Humanities

At Reservoir High, students are doing the latest Humanities courses as outlined in the Australian Curriculum. Humanities covers: History, Geography, Economics and Civics and Citizenship.

All students from Years 7-9 undertake Humanities as part of their core subject area. Students will discover why the study of history is important. They learn about evidence, how to analyse it and how it can be interpreted. Students develop an understanding of ancient societies and their role in providing the foundations for modern society. They examine global movements of people and how Australian society evolved. The two World Wars and their impact on Australia are studied in depth. Our junior years are also enhanced by the Year 7 Bruce Kingsbury Ceremony, which gives all students the chance to partake in a public ceremony honouring this great Australian war hero. At Year 8, all students get involved in an interactive Medieval Day, which gives great insight into the reality of everyday medieval life. The school encourages students to enter the Australian National History competition on an annual basis.

At Reservoir High, students discover new ways to view the landscape. They apply geospatial skills such as scale, direction and grid references. Students will learn about the Australian environment – natural and human. Year 9 Students undertake fieldwork to investigate the urban landscape around the Docklands and experience sailing in our bay on the historic vessel, the Enterprise.

At Year 10 level, the compulsory core unit is called My Future/My Past and students may select many interesting electives. Popular Humanities electives studied at Year 10 include: The Law and You, People and Places and Drive Your Dollar Further.

Students develop legal understanding by visiting courts. They develop personal financial literacy skills and understand the importance of being an informed consumer. Students undertake work experience and job investigation tasks at Year 10 to further prepare them for a modern economy. The NAB also has a great scheme which enables our Year 10 students to complete real job applications and mock interviews, in order to prepare them for the workforce.

Years 11-12

At VCE strong student interest has allowed Reservoir High to run classes in: Australian/Global Politics, Business Management and Legal Studies.

Assessment

Students will be assessed on their ability to:
Develop research questions, complete research projects, complete map work using geospatial skills, collect fieldwork data and prepare reports, work in teams, identify their rights and responsibilities, and to research and report on an economic issue.

At Years 7-9, all Humanities subjects have assessment tasks. Years 10-12 units require students to successfully complete an exam.

Contact: Sandra Duhandzija – Professional Learning Community Team Leader

sandra.duhandzija@education.vic.gov.au