Having the right resources can take your lessons to the next level and really reduce your stress levels. Here are my go to Australian Federation teaching resources that are sure to make teaching this boring topic far more interesting and fun - for you and your students.
Need a crash course in Australian Federation?
If you feel that your understanding of Federation needs a refresher check out our posts on Engaging your Students with Federation and The Argument for Federation. Basically, Federation happened in 1901 (after many years of discussion and debate) when the colonies voted to become one nation with a Federal Government that serves the people of Australia and is bound by the Constitution.
Worth the read!
If you're looking for more facts and figures and information about Federation and the events that led to it check out the Australian Electoral Commission Education website it has fact sheets that are full of information!
The National Archives also have several resources that you might find helpful, especially about how the constitution was drafted, reviewed, edited, reviewed and eventually voted on. You can check out this information by clicking on this link.
This PDF fact sheet from the Parliamentary Education Office is also a handy reference about Australia’s Federation. The PEO are a great place to start if you’re looking for information about Australia’s political history.
Australian Federation teaching resources at the ready!
My despair at the lack of Australian Federation teaching resources was the catalyst for Aussie Star and I've received a huge amount of feedback from teachers expressing delight and gratitude for our range of Australian Federation resources. Here is a brief rundown on what's available.
Reasons For and Against Federation
This was the very first resource that I ever created and it has recently been updated to be even more engaging and interactive. It is a great discussion starter and is a simple but highly effective way to help students identify and sort the reasons for and against Federation.
Federation Vocabulary Flip Book
With every new topic there are always a few key words that students need to be able to understand to fully grasp concepts. This flip book dictionary has 6 words that are all related to the topic of Federation. Students are required to define each word and practise using it in context. They are then able to assemble their dictionary to form a funky little flip book that they can refer to later.
Australian Federation Hall of Fame
This activity is great fun!
There were several gentlemen who were instrumental in bringing about Federation and this resource is designed to introduce them to your students. They will be able to conduct their own research to find out key information about each person and then enter it in to their Hall of Fame. Once they've got to know these famous faces of Federation they can create a grand double door entrance for their Hall of Fame.
We’ve received great feedback from teachers about this resource for example Michelle said, “Thank you! This saved me hours of work and the children were engaged for what could have been a "boring" lesson!”
Australian Federation Foldable Timeline
Timelines are a prominent feature in the Australian HASS Curriculum and with good reason. The road to Federation was long and filled with debates, draft constitutions, more debate and a couple of referendums. Without understanding the process students won’t really appreciate the significance of the decision to Federate and how it impacted the development of the Australia they know today.
Creating foldable timelines is a great way to make sorting information into chronological order interesting and memorable.
Sir Henry Parkes Cloze Activity
While not the most exciting bloke Henry Parkes was a major advocate for Federation. He traveled around and gave long rousing speeches about the reasons Australia should Federate. This cloze activity is a great way for students to meet Henry and learn about his role in Federation.
Edmund Barton Research Puzzle
Edmund Barton was our first Prime Minister and another advocate for Federation and is therefore, worth getting to know. This activity requires students to research information about Edmund and use their answers to unjumble the puzzle to form his image. They must also record the websites they used and the keywords they entered to demonstrate their ability to use reliable information sources and search efficiently.
Each of these resources is available in our shop for immediate download.
Teaching Federation can be fun and interactive, it is a pretty boring topic but by using some of the ideas above hopefully you can spice it up for your students.
Let me know if you have any other ideas that you've found helpful in your classroom to teach Federation. I'd love to hear about it.
Take care
Amy