Australian History Lessons for Year 1 Students

Posted May 2018

We’ve made planning your Australian history lessons easy with our rich online resources for Year 1 students. The Australian History Mysteries primary website includes a range of interactive case studies that have been designed specifically around the Australian Curriculum: history as outlined below:

Concepts for developing understanding

The content in the history sub-strand provides opportunities for students to develop historical understanding through key concepts including continuity and change, perspectives, empathy and significance. The content for this year focuses on similarities and differences in family life over recent time (continuity and change, perspectives) and how people may have lived differently in the past (empathy). Students’ understanding is further developed as they consider dates and changes that have personal significance (significance). As students continue to explore the past and the present, they begin to speculate about the future (continuity and change).

Inquiry Questions

  • 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? (ACHASSK028 – Scootle )

The Australian History Mysteries case studies include myriad simple lessons/activities suitable for a variety of learning abilities.

You simply need to introduce the lesson/activities to your students, encourage them to tackle the group or individual tasks and assess their progress.

Year 1 Case Studies focus on Present and Past Family Life as set out in the national curriculum. Specific activities/lessons include:

  1. Finding a time capsule
  2. Investigating an old community
  3. A song about the past
  4. Investigating a modern community
  5. Grouping old and modern photographs
  6. The future
  7. Understanding time
  8. Time quiz
  9. Interview a grand parent
  10. My family tree