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 41 results
A man looking at newspapers in multiple languages at a newspaper kiosk on Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.

Australia. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Overseas Information Bureau. (1991). Ethnic newspapers are prominent on this kiosk in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, 1991 [transparency]. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136834359

Language in print

Module

This resource is aligned to the Australian Curriculum: Languages for years 7–10.

Languages
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Languages
The front page of The Australian Panorama Arabic Newspaper. The masthead is written in red Arabic script.

(2008). The Australian panorama Arabic newspaper. [Panorama Arabic Newspaper], [Parramatta, New South Wales] https://www.panoramanews.net nla.gov.au/nla.obj-747828340

Arabic

Topic

Migration from Arabic nations to Australia has a complex and multifaceted history.

Languages
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Languages
A page from The English Chinese Advertiser newspaper written in Chinese.

The English and Chinese Advertiser (Vic.: 1856–1858), p. 1., 7 August 1858, nla.gov.au/nla.news-page15910530

Chinese

Topic

Stringent colonial restriction laws affected early Chinese migration to Australia.

Languages
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Languages
A page from a French newspaper titles Courrier Australien.

LA CLIQUE DARLAN, Le Courrier Australien (Sydney, NSW : 1892 - 2011), 1 January 1943, nla.gov.au/nla.news-article161749598

French

Topic

French settlement in Australia commenced soon after the arrival of the First Fleet.

Languages
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Languages
A page from the Adelaider Deutsche Zeitung, 1851.

(1851). Adelaider Deutsche Zeitung (SA: 1851–1862), nla.gov.au/nla.news-title277

German

Topic

German migrants came to Australia as founding pioneers following colonisation, with 10,000 migrating during the gold rushes of the 1850s.

Languages
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Languages
A page from La Stampa Italiana (or The Italian Press) newspaper.

LE DIRETTIVE DEL GOVERNO ITALIANO NELLA POLITICA MONDIALE IL DISCORSO DEL DUCE A NAPOLI. (1931, December 3). Stampa Italiana = The Italian Press (Perth, WA: 1931–1932), nla.gov.au/nla.news-article249697143

Italian

Topic

Migration from Italy to Australia can be dated back to the 1800s and, since that time, many groups have followed.

Languages
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Languages
The front page of the Japanese Perth Times. The masthead is written in Japanese. There is a stylised rat on the front page with the text 'A Happy New Year!! 1996'

Japanese Perth times, 2018, nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1386

Japanese

Topic

Japanese migrants first came to Australia in the late 1800s.

Languages
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Languages
The front page of To Ethnico Vema, a Greek-Australian newspaper

(2021). To ethnico vema : Greek national vema, nla.gov.au/nla.news-title1592

Modern Greek

Topic

Significant numbers of Greek migrants arrived during the gold rushes, but the largest waves came between World War II and the 1970s.

Languages
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Languages
A document showing which household items should be placed in which garbage bin. The list is sorted alphabetically and each item has a yellow, green, or red coloured square, indicating which bin it should go in. Red for trash, yellow for recycling and green for greenwaste. The list is written in Turkish

Mildura (Vic. : Rural City). Council. and Mildura (Vic. : Rural City). Council, issuing body, HANGİ KOVALAR? : Kovalarınızı kullanmak için Kılavuz, 2020, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-29635077

Turkish

Topic

Migration to Australia from Turkey prior to the twentieth century was minimal.

Languages
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Languages
A photo of a large number of protestors gathered in front of the Victorian state library.

Francis Reiss, Protesters gathered outside the State Library in Swanston Street, Melbourne peace rally, 14 February 2003, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147324313

Participation and protest

Module 

This resource is aligned with the Australian Curriculum: Civics and Citizenship for Year 8 students. It adopts an inquiry-based learning approach that develops a student’s understanding of Australians’ rights, freedoms and opportunities to participate in Australia’s democracy.

Humanities
Year 8
Australian history
Protest and dissent
A photo of lots of different coloured plastic love hearts on a wire, stuck in a grassy area. The hearts are decorated with writing about freedom, and drawings.

Loui Seselja, [Section of the field of hearts display in close-up view, United Nations World Refugee Day and Field of Hearts event, Canberra, 20 June 2004], nla.gov.au/nla.obj-130944424

Freedoms and rights

Topic

Australia is a signatory of various international treaties and laws. Treaties, conventions, protocols and covenants are agreements between nation states on how best to respond to international issues.

Humanities
Year 8
Australian history
Democracy
Protest and dissent
A photo of 2 people with their backs to the camera, facing Australia's Parliament House, holding hands, lifting them high. Each is holding a large sign in their outside hands that reads 'Australia said Yes to equality' and 'Australia said Yes to equality, not discrimination'.

Sean Davey, Marriage Equality Ambassadors holding up 'Yes' signs in front of Parliament House, Canberra, 7 December 2017, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-735351644

Dissent in society

Topic

Many protest movements in Australia have resulted from dramatic shifts in public opinion on contentious issues, and as a response to how governments of the time dealt with these shifting opinions.

Humanities
Year 8
Australian history
Democracy
Protest and dissent

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