Year 3 to Year 6

Bookings are essential for all school visits. If you would like to book a guided experience for your students, complete a booking request, call 9427 3202 or email ed@slwa.wa.gov.au. All guided  and self-guided visits are free of charge.

Discover a world of stories, history and information to support classroom learning.  The State Library provides teachers and students with a wide range of resources, including extensive collections of primary source materials.

The staff in the Education Program at the Library facilitate a diverse program of guided and self-guided workshops suitable for Year 3 to Year 6 classes. Students can explore and discover the Library’s collections, research Western Australian history and are introduced to critical information literacy skills.

But why bring your class on excursion to the State Library?

  • Our workshops and educational experiences can reinforce and invigorate classroom learning.
  • Students get access to experiences and primary source materials that they cannot get in the classroom.
  • Excursions teach students how to behave appropriately in public spaces, build resilience and citizenship skills.
  • Excursions are a chance for the teacher to step back and observe their students in action and develop relationships on a different level.

The workshops offered link directly to the Western Australian curriculum and are of one hour duration.  Excursions to the State Library must be booked at least two weeks in advance and are free of charge.

Guided workshops that explore and discover the Library’s collections and research Western Australian history.

 

Visit the Battye Library to explore the State Library’s collections of newspapers, photographs, maps and ephemeral items. Find out what the Library’s collections can tell us about life in the past. Next, visit The Story Place and learn about the services available for younger students and engage in an exhibition specially curated for children. 

Note: Please speak to an Education Officer about how you can tailor the Beyond Books Tour to suit your individual curriculum requirements.

This guided tour is 1-hour duration.

Students will:
  • Engage with primary source materials.
  • Understand the role of the Library in preserving stories from the past.
  • Compare and contrast items from the past and the present.
  • Gain an understanding of the role of libraries in the local community.

Curriculum links

HaSS: (ACHASSK091), (WAHASS28), (WAHASS35).

What do families do on a day out in Perth?  Did children enjoy the same experiences around Perth that they do now? How have these experiences changed over time?

In this guided workshop, students delve into a history box to explore the State Library collections. Students identify examples of continuity and change in photographs, maps, newspaper articles and ephemeral items; examining how primary source materials can shed light on the past. They compare visits to Perth attractions in the past to what those experiences are like today.  

This guided workshop is 1-hour duration.

Ideas on how to further expand on the concepts taught in this hands-on workshop, back in the classroom.

Students will:
  • Engage with primary source materials.
  • Understand the role of the Library in preserving stories from the past.
  • Compare and contrast items from the past and the present.
  • Reflect on their own personal experiences and how they may be similar or different to those of people in the past.
  • Gain an understanding of the role of libraries in the local community.

Curriculum links

HaSS: (ACHASSK062), (WAHASS26), (WAHASS28), (WAHASS31), (WAHASS32), (WAHASS34), (WAHASS3).

What are the facts behind the fiction? How do authors research their narratives?

Digging up the Past: Early Colonial helps students develop research skills as they do some ‘digital digging’ to uncover historical facts from historical photographs and newspapers.  Teachers can choose to focus on one of two Western Australian stories: The Legend of Moondyne Joe by Mark Greenwood (Walker Books) or Sam, Grace and the Shipwreck by Sonia Martinez (Fremantle Press), as students are shown how to identify key words and search online to find the primary source materials that would have inspired both the narrative and illustrations of the chosen text.

This guided workshop is 1-hour duration.

Ideas on how to use primary source materials to develop historical narrative back in the classroom.

Students will:
  • Engage with primary source materials.
  • Understand the role of the Library in preserving stories from the past.
  • Compare and contrast primary and secondary source materials.
  • Identify how historical narrative relies on reliable sources for authenticity.
  • Identify basic key words.
  • Search for primary source materials online.

Curriculum Links

HaSS and English:  (WAHASS51), (WAHASS52), (WAHASS55), (WAHASS54), (WAHASS56), (WAHASS62), (ACHASSK110), (ACELT1608), (ACELY1698).

How did Mark Greenwood and Frane Lessac bring the story of Simpson and his Donkey (Walker Books) to life?

Examine how historical narrative is researched and constructed. Understand the role of primary sources in the creation of such narratives.  Look closely at primary sources from the State Library collection and identify how the information from these sources may have been used to bring the story of Simpson and his Donkey to life.  In this hands-on workshop, students closely examine primary source materials relating to WW1 and learn how to search for sources to construct a narrative of their own.

This guided workshop is 1-hour duration.

Ideas on how to use primary source materials to develop historical narrative back in the classroom.

Students will:
  • Engage with primary source materials.
  • Understand the role of the Library in preserving stories from the past.
  • Compare and contrast primary and secondary source materials.
  • Identify how historical narrative relies on reliable sources for authenticity.
  • Identify basic key words.
  • Search for primary source materials online.

Curriculum Links

HaSS and English: (ACHASSK064), (WAHASS27), (WAHASS28), (WAHASS30), (WAHASS32), (ACELA1478), (ACELT1599), (ACELA1483), (ACELY1675), (ACELY1678).

How can information from a tombstone unlock the history of Western Australia? With information from colonial grave stones, students research primary sources from archival collections to discover more about the lives of the Swan River colonists. In this guided workshop, students are introduced to critical information skills and shown how to find primary source materials that will transport them back to the Swan River Colony.

This guided workshop is 1-hour duration.

Ideas and activities which relate to online research, particularly the lives of people in the early Swan River Colony.

Students will:
  • Engage with a variety of primary source materials.
  • Understand the role of the Library in preserving stories from the past.
  • Compare and contrast items from the past and the present.
  • Identify basic key words.
  • Search for primary source materials online.

Sourcing the Swan River Colony can be supported by the addition of the downloadable Swan River Colonial Walking Trail (PDF). This self-guided walking trail is an introduction to the history of the area from colonisation in 1829 to the early 20th Century and will reinforce the names and places uncovered in the students’ research.

Curriculum Links

HaSS: (ACHASSK107), (ACHASSK110), (WAHASS51), (WAHASS52), (WAHASS53), (WAHASS54), (WAHASS55). 

Why have so many different groups of people migrated to Western Australia? Students open a suitcase and use items from the State Library collections to piece together migration stories. 

Explore the stories of Western Australian convicts, Afghan cameleers, Group Settlers, post War migrants and Vietnamese refugees.  Understand how a variety of primary source materials can tell a thorough story. Identify how language and Government policy can alter perceptions. Find out the different push/pull factors that have influenced waves of migration to Western Australia and the impact made on the culture of Western Australia today.

This guided workshop is 1-hour duration.

Ideas on how to further explore Western Australian migrant stories.

Students will:
  • Engage with primary source materials.
  • Understand the role of the Library in preserving stories from the past.
  • Identify how language can alter perceptions.
  • Interpret source materials.
  • Gain an understanding of the role of libraries in the local community.

Suitcases: Stories of migration can be supported by the addition of the Migration Stories Northbridge Walking Trail. This self-guided walking trail explores the city of Perth’s migrant heritage and how this rich, ethnic diversity has shaped its character.

Curriculum Links

HaSS: (ACHASSK147), (ACHASSK135), (ACHASSK136), (ACHASSK137), (WAHASS50), (WAHASS52), (WAHASS53), (WAHASS56), (WAHASS57),  (WAHASS59), (WAHASS61).

Self-guided visits provide flexible excursion options for all school groups. There are a variety of self-guided, educationally valuable activities available to choose from. Self-guided workshops can be used to enhance a guided workshop experience at the Library or be the sole purpose of your visit. Exhibitions are often supported with student self-guided trails and teacher guides to ensure a high degree of engagement and educational value.

Anzac Stories

Find out more about ANZAC Day and the symbolism surrounding it. Share stories about our ANZACs and make a commemorative poppy wreath to take home.

This self-guided workshop is 45 minutes to 1-hour duration.

Creating Perth Walking Trail

The Perth Cultural Centre is a place with many layers of history. Some of these layers are visible and other layers are more obscure or hidden. Use the QR Code trail map to explore the history of the area and reveal historical photographs of each location, in this walking trail. This self-guided walking trail is 1-hour duration.

Swan River Colony City Walking Trail

The Swan River Colonial Walking Trail  is an introduction to the history of the area from colonisation in 1829 to the early 20th Century. Explore Perth’s colonial heritage as you walk in the footsteps of our early colonists. This self-guided walking trail is 1-hour duration.

Colonial WA

Use primary sources to transport you back in time to the Swan River Colony. Identify key locations on maps using photographs as clues. Compare maps over time and read about how the Swan River Colony was being reported about in the English newspapers.

This self-guided workshop is 45 minutes to 1-hour duration.

New Places, New Lives

Compare and contrast migration stories as told in pictures books. Explore the literary devices used by authors to convey different migration experiences and reflect on the feelings they might provoke in the reader. Identify the symbols and themes of these texts and share your findings with others.

Migration Stories Northbridge Walking Trail​

The history of Northbridge has been formed by more waves of migration than any other area of Western Australia; this rich, ethnic diversity has shaped its character. Download this Migration Stories Northbridge Walking Trail and explore the city of Perth’s migrant heritage on this self-guided walking trail.

This self-guided walking trail is 1-hour duration.

Exhibitions

The Story Place

Exhibitions in The Story Place are specially curated for children. These exhibitions often feature artworks from the State Library’s collection of original picture book illustrations or historical photographic collection. Exhibitions are supported by self-guided trails, activities and teacher guides. Bookings essential. View our current exhibitions.

Ground Floor Gallery

Exhibitions in the ground floor gallery are designed with curriculum outcomes mind. With historical or literature-based themes, these engaging exhibitions provide opportunities to support learning outcomes.  Exhibitions are supported by self-guided trails, activities and teacher guides. Bookings essential. View our current exhibitions.

Request a workshop

You can request an education workshop for school age students.
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