HASS · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Features of Our Local Area

Active learning turns a familiar walk into a purposeful investigation. When students move through their neighborhood, they connect abstract concepts to concrete experiences, making natural and built features meaningful. This hands-on approach builds spatial awareness and community attachment, which are central to HASS inquiry in Year 1.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS1K04

• 20–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 45 min · Whole Class

Neighbourhood Walk: Feature Hunt

Lead a supervised walk around the school or nearby streets. Provide clipboards and checklists for students to mark natural features like grass or birds and built ones like fences or signs. Back in class, sort collected items or drawings into categories on a large chart.

What things in our local area were made by nature? What things were made by people?

Facilitation Tip

Before the Neighbourhood Walk, give each student a small clipboard with a simple two-column table for recording features and a starter list of examples.

What to look for

Provide students with a worksheet containing pictures of various local features. Ask them to circle the natural features and draw a square around the built features. Review responses together as a class.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Stations Rotation
• 30 min · Pairs

Mapping Pairs: My Local Area

In pairs, students draw simple maps of their street or school using paper and crayons, labeling natural and built features. Discuss what makes places special, then share maps in a class gallery walk. Extend by adding symbols for important community spots.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the Traditional Custodians of this land. What do you think it means to be a custodian of a place?

Facilitation Tip

During Mapping Pairs, model how to use directional words like ‘next to’ and ‘between’ when describing locations on their maps.

What to look for

Ask students: 'Imagine you are a custodian of our school grounds. What are two things you would do to look after it?' Record student responses on a chart labeled 'Our School Custodianship'.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Stations Rotation
• 25 min · Small Groups

Custodian Role-Play: Small Group Scenarios

Groups act out caring for a local feature, such as picking up litter near a tree or respecting a park sign. Rotate roles and reflect on what custodians do. Connect to Traditional Custodians through shared stories or guest speaker input.

What are the important places in our community? What makes them special to the people who live here?

Facilitation Tip

In Custodian Role-Play, provide role cards with clear responsibilities so students focus on care actions rather than acting out characters.

What to look for

Give each student a small card. Ask them to draw one natural feature and one built feature they saw on a recent walk. On the back, they should write one sentence about why a place in our community is special.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Stations Rotation
• 20 min · Individual

Photo Sort: Individual Digital Hunt

Students use school devices or printed photos of local areas to sort images into natural, built, or both categories. Add sticky notes explaining why, then compile into a class digital book.

What things in our local area were made by nature? What things were made by people?

Facilitation Tip

During the Photo Sort, circulate with a checklist to note which students are sorting quickly and which need support with identifying elements.

What to look for

Provide students with a worksheet containing pictures of various local features. Ask them to circle the natural features and draw a square around the built features. Review responses together as a class.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers know that young learners grasp spatial concepts through movement and repetition. Avoid static worksheets at this stage; instead, use real-world examples to anchor vocabulary. Research shows that when students physically observe and categorize, their memory and reasoning improve. Keep language simple but precise, and model curiosity by asking, ‘How do you know this is natural?’ or ‘Who might use this path?’

Successful learning looks like students confidently distinguishing natural from built features with evidence. They should explain why a place is special using both observation and connection to community life. Group discussions should show growing respect for custodianship roles.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Neighbourhood Walk, watch for students labeling a park as ‘all natural’ when they see only grass and trees.

  Prompt students to look closely for paths, bins, or fences. Ask, ‘What else do you see that isn’t a tree or rock?’ Encourage them to add these to their feature lists as hybrids.

• During Mapping Pairs, watch for students drawing paths that appear to float over the landscape without affecting trees or soil.

  Have students trace their path on the map with a colored pencil and then draw small symbols showing changes they noticed, such as worn grass or new plants near the path edge.

• During Custodian Role-Play, watch for students acting as ‘owners’ who control access to the playground.

  Guide them to use language like ‘take care of’ and ‘share with others.’ Use a sentence frame: ‘I will look after the ____ by ____ so that everyone can enjoy it.’

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Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation