sharing food and making sure everyone gets an equal amount.

Mathematics
Year 3
Year 4
A black-and-white portrait of an older man with a weathered face and a beard, wearing a turban and a white shirt. He stands outdoors, with blurred trees in the background.

Robin Smith, Old Afghan camel drover Saidah Saidel, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, 1966, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-146607205

Diverse communities

Topic 

Explore how diverse communities have shaped modern Australian life through historical photographs from our collection.

Humanities
Year 3
Australian history
Migration and immigration
A colour photograph showing a teacher and children in a classroom in the 1970s

Wolfgang Sievers, Teacher and small children in a classroom at Tom Price, Western Australia, 1975, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160837401

Daily life for kids in the 70s

Topic

Have you ever wondered what life was like for people in the past? 

Humanities
Year 3
Australian history
A pile of children's books
Creative storytelling

Module

This resource aligns to the Australian Curriculum for Year 3 English - Language, Literature and Literacy.

English
Year 3
Literature and writing

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