During visit learning: student activities, project ideas and questions

During the visit to Mt Morgan students should take photographs (digital or disposable cameras are particularly suitable for this) at the sites they visit. These will assist recall after the visit, enhance the quality of their brochures, be used to reinforce arguments and be mounted for display if a presentation event is undertaken. If the class is producing a documentary it is advisable to choose two or three students whose sole task is to act as camera crew to record all sites, talks and activities.

During the visit students there is a wide variety of sites to visit. These include:

• The cemetery - the Linda Memorial, built in 1909 in memory of 26 miners who lost their lives at the Mt Morgan mine; the Hayes Memorial built in memory of 3 members of the Hayes family killed in a plane crash in 1934 on the beach near Yeppoon; a cairn under which lie the remains of Aboriginal people taken to a Scottish University and now returned and laid to rest; the Chinese “Heuung Lew” or Prayer Oven which is one of three believed still surviving in Australia. Money and gifts were burnt in the oven; graves dating back to 1888; the harsh living and working conditions of days gone by are clearly reflected in the number of accidental deaths, women and children buried in the cemetery.
• The Catholic Church
• The museum - a wonderful collection of objects and photos which re-creates the past
• The railway station
• The Mt Morgan High School - the first high school opened in Queensland
• The mine - the site of so much wealth and such tragedy including a major fire in 1909
• The dam and Dee River - polluted from the mine working but now being reclaimed
• The Mafeking Bell - made from coins collect by school children to mare the Boer War
• The Coronation Light
• Pubs - beautiful old historical building once the scene of bustling activity of the thousands of visitors who pored through Mt Morgan.
• The Cutter and Cutter Lane - where children once ran billy cans of beer to thirsty miners

Photographs of these places and objects can be viewed on this web site.

Because the number of sites available the teacher will need to consider the organisation of the visit with questions such as:

• Will all students visit all sites?
• Is a single day visit enough time to gather all information and impressions needed?
• Will small groups visit chosen sites and report back to the remainder of the class?
• In what order should the sites be visited?
• How many supervising adults will be needed?
• Where and when will all students regroup for sharing of experiences?

Depending on the time available, the interests of the students and the topics or sites investigated during the pre-visit activities, teachers can select places to visit from the list above. Many of the sites have explanatory plagues and information leaflets, however teachers can organise for guides to conduct tours of the sites explaining their history and importance. The guides have many stories to tell about Mt Morgan and help bring the sites and events that occurred to life, thus providing the students with a greater feeling for the place.

It would enhance the quality of students’ experience to pause at the conclusion of each site visit for a de-briefing and reflection. Depending on the focus the students and teacher have chosen, the teacher may wish, prior to the visit, to develop leading questions to improve the insight the students have gained, to help they reflect on their feelings, and to increase their awareness of the issues involved.

Using the plagues, leaflets and information provided by the guides, the students can joat notes about their area of particular interest. This information can then be added to their draft brochures when they return to the classroom. (CU 3.3)

If students are presenting persuasive speeches individually or as part of role play scenarios, they may wish to interview the guides to gain specific information to help them develop their arguments and reinforce their point of view. (CU 3.1)

To support students in successfully carrying out dramatisation of events such as Running the Cutter, collecting coins for the Mafeking Bell or re-enacting a mine fire, they will need time to observe, touch, walk about and share their feelings with their class mates as various sites are visited.

If students are to convincingly present of points of view, consider the purpose of their presentation and the needs of their intended audience, show an understanding of speaker/listener relationships and effective use of appropriate language in the problematic scenarios they will need time to discuss these at each site.

At all sites the students could clarify their opinions and attitudes with the guides to gain another opinion or perspective. This will ensure that the information the students present on their return to school is accurate and balanced. (CU 3.1, CU 3.3)

If teacher and students have chosen to produce a documentary on Mt Morgan as part of this unit the camera crew will need to refer to the storyboard or film sequence they have constructed in pre-visit activities. If the feel of the town is to be captured it may be necessary to allow extra time for filming scenes such as streets, hills and main street activity.