Advice for Teachers
Students are able to learn about family life experienced by one of the earliest European settlers, Charles Joseph La Trobe, his wife Sophie and their family and staff, as they attempted to adjust to the harsh conditions of colonial life, such as illness, homesickness and lack of water, and, at the same time, recreate the kind of society from which they had come, in terms of entertainment, education, values and belief.
Students are also able to learn about Charles Joseph La Trobe, a significant figure in the settler history of Victoria: a pioneering administrator who came as Superintendent to the Port Phillip District in 1839 and who left it as Lieutenant-Governor of the colony of Victoria in 1854.
Students can clearly see the dwelling's rudimentary accommodation with its small and intimate spaces, but they will also discover a treasure trove of everyday items, together with elegant furniture, precious books and ornaments, and other accoutrements from the family’s cultured European past. The Cottage provides students with a unique insight into the earliest moments of Melbourne’s settler history. For further information contact ltc@latrobesociety.org.au
Guided tours of La Trobe’s Cottage, together with appropriate task sheets are available upon request.
While the main focus in the La Trobe’s Cottage work and activity sheets is designed to introduce students to history as a discipline i.e. historical knowledge and understanding, historical reasoning and interpretation, there is also opportunity to develop skills in the Humanities domain generally. These work and activity sheets will also assist in developing literacy skills.
For a copy of these worksheets and for further information contact ltc@latrobesociety.org.au
VELS, the Australian Curriculum and the VCE Study Design should all be consulted when considering an excursion to La Trobe’s Cottage regardless of the year level of the students being taught. For example, the VCE Study Designs may provide ideas for learning activities, the key knowledge and especially the key skills which students at both primary and secondary might use. We urge teachers to consult these designs.
We also urge all teachers to access the History Teachers Association of Victoria’s (HTAV) excellent website and to consider joining the HTAV if they haven’t already done so. The HTAV offers workshops and materials for primary and secondary teachers.
Whilst the focus of the learning activities suggested for a visit to La Trobe’s Cottage has a strong grounding in history methodologies, the learning activities also incorporate some Humanities concepts that will be of use to students from as early as Level 3. Teachers will themselves, of course, want to design learning activities appropriate to their own students.
Those teachers without tertiary history study who would like to develop their skills would also benefit from incorporating elements of the learning activities. We suggest an excursion to La Trobe’s Cottage.
Suitable teaching levels
The following areas where a study of La Trobe’s Cottage might be valuable are:
- Years 3-4
- Years 5-6
- Year 9
