What was used then?

This activity focuses on the historical understanding of continuity and change and the historical skill ‘Analysis and use of sources’. Introduce the concept of using photographs as evidence or clues to the past.

View each graphic in the slide show ‘What was used then?’.

Read and identify various elements of the text such as noun groups, pronouns, adjectives and punctuation.

Allow children to make connections between their own experiences and the different means of transport. They could say ‘I saw a tram like that when I went to Melbourne.’

Talk about the types of transport shown in the slide show.

Encourage students to discuss:

• who would have used it
• why people would have used it
• how it was powered
• what it was made of
• the clues that tell you its age.