Year 5 HASS – Term 1 (WA Curriculum): Swan River Colony - Settlement, Impact and People

What this unit covers

In Term 1, Year 5 HASS in the WA Curriculum centres on the unit “Swan River Colony - Settlement, Impact and People”.

Students explore the patterns of colonial development in Western Australia, investigate the impact on environment and inhabitants, and examine significant individuals who shaped the Swan River Colony.

Lesson sequence (8 lessons)

The unit breaks down into the following lesson-by-lesson sequence — each title below is a teachable lesson, in order:

1. Mapping Our Prior Knowledge About Early Western Australia
2. Discovering Primary and Secondary Sources About Colonial Times
3. How Geography Shaped Where People Settled in Western Australia
4. The Environmental Impact of Colonial Settlement on the Land
5. Life Changes for Aboriginal People During Colonial Times
6. Convicts and Free Settlers - Building New Lives in the Colony
7. James Stirling and the Founding of Perth - Leadership and Decisions
8. Yagan's Resistance - An Aboriginal Leader's Fight for Country

Curriculum codes in this unit

Content codes:

Skills codes:

Reading the codes: WA codes (the ones starting with WA) pack the year level, learning area, strand and content number into one string, while the national Australian Curriculum v9 uses a different anatomy that starts with AC9 — same content family, different labels. Our complete WA Curriculum guide decodes both, character by character.

Planning notes for Term 1

WA terms run roughly 9–11 weeks, and in 2026 Term 1 runs from Monday 2 February to Thursday 2 April — 9 weeks for WA public schools. With 8 lessons in this unit, that leaves breathing room for assessment, moderation and the weeks that disappear to carnivals, camps and public holidays — plan the assessable work to land two to three weeks before the end of term rather than in the final week.