Humanities and social sciences / Year 2 / Inquiry and skills / Questioning

Curriculum content descriptions

Pose questions about past and present objects, people, places and events (ACHASSI034)

Elaborations
  • developing how, when, where, why questions at the start of and during an investigation and then revisiting the questions to check if they have been answered
  • developing inquiry questions about a historical site (for example, ‘What does it look like now?’, ‘What condition is it in?’, ‘What was its purpose?’, ‘How might its use have changed?’, ‘How was it built/created?’, ‘Who built it?’, ‘How is it now used?’, ‘Why is it important?’)
  • developing inquiry questions about places (for example, ‘What are the features of the place?’, ‘How far away is it?’, ‘How easy is it to get to?’, ‘How am I connected to it?’)
  • posing questions using the stems, ‘How do I feel about …’, ’What would it be like to …’ and ‘What effect …’
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Artefacts,  Geographic location

Assessment

Year 2 history assessment - Investigating changes in technology: The past in the present

This is an assessment package that uses the Year 2 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 'The Past in the Present'. Children compare sources from the past and the present ...

Interactive

Meeting at Kamay

This resource explores the perspectives of the Aboriginal people of Kamay Botany Bay and the men aboard the HMB Endeavour upon their meeting in 1770. It aims to help students understand the history of Australia's Aboriginal peoples and why stories of the past are important to all of us. This resource is one part of the ...

Video

This Day Tonight: Playgrounds, billycarts and hot rods

Discover what school holidays were like for children in the past. In this black-and-white clip, a reporter asks some school children how they feel about holidays. Find out what kinds of things children did on their holidays when your parents and grandparents were your age.

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Past, present and future on the farm

In this resource, students learn about technologies that have changed over time and how these changes have helped farmers. Students will have the opportunity to consider how their own school-based technology might solve a problem. This lesson is part of a sequence of lessons that can be used with this age-group of students. ...

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Make a Museum of Memory and Myth

This lesson plan is inspired by the People's Museum of Memory and Myth made in 2017. The work was created by artist in residence Hans K Clausen with the support of the local community. The curated collection of objects are displayed in glass fronted boxes and evoke memories of childhood. You can replicate the process the ...

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Little history: Toys and games

This unit of work uses toys and games to provide opportunities for students to explore concepts of change and continuity by making comparisons of the toys children have played with over time. Structured around a series of inquiry questions students can use images from the museum collection to create a timeline of toys. ...

Online

Yulunga: kandomarngutta

In some parts of Australia children were allowed to use the bullroarer (whirlers), or small versions of it, as a source of amusement. In other areas the bullroarer had a special significance and was not used as a ‘toy’. In parts of Victoria a bullroarer called the kandomarngutta was used. This was a thin piece of wood, ...

Online

Whose Country: exploring First Nations peoples languages map (7-13yrs)

Learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages can help children build their understanding of land, water and people. This activity helps to assist the identification of the language group/s on which the school, youth group or home is situated. To understand local perspectives and support these activities, ...

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Work sample Year 2 HASS F-6: Then and now

This work sample demonstrates evidence of student learning in relation to aspects of the achievement standards for Year 2 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 ...

Image

Cornish family at Dromana beach with parasols, 1927

This is a black-and-white photograph featuring the Cornish family at the beach in Dromana in 1927. The nine adults and nine children in this group are dressed in bathing costumes, and many wear bathing caps. Three large parasols (light sun umbrellas) are being held by women at the back of the group. A long pier is visible ...

Online

How times change

This resource is a website supporting teachers and students of the Australian Curriculum: History in Year 1. Includes teacher support, curriculum connections and ready-to-use digital resources about the present, past and future and about differences between their own lives and those of people in the past.

Video

Chequerboard: Twinkle, twinkle, little ducks

A class of children join in a singing lesson on their first day of school in 1974. Watch and see how school has changed, and stayed the same, over time.

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 ...

Interactive

How does your garden grow?

This Stage 2 resource grew from a conversation between young students questioning why they could still buy grapes if they were out of season. This wondering led to a discussion around when we grow certain fruit and vegetables. The original stimulus was extended to cover planting for the seasons and factors that influence ...

Video

Say hello in Dharug

Watch this video to learn how to greet someone in the Dharug language, spoken by the Indigenous people of the Sydney Basin area. How do you say 'hello, how are you?' in Dharug? And what are the words for good and bad? Practise these phrases with Jacinta Tobin and then teach them to a friend or family member.

Video

Virtual reality and the stereoscope

Do you know what virtual reality (VR) is? VR is something you can experience if you put on a VR headset. The headset lets you see and hear things that make you feel like you're in a completely different place. Perhaps you've seen people using VR headsets or even tried one out yourself. In this video, Margot shows us an ...

Video

What is a meat safe?

Before fridges were invented, people used meat safes to keep their food cool. But what is a meat safe? Watch this clip to find out! What was the meat safe made out of? How was it designed to keep bugs out? And how did the meat safe actually keep food cool? Think about the way we keep food cool today. How do the fridges ...

Online

Features of places - Beaches

In this sequence of 6 activities, students explore the natural and human features of beaches and develop an understanding of the way coastal areas are used for leisure, recreation and sport.

Online

We Remember Anzac: primary resource

Developed to commemorate the centenary of Anzac, this book provides an an Order of Service and step-by-step instructions to assist teachers and community groups to organise a respectful commemorative event. A series of four inquiry-based investigation supported by primary and secondary source material support students to ...

Interactive

Environmental and Zoo Education Centres – primary school resources

A collection of digital resources for primary school teachers and students to support teaching and learning from home, with a particular focus on geography, science and history. The resources were developed by Department of Education teachers from 25 Environmental and Zoo Education Centres in NSW and include Google Sites, ...