Title of the unit: What events, activities and places do I care about? Why?
Year Level: 1
The Year 1 curriculum provides a study of the recent past, the present and the near future within the context of the students own world. Students are given opportunities to
explore how changes occur over time in relation to themselves, their own families, and the places they and others belong to. They examine their daily family life and how it is
the same as and different to previous generations. They investigate their place and other places, their natural, managed and constructed features, and the activities located
in them. They explore daily and seasonal weather patterns and how different groups describe them. They anticipate near future events such as personal milestones and
seasons. The idea of active citizenship is introduced as students explore family roles and responsibilities and ways people care for places.
The content provides opportunities for students to develop humanities and social sciences understanding through key concepts including significance; continuity and
change; place and space; roles, rights and responsibilities; and perspectives and action. These concepts may provide a focus for inquiries and be investigated across
sub-strands or within a particular sub-strand context.
The content at this year level is organised into two strands: knowledge and understanding, and inquiry and skills. The knowledge and understanding strand draws from two
sub-strands: history and geography. These strands (knowledge and understanding, and inquiry and skills) are interrelated and have been developed to be taught in an
integrated way, which may include integrating with content from the sub-strands and from other learning areas, and in ways that are appropriate to specific local contexts.
The order and detail in which they are taught are programming decisions.
Inquiry Questions
A framework for developing students knowledge, understanding and skills is provided by inquiry questions. The following inquiry questions allow for connections to be
made across the sub-strands and may be used or adapted to suit local contexts: inquiry questions are also provided for each sub-strand that may enable connections within
the humanities and social sciences learning area or across other learning areas.
How has family life and the place we live in changed over time?
What events, activities and places do I care about? Why?
Content Descriptions
Pose questions about past and present objects, Concepts for developing understanding Concepts for developing understanding
people, places and events
The content in the history sub-strand in this year gives The content in the geography sub-strand provides
students opportunities to develop historical opportunities to develop students understanding of
posing questions with the stems where, understanding through key concepts including
what, how and why about families, place, space, environment and change. Students
continuity and change, perspectives, empathy and learn about the natural, managed and constructed
celebrations, places and the weather significance. Through studies of their family, familiar
asking questions before, during and after people and their own history, students look at evidence
features of places and how these features provide
listening to stories about people and places of the past, exposing them to an early understanding evidence of change (place, environment, change).
and about their past and present that the past is different from the present (continuity Students understand that important activities are
preparing questions for parents and and change). They come to understand why some located in places and explore where they are located,
members of older generations about how events are important in their own and others lives and why (space). Students study the daily and
they lived in the past, where they lived and (significance), and how different people commemorate
the places they value seasonal weather patterns of their place and of other
events that are important to them (empathy,
collecting and displaying everyday objects places, including how seasonal change is perceived by
perspectives).
(for example, toys, telephone, radio, cooking Inquiry Questions different cultures (place, environment). They come to
utensils, clothes) and other sources (for understand how places are cared for (environment).
example, photos, found objects, maps,
observation sketches) to stimulate Where, o What is my history and how do I know? Inquiry Questions
What, When, How and Why? questions o What stories do other people tell about the past?
o How can stories of the past be told and shared?
o What are the different features of places?
Researching o How can we care for places?
Differences in family structures and roles today, and
Collect data and information from observations and o How have the features of places changed?
how these have changed or remained the same
identify information and data from sources provided over time.
The natural, managed and constructed features of
places, their location, how they change and how they
exploring stories from the past and present considering a range of family structures (for
about people and families (for example, can be cared for.
example, nuclear families, one-child families,
fiction books, letters, diaries, songs) and large families, single parent families, extended
about places (for example, myths, Dreaming families, blended (step) families, adoptive parent using observations of the local place to identify
and Creation stories, fiction, story maps, families and grandparent families) as well as and describe natural features (for example, hills,
films) kinship groups, tribes and villages rivers, native vegetation), managed features (for
gathering evidence of change in a local comparing families in the present with those from example, farms, parks, gardens, plantation
place (for example, by comparing current the recent past (the families of parents, forests) and constructed features (for example,
observations of a place with photographs of grandparents or familiar older person) in terms of roads, buildings) and locating them on a map
it taken in the past) their size and structure (for example, the recounting Dreaming and Creation stories of
using geographical tools (for example, different types of family such as nuclear, single Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander
photographs taken from the air, Google parent, blended) Peoples that identify the natural features of a
Earth or digital image searches) to locate examining and commenting on the roles of family place
and identify the different features of places members over time (for example, listening to using observations and/or photographs to
and how they have changed over time, stories about the roles of mothers, fathers, identify changes in natural, managed and
including places with largely natural features caregivers and children in the past) and constructed features in their place (for example,
and those with largely constructed features comparing these with family roles today (for recent erosion, revegetated areas, planted crops
gathering information about the weather and example, work at home, work outside the home, or new buildings)
seasons from the media, their own child care, gender roles, childrens describing local features people look after (for
observations and from stories (for example, responsibilities, pocket money) example, bushland, wetland, park or a heritage
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories) building) and finding out why and how these
How the present, past and future are signified by features need to be cared for, and who provides
Sort and record information and data, including terms indicating time, as well as by dates and this care
location, in tables and on plans and labelled maps changes that may have personal significance, such
as birthdays, celebrations and seasons
creating and sharing concept maps to show The weather and seasons of places and the ways in
personal understanding of their world (for predicting, using knowledge of the past and which different cultural groups, including Aboriginal and
example, a web of family relationships and present (for example, what happened Torres Strait Islander Peoples, describe them.
connections, or a mental map of their place yesterday, what is likely to happen
and its important features or spaces) tomorrow, upcoming birthdays, celebrations describing the daily and seasonal weather of
making artefact and photo displays to show and seasons) and ordering these references their place by its rainfall, temperature, sunshine
the features of a place (for example, to time in sequence using terms such as and wind, and comparing it with the weather of
collections of natural and constructed things before, after, next, then, a long time other places that they know or are aware of
from the environment) or to show the ago, and then and now comparing the Aboriginal or Torres Strait
passing of time (for example, collections of exploring how cultures recognise significant Islander Peoples seasonal calendar for the
things used when growing older, toys used events (for example, the Chinese describe a local area with one students are familiar with,
by different generations) and labelling the child as being one year old on the day such as the four-seasons calendar derived
display with simple captions he/she is born; some religious groups dont from Europe
recording data about the location of places celebrate birthdays)
and their features on maps and/or plans (for identifying dates and changes that have Activities in the local place and reasons for their
example, labelling the location of their home personal significance (for example, birth location
and daily route to school on a map of the dates, moving house, changing schools,
local area, drawing a plan of their classroom religious and school holidays), marking
and labelling its activity spaces)
developing a pictorial table to categorise these on a calendar and counting down
information (for example, matching clothes time, as well as noting that events of identifying the activities located in their place (for
personal significance may differ according example, retailing, medical, educational, police,
with seasons, activities with the weather,
to students cultural backgrounds. religious, office, recreational, farming,
features and places, places with the work
manufacturing, waste management activities),
done examining seasonal calendars of Aboriginal
locating them on a pictorial map, and suggesting
and Torres Strait Islander groups (for example,
why they are located where they are
Sequence familiar objects and events the Gagudju (Kakadu) and the D'harawal
(Sydney) calendars, each with six seasons, the
identifying which resources they can recycle,
reduce, re-use or none of these, and what local
Arrernte (central Australia) with five, the
using visual representations such as a days Woiwurrung (Upper Yarra Valley) with seven,
spaces and systems (for example, rules, signs,
of the week chart, a class timetable or a waste collection truck routes) support these
and north-east Tasmania with three)
calendar to sequence events or tasks activities
describing what they see as they move from exploring activities in the local rivers, lakes and
one point to another (for example, going Differences and similarities between students' daily coastal waters and identifying constructed
from home to school, from the classroom to lives and life during their parents and grandparents features (for example, Aboriginal eel traps,
the library) childhoods jetties, shark nets, fish farms)
describing how they rearrange the space within
Analysing comparing and commenting on photographs and the classroom for different activities (for
oral histories (for example, talking to parents, example, reading time or a drama)
Explore a point of view
grandparents and other elders) to find out how
daily lives have changed
comparing students daily lives and those of comparing what has changed over time (for
their parents, grandparents, elders or example, homes, family traditions, leisure,
familiar older person, and representing the communication technology, rules, how needs
similarities and differences in graphic form were met then and now, wants, and
(for example, in a Venn diagram or Y-chart) shopping/consumer habits)
sharing personal preferences about their
world (for example, their favourite weather,
activities, places, celebrations) and
explaining why they are favoured
Communicating
By the end of Year 1, students identify and describe important dates and changes in their own lives. They explain how some aspects of daily life have changed over recent
time while others have remained the same. They identify and describe the features of places and their location at a local scale and identify changes to the features of
places. They recognise that people describe the features of places differently and describe how places can be cared for.
Students respond to questions about the recent past and familiar and unfamiliar places by collecting and interpreting information and data from observations and from
sources provided. They sequence personal and family events in order and represent the location of different places and their features on labelled maps. They reflect on
their learning to suggest ways they can care for places. They share stories about the past, and present observations and findings using everyday terms to denote the
passing of time and to describe direction and location.
LEARNING INTENTIONS:
(Learning intentions describe what students should know, understand or can do by the end of this unit of work. Learning intentions identity new learning
and touch on transferable skills.)
consider a range of family structures including kinship groups, tribes and villages.
explore how cultures recognize significant events and celebrations.
Identify dates and celebrations that have personal significance.
Identify how we can care for places.
Identify activities located in a place.
Examine seasonal calendars of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups.
Success Criteria
At Standard
Describe in detail why and how this place needs to be cared for.
List weather features (local) and link to known media weather forecasts.
Identify similarities and differences of the weather features between places including months in which seasons fall and changes in human activity due to
weather and seasonal changes.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures Asia and Australias engagement with Asia Sustainability
Literacy Numeracy Intercultural Understanding Personal and Social Capability ICT Critical & Creative Thinking Ethical Behaviour
Links to English: Uses past tense verbs to explain what happened in the past. Uses present tense verbs to explain what happens now.
ASSESSMENT
(Diagnostic/Formative/Summative)
Students select their favourite celebration and explain why. (Can be written in class or presented as a Show and tell topic.)
Students draw a birds eye view of a favourite part of their school. Students include their classroom in this view. Students draw, describe and indicate using
arrows how to get from their classroom to their favourite part of the school. How would this be different after changes to the buildings within the school?
Students observe and record the weather for one week. Students draw pictures to show the weather. Weather can be recorded as sunny, cloudy, rainy,
windy or stormy. Temperature can be recorded in degrees Celsius, or as hot, warm or cold.
On a specific day, students gather information about the weather and seasons
from stories (for example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories)