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This Week in HASS – term 3, week 5

This week students in all year levels are working on their research project for the term. Our youngest students are looking at items and pictures from the past, while our older students are collecting source material for their project on Australian history.

Foundation/Prep/Kindy to Year 3

The focus of this term is an investigation into the past and how we can find out about past events. For students in Foundation/Prep/Kindy (Units F.1 and F-1.3), Years 1 (Unit 1.3), 2 (Unit 2.3) and 3 (Unit 3.3) it is recommended that the teacher bring in sources of information about the past for the students to examine. Teachers can tailor these to suit a particular direction for their class. Examples of possible sources include old toys, old books, historic photographs, texts and items about local history (including the school itself), images of old paintings, old newspaper articles which can be accessed online etc. OpenSTEM provides resources which can be used for these investigations: e.g. Historic Photographs of Families, Modes of Transport 100 Years Ago, Brisbane Through the Years, Perth Through the Years, resources on floods in Brisbane and Gundagai, bush fires in Victoria, on the different colonies in Australia etc. Teachers can also use the national and state resources such as the State Library of Queensland, particularly their Picture Archive; the State Library of NSW; the State Library of South Australia, particularly their images collection; the National Archives of Australia; Trove, which archives old newspapers in Australia; Museums Victoria, and many similar sites. Students should also be encouraged to bring material from home, which can be built up into a Class Museum.

Years 3 to 6

As students in Years 3 (Unit 3.7), 4 (Unit 4.3), 5 (Unit 5.3) and 6 (Unit 6.3) move into the period of gathering information from sources to address their research question, teachers should guide them to consider the nature of each source and how to record it. Resources such as Primary and Secondary Sources and Historical Sources aid in understanding the context of different kinds of sources and teachers should assist students to record the details of each source for their Method section of their Scientific Report. Recording these sources in detail is also essential for being able to compile a Bibliography, which is required to accompany the report. OpenSTEM resources are listed for each research topic for these units, but students (and teachers) should feel free to complement these with any additional material such as online collections of images and newspaper articles (such as those listed in the paragraph above). These will help students to achieve a more unique presentation for their report and demonstrate the ability to collate a variety of information, thus earning a higher grade. Using a wide range of sources will also give students a wider appreciation for their chosen topic in Australian history.

This Week in HASS – term 3, week 4

This week younger students start investigating how we can find out about the past. This investigation will be conducted over the next 3 weeks and will culminate in a Scientific Report. Older students are considering different sources of historical information and how they will use these sources in their research.

Foundation/Prep/Kindy to Year 3

Students in stand-alone Foundation/Prep/Kindy classes (Unit F.3), as well as those in integrated classes (Unit F-1.3) and Years 1 (Unit 1.3), 2 (Unit 2.3) and 3 (Unit 3.3) are all starting to think about how we can find out about the past. This is a great opportunity for teachers to encourage students to think about how we know about the past and brainstorm ideas, as well as coming up with their own avenues of inquiry. Teachers may wish to hold a Question and Answer session in class to help guide students to examine many different aspects of this topic. The resource Finding Out About The Past contains core information to help the teacher guide the discussion to cover different ways of examining the past. This discussion can be tailored to the level and individual circumstances of each class. Foundation/Prep/Kindy students are just starting to think about the past as a time before the present and how this affects what we know about past events. The discussion can be developed in higher years, and the teacher can start to introduce the notion of sources of information, including texts and material culture. This investigation forms the basis for the Method section of the Scientific Report, which is included in the Student Workbook.

Years 3 to 6

Students in Years 3 (Unit 3.7), 4 (Unit 4.3), 5 (Unit 5.3) and 6 (Unit 6.3) are following a similar line of investigation this week, but examining Historical Sources specifically. As well as Primary and Secondary Sources, students are encouraged to think about Oral Sources, Textual Sources and Material Culture (artefacts such as stone tools or historical items). This discussion forms the basis for students completing the Method section of their Scientific Report, where they will list the sources of information and how these contributed to their research. Older students might be able to self-direct this process, although teachers may wish to guide the process through an initial class discussion. Teachers may wish to take the class through a discussion of the sources they are using for their research and discuss how students will use and report on these sources in their report for their topic.

This Week in HASS – term 3, week 3

This week our youngest students are playing games from different places around the world, in the past. Slightly older students are completing the Timeline Activity. Students in Years 4, 5 and 6 are starting to sink their teeth into their research project for the term, using the Scientific Process.

Foundation/Prep/Kindy to Year 3

This week students in stand-alone Foundation/Prep/Kindy classes (Unit F.3) and those integrated with Year 1 (Unit F-1.3) are examining games from the past. The teacher can choose to match these to the stories from Week 1 of the unit, as games are listed matching each of the places and time periods included in those stories. However, some games are more practical to play than others, and some require running around, so the teacher may wish to choose games which suit the circumstances of each class. Teachers can discuss how different places have different types of games and why these games might be chosen in those places (e.g. dragons in China and lions in Africa).

Students in Years 1 (Unit 1.3), 2 (Unit 2.3) and 3 (Unit 3.3) have this week to finish off the Timeline Activity. The Timeline activity requires some investment of time, which can be done as 2 half hour sessions or one longer session. Some flexible timing is built into the unit for teachers who want to match this activity to the number line in Maths, and other revise or cover the number line in more depth as a complement to this activity.

Years 3 to 6

Last week students in Years 3 to 6 chose a research topic, related to a theme in Australian History. Different themes are studied by different year levels. Students in Year 3 (Unit 3.7) study a topic in the history of their capital city or local community. Students in Year 4 (Unit 4.3) study a topic from Australian history in the precolonial or early colonial periods. Students in Year 5 (Unit 5.3) study a topic from Australian colonial history and students in Year 6 (Unit 6.3) study a topic related to Federation or 20th century Australian history. These research topics are undertaken as a Scientific Investigation. This week the focus is on defining a Research Question and undertaking Background Research. Student workbooks will guide students through the process of choosing a research question within their chosen topic, and then how to start the Background Research. These sections will be included in the Scientific Report each student produces at the end of this unit. OpenSTEM resources available with each unit provide a starting point for this Background Research.

New Dates for Earliest Archaeological Site in Aus!

This morning news was released of a date of 65,000 years for archaeological material at the site of Madjedbebe rock shelter in the Jabiluka mineral lease area, surrounded by Kakadu National Park. The site is on the land of the Mirarr people, who have partnered with archaeologists from the University of Queensland for this investigation. It has also produced evidence of the earliest use of ground-stone tool technology, the oldest seed-grinding tools in Australia and stone points, which may have been used as spears. Most fascinating of all, there is the jawbone of a Tasmanian Tiger or Thylacine (which was found across continental Australia during the Ice Age) coated in a red pigment, thought to be the reddish rock, ochre. There is much evidence of use of ochre at the site, with chucks and ground ochre found throughout the site. Ochre is often used for rock art and the area has much beautiful rock art, so we can deduce that these rock art traditions are as old as the occupation of people in Australia, i.e. at least 65,000 years old! The decoration of the jawbone hints at a complex realm of abstract thought, and possibly belief, amongst our distant ancestors – the direct forebears of modern Aboriginal people.

Placing the finds from Madjebebe rock shelter within the larger context, the dating, undertaken by Professor Zenobia Jacobs from the University of Wollongong, shows that people were living at the site during the Ice Age, a time when many, now-extinct, giant animals roamed Australia; and the tiny Homo floresiensis was living in Indonesia. These finds show that the ancestors of Aboriginal people came to Australia with much of the toolkit of their rich, complex lives already in place. This technology, extremely advanced for the time, allowed them to populate the entire continent of Australia, first managing to survive in the hash Ice Age environment and then also managing to adapt to the enormous changes in sea level, climate and vegetation at the end of the Ice Age.

The team of archaeologists working at Madjebebe rock shelter, in conjunction with Mirarr traditional owners, are finding all sorts of wonderful archaeological material, from which they can deduce much rich, detailed information about the lives of the earliest people in Australia. We look forward to hearing more from them in the future. Students who are interested, especially those in Years 4, 5 and 6, can read more about these sites and the animals and lives of people in Ice Age Australia in our resources People Reach Australia, Early Australian Sites, Ice Age Animals and the Last Ice Age, which are covered in Units 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1.

This Week in HASS – term 3, week 2

This week older students start their research projects for the term, whilst younger students are doing the Timeline Activity. Our youngest students are thinking about the places where people live and can join together with older students as buddies to Build A Humpy together.

Foundation/Prep/Kindy to Year 3

Students in stand-alone Foundation/Prep/Kindy classes (Unit F.3), or those in classes integrated with Year 1 (Unit F-1.3) are considering different types of homes this week. They will think about where the people in the stories from last week live and compare that to their own houses. They can consider how homes were different in the past and how our homes help us meet our basic needs. There is an option this week for these students to buddy with older students, especially those in Years 4, 5 and 6, to undertake the Building A Humpy activity together. In this activity students collect materials to build a replica Aboriginal humpy or shelter outside. Many teachers find that both senior primary and the younger students get a lot of benefit from helping each other with activities, enriching the learning experience. The Building a Humpy activity is one where the older students can assist the younger students with the physical requirements of building a humpy, whilst each group considers aspects of the activity relevant to their own studies, and comparing past ways of life to their own.

Students in Years 1 (Unit 1.3), 2 (Unit 2.3) and 3 (Unit 3.3) are undertaking the Timeline Activity this week. This activity is designed to complement the concept of the number line from the Mathematics curriculum, whilst helping students to learn to visualise the abstract concepts of the past and different lengths of time between historical events and the present. In this activity students walk out a timeline, preferably across a large open space such as the school Oval, whilst attaching pieces of paper at intervals to a string. The pieces of paper refer to specific events in history (starting with their own birth years) and cover a wide range of events from the material covered this year. Teachers can choose from events in Australian and world history, covering 100s, 1000s and even millions of years, back to the dinosaurs. Teachers can also add their own events. Thus the details of the activity are able to be altered in different years to maintain student interest. Depending on the class, the issue of scale can be addressed in various ways. By physically moving their bodies, students will start to understand the lengths of time involved in examinations of History. This activity is repeated in increasing detail in higher years, to make sure that the fundamental concepts are absorbed by students over time.

Years 3 to 6

Students in Years 3 to 6 are starting their term research projects on Australian history this week. Students in Year 3 (Unit 3.7) concentrate on topics from the history of their capital city or local community. Suggested topics are included for Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin, Hobart, Perth and Canberra. Teachers can substitute their own topics for a local community study. Students will undertake a Scientific Investigation into an aspect of their chosen research project and will produce a Scientific Report. It is recommended that teachers supplement the resources provided with old photographs, books, newspapers etc, many of which can be accessed online, to provide the students with extra material for their investigation.

Students in Year 4 (Unit 4.3) will be focusing on Australia in the period up to and including the arrival of the First Fleet and the early colonial period. OpenSTEM’s Understanding Our World® program encompasses the whole Australian curriculum for HASS and thus does not simply rely on “flogging the First Fleet to death”! There are 7 research themes for Year 4 students: “Australia Before 1788”; “The First Fleet”; “Convicts and Settlers”; “Aboriginal People in Colonial Australia”; “Australia and Other Nations in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries”; “Colonial Children”; “Colonial Animals and their Impact”. These themes are allocated to groups of students and each student chooses an individual research topic within their groups themes. Suggested topics are given in the Teacher Handbook, as well as suggested resources.

Year 5 (Unit 5.3) students focus on the colonial period in Australia. There are 9 research themes for Year 5 students. These are: “The First Fleet”; “Convicts and Settlers”; “The 6 Colonies”; “Aboriginal People in Colonial Australia”; “Resistance to Colonial Authorities”; “Sugar in Queensland”; “Colonial Children”; “Colonial Explorers” and “Colonial Animals and their Impact”. As well as themes unique to Year 5, some overlap is provided to facilitate teaching in multi-year classes. The range of themes also allows for the possibility of teachers choosing different themes in different years. Once again individual topics and resources are suggested in the Teacher Handbook.

Year 6 (Unit 6.3) students will examine research themes around Federation and the early 20th century. There are 8 research themes for Year 6 students: “Federation and Sport”; “Women’s Suffrage”; “Aboriginal Rights in Australia”; “Henry Parkes and Federation”; “Edmund Barton and Federation”; “Federation and the Boer War”; “Samuel Griffith and the Constitution”; “Children in Australian History”. Individual research topics and resources are suggested in the Teachers Handbook. It is expected that students in Year 6 will be able to research largely independently, with weekly guidance from their teacher. OpenSTEM’s Understanding Our World® program is aimed at developing research skills in students progressively, especially over the upper primary years. If the program is followed throughout the primary years, students are well prepared for high school by the end of Year 6, having practised individual research skills for several years.

This Week in HASS – term 2, week 9

The OpenSTEM® Understanding Our World® units have only 9 weeks per term, so this is the last week! Our youngest students are looking at some Aboriginal Places; slightly older older students are thinking about what their school and local area were like when their parents and grandparents were children; and students in years 3 to 6 are completing their presentations and anything else that might be outstanding from the term.

Foundation/Prep/Kindy

Students in the stand-alone Foundation/Prep/Kindy class (Unit F.2) examine Aboriginal Places this week. Students examine which places are special to Aboriginal people, and how these places should be cared for by Aboriginal people and the broader community. Several of the Australian places in the Aunt Madge’s Suitcase Activity can be used to support this discussion in the classroom. Students in an integrated Foundation/Prep/Kindy and Year 1 class (Unit F.6), as well as Year 1 (Unit 1.2), 2 (Unit 2.2) and 3 (Unit 3.2) students consider life in the times of their parents and grandparents, with specific reference to their school, or the local area studied during this unit. Teachers may wish to invite older members of the community (including interested parents and/or grandparents) in to the class to describe their memories of the area in former years. Were any of them past students of the school? This is a great opportunity for students to come up with their own questions about life in past times.

Years 3 to 6

Students in Year 3 (Unit 3.6), 4 (Unit 4.2), 5 (Unit 5.2) and 6 (Unit 6.2) are finishing off their presentations and any outstanding work this week. Sometimes the middle of term can be very rushed and so it’s always good to have some breathing space at the end to catch up on anything that might have been squeezed out before. For those classes where everyone is up-to-date and looking for extra activities, the Aunt Madge’s Suitcase Activity is always popular with students and can be used to support their learning. Teachers may wish to select a range of destinations appropriate to the work covered during the term and encourage students to think about how those destinations relate to the material covered in class. Destinations may be selected by continent or theme – e.g. natural places or historical sites. A further advantage of Aunt Madge is that the activity can be tailored to fit the available time – from 5 or 10 minutes for a single destination, to 45 minutes or more for a full selection; and played in groups, or as a whole class, allowing some students to undertake the activity while other students may be catching up on other work. Students may also wish to revisit aspects of the Ancient Sailing Ships Activity and expand on their investigations.

Although this is the last week of this term’s units, we will have some more suggestions for extra activities next week – particularly those that keep the students busy while teachers attend to marking or compiling of reports.