Curriculum
From Foundation to Year 2 the focus of the Australian Curriculum: History is an awareness of family history and community heritage.
Present and Past Family Life
Year 1 Australian Curriculum: History focuses on present and past family life within the context of the student's own world.
Students learn about similarities and differences in family life by comparing the present with the past. They begin to explore the links, and the changes that occur, over time.
The history content in Year 1 involves two strands: Historical Knowledge and Understanding and Historical Skills. These strands are interrelated and presented in an integrated way in this resource.
The key inquiry questions for Year 1:
- How has family life changed or remained the same over time?
- How can we show that the present is different from or similar to the past?
- How do we describe the sequence of time?
This resource focuses on the following content descriptions:
- How the present, past and future are signified by terms indicating time such as 'a long time ago', 'then and now', 'now and then', 'old and new', 'tomorrow', as well as by dates and changes that may have personal significance, such as birthdays, celebrations and seasons (ACHHK029)
- Differences and similarities between students' daily lives and life during their parents' and grandparents' childhoods, including family traditions, leisure time and communications. (ACHHK030)
Historical Skills
The How times change resource will provide opportunities for students to:
- sequence familiar objects and events (ACHHS031)
- distinguish between the past, present and future (ACHHS032)
- explore a range of sources about the past (ACHHS034)
- identify and compare features of objects from the past and present (ACHHS035)
- develop a narrative about the past (ACHHS037).
General capabilities
In the Australian Curriculum: History, General capabilities are identified where they offer opportunities to add depth and richness to student learning. How times change offers opportunities to incorporate explicit teaching of the seven capabilities:
Literacy
Students will:
- listen to, read, speak about, write and create oral, print, visual and digital texts relating to changes over time
- recount a sequence of events, present narratives about the past and describe and compare objects from the past and the present
- use and understand the vocabulary of time
- use past tense verbs when recounting events
- use noun groups to describe objects and artefacts.
Numeracy
Students will:
- organise individual and family images and events in time order to construct timelines
- begin to use calendars and dates to describe and illustrate the passing of time
- collect and represent data in a picture graph or column graph, with objects and drawings, where one object or drawing represents one data value
- interpret picture graphs or column graphs describing the data represented.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability
Students will see models of ICT and participate in activities using ICT, such as:
- videos of a student interviewing an older person about changes over time
- interactive timelines to sequence and describe events
- drag-and-drop sorting and categorising tasks
- slide shows with descriptive text demonstrating changes over time.
Critical and creative thinking
Students will:
- ask questions about historical sources and what they tell us about the past
- analyse answers to interview questions to interpret the point of view expressed
- think creatively to suggest explanations for aspects of the past or present, such as why many toys were once made of metal and wood
- look for evidence of age and use of an object.
Personal and social capability
Students will:
- share their own experiences and listen attentively while others share theirs
- work cooperatively.
Intercultural understanding
Students will recognise and value the similarities and differences between children and families in the past and those of the present.
Ethical behaviour
Students will:
- develop empathy and respect for others as they prepare for and interview older people in the family or community
- observe good manners and listen attentively as they engage with and understand the experiences of others
- report the results of their interviews and point of view honestly and fairly.
Cross-curriculum priorities
There are three Cross-curriculum priorities in the Australian Curriculum:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
- Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia
- Sustainability.
Opportunities for embedding the cross-curriculum priorities exist in this resource, depending on the choice of activities and the specific content. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories are part of the shared history belonging to all Australians. The diversity of families from all backgrounds will be highly valued including those who have come to Australia from Asia. Students will have opportunities to share knowledge of family celebrations and traditions in the past and the present and learn about changes that may have occurred over time.
Making decisions about sustainability requires an understanding of how the past relates to the present, and needs to be informed by historical trends and experiences.
Year 1 students will consider changes over time in technology, materials used and the number of things they have now and make comparisons with their grandparents' time. Students will consider the effects on the environment of these changes in homes and to household items, in schools and in the transport we use for getting around.
Australian Curriculum: History Year 1 Achievement Standard
By the end of Year 1, students explain how some aspects of daily life have changed over recent time while others have remained the same. They describe personal and family events that have significance. Students sequence events in order, using everyday terms about the passing of time. They pose questions about the past and examine sources (physical and visual) to suggest answers to these questions. Students relate stories about life in the past using a range of texts.
The resource How times change works towards this Achievement Standard.
Learning activities
How times change is divided into five sections that model activities focusing on change over time:
- Family
- At home
- At school
- Toys and games
- Getting around.
Students should complete the 'Family' section before progressing to other sections. Select one or more of the other sections to suit your students' interests and needs. Sections can be done in any order.
The opening page of each section links to student resources, a video interview, interactive activities, teacher notes and a gallery of related images.
Interactive tasks allow students to sequence in time order, describe, compare and categorise people, events and objects from the past and the present.
Graphics, text, video and audio support vocabulary development as students explore sources and develop a narrative about the past.
Teacher notes include:
- questions and activities to use before, during or after the resource's learning activities
- tips on skills development, particularly the analysis and use of historical sources
- tips and suggestions on how to create multimodal texts with students
- scaffolds and technology ideas to use during the learning activities and productive tasks, such as a timeline, an interview and a description
- links to and lists of additional relevant material, such as websites and literature.
Summary of learning activities
Family
| Activities | Summary of activities |
|---|---|
| How do families change? | Students:
|
| Looking back | Students:
|
| How do people change | Students:
|
| Arrange Tia's timeline | Students:
|
| Make your own timeline | Students:
|
Toys and games
| Activities | Summary of activities |
|---|---|
| What is used now? | Students:
|
| What was used then? | Students:
|
| Looking back | Students:
|
| Old or new? | Students:
|
| Look for clues | Students:
|
| Tasks | Students complete Task 1 and/or Task 2. In Task 1 students:
|
At home
| Activities | Summary of activities |
|---|---|
| What is used now? | Students:
|
| What was used then? | Students:
|
| Looking back | Students:
|
| Old or new? | Students:
|
| Look for clues | Students:
|
| Tasks | Students complete Task 1 and/or Task 2. In Task 1 students:
|
Getting around
| Activities | Summary of activities |
|---|---|
| What is used now? | Students:
|
| What was used then? | Students:
|
| Looking back | Students:
|
| Old or new? | Students:
|
| Look for clues | Students:
|
| Tasks | Students complete Task 1 and/or Task 2. In Task 1 students:
|
At school
| Activities | Summary of activities |
|---|---|
| Visit a school Museum | Over a period of time students watch and discuss the videos of a visit to a school museum. |
| What is used now? | Students:
|
| What was used then? | Students:
|
| Looking back | Students:
|
| Old or new? | Students:
|
| Look for clues | Students:
|
| Tasks | Students complete Task 1 and/or 2. In Task 1 students:
|
Resources
Books
Gallagher, D 2008, Family stories, MYL families series, Macmillan Library South Yarra, Vic
The book explores family stories and how they contribute to family identity, history and traditions
Heron, C 2002, Home Picture Australia's past, Reed International Books Australia Pty Ltd, Port Melbourne, Victoria
The book uses historical photographs to examine the everyday lives of people in Australia, between 1890 and 1970. In Home, readers are encouraged to think about what has changed in the home and what has stayed the same.
Heron, C 2002, School Picture Australia's past, Reed International Books Australia Pty Ltd, Port Melbourne, Victoria
The book uses historical photographs to examine the everyday lives of people in Australia, between 1890 and 1970. In School readers are encouraged to think about what has changed in the classroom and the playground, and what has remained the same.
Hughes, M 2003, Now and then – Toys , Harcourt Education Ltd, Oxford Great Britain
The book explores the subject of history for very young readers. Toys, takes a look at the things young people play with now and the toys that were played with many years ago, in the childhood of their parents and grandparents. It compares and contrasts images from today with images of the past, encouraging young readers to examine how their experience of play differs from that of children in bygone times.
Pearson, J 2008, Australians at play, Australia then and now series, Echidna Books, Port Melbourne, Victoria
The books in this series allow children to see what life was like in Australia in the past. There are questions to encourage them to find information in the pictures, and to compare what they see with their experiences of life today.
Thomas, R & Stutchbury, J 1996, How we live in Australia – Schools, Macmillan Education Australia Pty Ltd, South Melbourne, Victoria
This series provides an introduction to daily life in Australia for middle primary students, explaining how familiar things work and where they come from. Each book covers a different aspect of industry or culture, with the emphasis on how Australians live today. Titles in the series: Houses, Food, Communication, Transport, Clothes.
Websites
Check that all websites work on your devices before use.
National Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL)
This site makes explicit what effective teachers should know and be able to do. The Standards describe what is expected of teachers across three domains: Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice and Professional Engagement; and at four career stages: Graduate, Proficient, Highly Accomplished and Lead. The Illustrations of practice section includes videos and lesson plans and questions for discussion. The Year 5 clip, 'Becoming a mini historian', includes the question: 'How might ICT be used to enhance historical enquiry and analysis?' which is pertinent. The aim of the lesson relates to creating an online timeline to show key events in a person's life. The ICT Capability page includes guidance on integration of ICT in teaching and learning.
This site provides rich educational material to support primary and lower-secondary teachers using the My Place TV series in the classroom. There are 468 units of work for 78 clips across History and English. It includes a decade timeline, user interaction forums and geotagged content.
A UK site with free teaching interactives as well as iboard+ which requires a subscription. NB. These may require Flash plugin so may be unsuitable for some devices. In 'History', link to a range of free activities about toys and games:
- 'Back in Time', comparing toys from the past with the present
- 'Compare 2 Toys', where students describe similarities and differences between toys and games
- 'Classroom Museum', where students sort items to display
- 'Pictogram: Favourite Toys', where students construct a picture graph
- 'Toy Sorter', where students label groups and sort toys
- 'Toy Timeline', for placing toys in time order
- 'Toys Past and Present', where students select, label and write captions for toys
- 'Toys, Past and Present: Listen and Read Information Book', with audio support and interactive labels.
and transport:
- 'Transport Mini Encyclopaedia', for locating and reading information
- 'Transport Timeline', for placing vehicles after reading information
- 'Transport Sorter', where students sort vehicles and label groups
- 'Transport Compare Two', where students compare two vehicles and type in descriptions.
NB. Shockwave is required to view the Technology at home activity where you use the slider to move forward and back through time between 1900 and 1998. Position your cursor over an object to reveal some information about that object and when it was invented and used in the US. New information is available each time an object first appears or changes appearance.
The information provided in this site explains the importance of using primary sources to engage students, develop critical thinking skills and to construct knowledge.
This tool allows you to select the format of a primary source that you are using such as oral histories, ask questions based on observations, reflections and questioning and record responses to the source. A selection of guiding questions is accessible through the question mark in the top right hand corner of each skill. Further investigation allows you to consider where to go from here and provides some follow-up activities.
This PDF provides sample questions that could be used when examining an oral history primary source. The same questions are used in the analysis tool above.
Analyzing Photographs and Prints
This PDF provides sample questions that could be used when examining primary sources that are in photographic and print format. The same questions are used in the analysis tool.
This PDF provides sample question that could be used when examining primary sources. The same questions are used in the analysis tool.
This PDF focuses on teaching students how to analyse artefacts by sorting, examining, describing and questioning. It provides a number of classroom activities to engage learners and support their understanding of the importance of artefacts as evidence of the past.
Bloom's Digital Taxonomy and Web 2 Tools
This Prezi presentation gives suggestions for using Web 2 tools to support each level of Bloom's revised taxonomy. Each tool featured is a direct link to the tool.
Guide to using artefacts to explore the past
This PDF has ideas for examining artefacts. It can be used with students of all stages. The Modern to old activity focuses on the comparison of a modern with an old item which assists students in developing an understanding of continuity and change.
Website of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) History curriculum.
This is an Irish site that provides a comprehensive guide to the ways in which different methodologies and approaches can be used in the teaching of historical skills.
This website hosts primary source and secondary resources and links to litecay worksheets with activities and externsion tasks.
This site provides a range of text type organisers to assist students with the writing process. Select the Description text type to view the purpose, structure and language fetaures of a description. This resource can be printed out.
This resource gives students the opportunity to gather data using tally marks to keep track of what has been counted, conduct a survey and record data using tally marks, and display data in picture graphs and column graphs. It includes SMART Notebooks, links to interactives and a worksheet.
Storytelling in the Classroom: Collecting Family Stories
This site highlights the importance of family stories as a way of finding out about the past. It provides tips on how to be a good listener and interview questions to ask a family elder on specific topics such as:
- places to remember
- people to remember
- life events
- objects
- important transitions.
This site has an extensive list of books catering for the pre-reader to the advanced reader. The book titles are varied, a collection of books is also supported with audio. Search for a particular book at the Rosetta search engine or use the Super index of children's books online to search for books under specific topics such as At home.
This site contains suggested list of picture books, biographies and novels that focus on the strands Myself and my family/story, change and continuity over time. The list gives a brief description of the book, cross-curricular links and supporting texts.
This NSW Department of Education site provides an extensive list of books to support Stages 1-3.