Open Stage Blog

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Introducing Recorded History and the Earliest Writing

Written records represent a very small amount of human history. 'Pre-History' is the term often used for the long period before written records. Scholars generally agree that the earliest form of writing appeared almost 5,500 years ago in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). This is when we begin to have 'recorded history'. First Nations Australians lived for tens of thousands of years before the beginning of recorded history. 'Pre-history' is therefore quite a poor term for capturing this period of time. There is so much archeological evidence, as well as oral histories, available to learn about this period before written records.

Ancient history

Australian history

Year 7

Teaching Interpretations in Ancient History

Historians interpret the past, as do films, art, and novels. Many times, this happens decades and even centuries after the historical event. We can use interpretations of the past directly with students to help them understand why and how these were constructed, and what interpretations can and cannot tell us about the ancient past.

Ancient history

Australian history

Year 7

Timeline of Deep Time Australia

To support teachers and students, Open Stage has created a detailed timeline of the key events in deep time Australia, categorised into the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs.

Ancient history

Year 7

China

Six lesson sequence on the Qin Dynasty

This is a deep dive into the Qin Dynasty, China’s first empire. In this unit students analyse the complicated legacy of Emperor Qin Shi Huang as a significant, yet controversial, figure in Chinese history. We provide an overview of China’s first dynasties before the Qin, and an introduction to the Mandate of Heaven philosophy that explains the rise and fall of different dynasties. While learning about the first emperor’s reforms, students will also analyse maps of ancient China, philosophies like Confucianism and Legalism, and the writings of the famous Chinese historian Sima Qian.