Voice of the Students

Year 5

Year 5 have started reading Tom Appleby, Convict Boy by Jackie French as part of our Literacy and Inquiry learning. The novel is helping students learn about convicts, Australian history and what life was like in the past.

This week we have been looking at Australia in 1868 and the late 1800s. In the story, Tom Appleby, Convict Boy, Thomas is 88 years old and living in Australia after being transported from Britain as a young convict in the late 1700s. Learning about this time is helping the students understand the world Thomas lived in and how much Australia changed during his lifetime.

Students have been researching topics such as people, education, transport, communication, money, government, jobs, entertainment and daily life. They first researched and organised their ideas in spider diagrams and then created posters in groups that included facts, pictures and interesting discoveries.

Some Year 5 students shared what they have enjoyed learning:

“The most interesting thing I have learned is that people used lots of different types of money, including shillings, guineas as well as bank notes.” – Xavier

“I am surprised by how harsh the legal system was and the punishments people received, like being put in the stocks.” – Ella

“I learnt about convicts when I visited Tasmania, so I like knowing a lot about the topic while reading the novel.” – Thomas L.

“My favourite part is that so much happens in the story so quickly.” – Sophie

“I like how the story is written in the way people spoke at the time.” – Ben

We are looking forward to learning more about Tom’s story and life in Australia during the 1800s.