Humanities and social sciences / Year 4 / Inquiry and skills / Researching

Curriculum content descriptions

Locate and collect information and data from different sources, including observations (ACHASSI074)

Elaborations
  • identifying the types of sources suited to historical, geographical, civic and cultural inquiry and discussing why suitable sources might be different
  • identifying sources for a historical study, such as sites, paintings (or their representations), maps, written records/accounts, database information, traditional ballads and stories
  • brainstorming ways that information might be collected for an inquiry (for example, surveys, interviews, tallying) and choosing, with teacher guidance, the most effective sources of data (for example, the internet, thematic maps, photographs, satellite imagery, field data collection)
  • using Google Earth or similar applications to collect geographical information (for example, the extent of vegetation in an area, or to explore settlement along a major river valley in Africa or South America, from its source to the sea)
  • exploring stories about the groups people belong to, for example, about cultural groups (such as groups that value Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or Asian heritage), from interest and community groups (such as recreational and volunteering organisations) and from gender or religious groups
  • acquiring geographical information about environments and resources from a range of sources, such as a knowledgeable Aboriginal community member or from schools in contrasting parts of Australia and/or other countries in the Southern Hemisphere
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Numeracy Numeracy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Data collection,  Human settlements,  Geographic location

Online

Local seasons: exploring First Nations weather knowledge

First Nations peoples across Australia have a detailed understanding of their environment, passing it down from generation to generation. They observe their environment closely, and use this knowledge to understand the changes in plants, animals and climate. Changes in the environment indicates what to eat, when to eat ...

Interactive

Thermal comfort – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This thermal comfort learning resource will guide students through an extended school based investigation. Students will develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and reflect on their success and their learning.

Interactive

Sustainable transport – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This sustainable transport learning resource will guide students through an extended school based investigation. Students will develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and reflect on their success and their learning.

Interactive

Waste and materials – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This resource guides students through an extended school-based or local investigation focussed on waste and materials using the five-step sustainability action process. The resource supports the investigation of a real-world issue or problem. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate ...

Interactive

Kitchen gardens – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This resource guides students through an extended school-based or local investigation focussed on kitchen gardens using the five-step sustainability action process. The resource supports the investigation of a real-world issue or problem. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and ...

Interactive

Biodiversity – sustainability action process (Years 3–6)

This biodiversity learning resource guides students through an extended school based investigation. Students develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and reflect on their success and their learning.

Assessment

Year 4 history assessment - First contacts: A First Fleet story

This is an assessment package that uses the Year 4 Australian Curriculum history achievement standard to gather evidence about how well students have demonstrated what they know, what they understand and what they can do in relation to the topic 'First Contacts'. Students use historical sources to research the life of an ...

Online

Design a quiz - Convicts: crime and punishment

Students design and create a simple game/quiz to demonstrate convict crimes and punishments.

Text

Making Maps

In this teaching activity, students explore cartography and the role of a cartographer. They will analyse map features and discuss how maps have changed over time. Then they’ll create a papier-mâché map representing a route from one destination to another.

Text

Work sample Year 4 HASS F-6: Environments and sustainability

This work sample demonstrates evidence of student learning in relation to aspects of the achievement standards for Year 4 HASS F-6. The primary purpose for the work sample is to demonstrate the standard, so the focus is on what is evident in the sample not how it was created. The sample is an authentic representation of ...

Downloadable

School water use audit (Year 4)

In this activity, students identify the water use areas in the school and the water use items found in those areas. On the ‘Water walk’, students also identify any leaking water use items. They assess how water savings can be made in each of these areas.

Text

Dirk Hartog 1616 – 2016: A Resource for Year 3 and 4 History Teaching

This resource uses the story of Dirk Hartog, in the context of the Dutch East India Company and journeys to the Spice Islands, to develop historical inquiry skills as well as sequencing and use of historical terms. A shorter resource has also been included to support Year 3 teachers to explore the significance of Hartog's ...

Text

Victorian Heritage Database

This is a rich, interactive resource that lists Victoria’s most significant heritage: places, objects, shipwrecks and archaeological sites. It has four main sections: Introduction; Explore heritage map; Recommended tours; and Timeline browser. The Explore heritage map searches for sites and provides information and images ...

Online

Royal Australian Mint: units of work

This suite of teaching and learning units of work related to Australian currencies for middle and upper primary students. The units explore the role coins play in commemoration and the history of Australian currency from colonial times to post Federation. Lessons are supplemented with a range of cross-curriculum lesson ideas.

Interactive

Rainforest: make a walking track

Mark the route for a walking track on a map of a rainforest. Choose a section of track based on instructions about distances, compass directions and grid references. Keep adding sections of track to get to the rest house. As you go, look up the meaning of tricky words.

Interactive

Gold rush: level 1

Dig for gold on the Ballarat goldfields in 1865. Try your luck at alluvial or shaft mining. Buy a miner's permit, tools and enough supplies to last a month. Discover how hard life was on the goldfields. Explore a map showing the countries migrants left to join the gold rush in Australia. Find out which towns developed due ...

Video

Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub: Australian disasters

This is a curated collection of articles, photographs and internet links related to natural, technological and human-caused events including bushfires, cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes, shipwrecks, urban fires, chemical and industrial events in Australia. Events included have posed a serious threat to a community or property ...

Video

Discovering past methods of food and fibre production: producer video

This is a video about the native food plants of the Mount Gambier region in South Australia and how they were used by the local Buandig Aboriginal people. It is introduced by ethnobotanist and author Neville Bonney who shows a wide range of local plants, often giving their names in Bungandidj language. The plants include ...

Online

Digital Stories of the Land

This is website that presents a collection of digital stories about the connection people have with their surroundings, in particular the land. The resource has three sections: Introductory information; Story Objects; and Story Education Resources. There are 11 Story Objects, all videos that present personal stories of ...

Video

Farms and people’s connections to them: producer video

This is a video about the operation of the Outback Pride project and the value of the Australian native food produced in conjunction with Aboriginal peoples. To a visual background of the nursery at Reedy Creek in South Australia and some of 25 Aboriginal communities involved in the project in SA and Northern Territory, ...