HASS F-6 / Year 4 / Skills / Questioning and researching

Curriculum content descriptions

develop questions to guide investigations about people, events, places and issues (AC9HS4S01)

Elaborations
  • asking questions before, during and after an investigation using tools such as a KWL chart (what they know, what they want to know and what they have learned) and five W’s + H (who, what, when, where, why and how)
  • developing “How do we know?” questions for evidence; “How are these ideas connected to each other? What is similar/different about what you have found out?” questions about comparisons; “What could be done?” questions about alternatives; “Is that right or fair?” questions about decisions in the past and present; “How did/do certain groups respond/act when…?” questions about diverse groups; “What rules apply when…? Who was/is involved…?” questions about rules and citizenship
  • discussing how an investigation about the past, such as through a museum display, video or interactive website, is guided by questions at different stages, including “Why is that important now?”
  • developing questions that address the disciplinary concepts; for example, “What was the cause…?”, “Why was this event significant?”, “How did daily life change?”, “What are the characteristics of this place?”, “How can we manage resources sustainably?”, “What rules are used by different groups I belong to?” and “What laws protect our local environment?”
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Literacy Literacy
ScOT terms

Inquiry-based learning,  Historical inquiry,  Research questions

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.

Downloadable

Moving a town

This is an illustrated retelling of the engineering decisions made to relocate a town from low to high ground following a dangerous flooding event. Based on a real-life event, the story shows the creativity, innovation and collaboration required to manage the process and focuses on the value engineers brings to the local ...