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Humanities

During Year 9 students undertake a variety of disciplines and assessment tasks to fully develop their skills and capabilities in four distinctive areas.

Humanities

Year 9

History Unit – Making of the Modern World

Depth study 1: Investigating the Industrial Revolution (1750–1914)

  • The technological innovations that led to the Industrial Revolution, and other conditions that influenced the industrialisation of Britain (e.g. the agricultural revolution, access to raw materials, wealthy middle class, cheap labour, transport system, and expanding empire) and of Australia
  • The population movements and changing settlement patterns during the Industrial Revolution
  • The experiences of men, women and children during the Industrial Revolution, and their changing way of life

Depth study 2: World War One 1914-1918

Students investigate key aspects of World War I and the Australian experience of the war, including the nature and significance of the war in world and Australian history.

  • An overview of the causes of World War I and the reasons why men enlisted to fight in the war.
  • The places where Australians fought and the nature of warfare during World War I, including the Gallipoli campaign
  • The impact of World War I, with a particular emphasis on Australia (such as the use of propaganda to influence the civilian population, the changing role of women, the conscription debate).
  • The commemoration of World War I, including debates about the nature and significance of the Anzac legend.

Civics and Citizenship Unit – Our Democratic Right

The Year 9 curriculum builds students’ understanding of Australia’s political system and how it enables change. Students examine the ways political parties, interest groups, media and individuals influence government and decision making processes. They investigate the features and principles of Australia’s court system, including its role in applying and interpreting Australian law. Students also examine global connectedness and how this is shaping contemporary Australian society.

Key areas addressed include:

  • How citizens’ choices are shaped at election time (e.g. public debate, media, opinion polls, advertising, interest groups, political party campaigns).
  • How social media is used to influence people’s understanding of issues.
  • The factors that can undermine the application of the principles of justice (e.g. bribery, coercion of witnesses, trial by media, court delays).

Geography Unit

This course is divided into two components.

Biomes and food security

The main features of this part of the course include:

  • The distribution and characteristics of biomes as regions with distinctive climates, soils, vegetation and productivity.
  • The ways that humans in the production of food and fibre have altered some biomes (e.g. through vegetation clearance, drainage, terracing, irrigation).
  • The environmental, economic and technological factors that influence crop yields in Australia and across the world (e.g. climate, soils, landforms, water resources, irrigation, accessibility, labour supply, agricultural technologies).
  • The challenges to food production, including land and water degradation, shortage of fresh water, competing land uses, and climate change for Australia and the world.
  • The effects of anticipated future population growth on global food production and security; the capacity for Australia and the world to achieve food security, the implications for agriculture, agricultural innovation and environmental sustainability. 

Geographies of interconnections

The second part of the course focuses on:

  • The perceptions people have of place, and how this influences their connections to different places.
  • The way transportation, and information and communication technologies are used to connect people to services, information and people in other places.
  • The ways that places and people are interconnected with other places through trade in goods and services, at all scales.
  • The effects of people’s travel, recreational, cultural or leisure choices on places, and the implications for the future of these places.

Economics Unit – Australia and the global economy

This course examines the following:

  • The role of the key participants in the Australian economy, such as consumers, producers, workers and the government.
  • Australia’s interdependence with other economies, such as trade and tourism, trade links with partners in the Asia region, and the goods and services traded.
  • Why and how participants in the global economy are dependent on each other, including the activities of transnational corporations in the supply chains and the impact of global events on the Australian economy.
  • Why and how people manage financial risks and rewards in the current Australian and global financial landscape, such as the use of differing investment types.
  • The ways consumers can protect themselves from risks, such as debt, scams and identity
  • The nature of innovation and how businesses seek to create and maintain a competitive advantage in the market, including the global market.
  • The way the work environment is changing in contemporary Australia and the implication for current and future work.