HASS · Year 1 · The Way We Were · Term 2

Food and Cooking in the Past

Students learn about the types of food people ate and how it was prepared before modern refrigeration and cooking appliances.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS1K03

About This Topic

In this topic, students examine how people sourced, prepared, and preserved food before supermarkets, stoves, and refrigerators existed. They learn about gathering wild plants and fruits, hunting or raising animals for meat, and farming crops close to home. Cooking happened over open fires, in clay ovens, or stone hearths, while preservation methods included drying, salting, smoking, and pickling to keep food safe through seasons.

This content aligns with AC9HASS1K03 by helping students compare past and present family life, fostering an understanding of historical change. Through stories and images from Australian history, such as Indigenous practices or early settler meals, children connect personal experiences with food to broader timelines. This builds skills in sequencing events and recognising continuity and change.

Active learning suits this topic well. When students handle safe replicas of past tools, taste preserved foods like dried fruits, or act out cooking scenes, they grasp abstract concepts through senses and movement. These experiences make history vivid and relevant, encouraging curiosity about how innovations improved daily life.

Key Questions

1. How did people cook food before there were stoves and microwaves?
2. How did people get their food before there were supermarkets?
3. How did people keep food fresh before there were refrigerators?

Learning Objectives

• Compare methods of food preservation used in the past with modern methods.
• Explain how cooking methods have changed from open fires to modern appliances.
• Identify different sources of food available to people before the existence of supermarkets.
• Describe how food was stored and kept fresh before refrigeration.

Before You Start

Needs of Living Things

Why: Students need to understand that humans need food to survive, which is the fundamental basis for studying food in the past.

Materials and Their Properties

Why: Understanding basic properties of materials like wood, metal, and earth helps students comprehend how past tools and storage methods were constructed and functioned.

Key Vocabulary

Preservation	Methods used to keep food from spoiling, such as drying, salting, or smoking.
Open fire cooking	Preparing food by cooking it directly over flames or hot coals, common before stoves were invented.
Foraging	Searching for and gathering wild food resources like plants, fruits, and nuts.
Root cellar	A cool, underground storage space used to keep root vegetables and other produce fresh for long periods.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

People in the past ate boring or little food.

What to Teach Instead

Past diets varied by season and place, with rich foods like roasted meats and fresh berries. Hands-on tasting of preserved items and role-plays of feasts help students see abundance and diversity through sensory engagement.

Common Misconception

All food spoiled quickly without fridges.

What to Teach Instead

People used salting, drying, and cool storage effectively. Group experiments with safe preservation let students test methods, observe results, and discuss reliability, correcting ideas through evidence.

Common Misconception

Cooking was always the same everywhere.

What to Teach Instead

Methods differed by culture and region, like Indigenous ground ovens versus settler pots. Comparing artefacts in stations builds accurate views via exploration and peer talk.

Active Learning Ideas

Role-Play: Past Market Stall

Students work in pairs to set up stalls with pictures of past foods like bush tucker or farm produce. They role-play trading with classmates using play money or shells, then discuss how this differs from supermarket shopping. End with a class share of favourite past foods.

30 min·Pairs

Demonstration: Fireless Cooking

Demonstrate safe cooking methods using solar ovens made from boxes and foil, or stone boiling with hot water and pebbles in bowls. Students observe and draw steps, then try making damper dough. Compare to microwave use at home.

45 min·Whole Class

Experiment: Food Preservation

In small groups, students salt cucumber slices, dry apple rings in sun, and observe over days. Record changes in journals with drawings. Discuss why these methods worked before fridges.

40 min·Small Groups

Timeline Challenge: Food Journey

Individually, students draw a personal timeline of a meal from farm to table today, then add past versions. Share in pairs to sequence class timelines on a wall.

25 min·Individual

Real-World Connections

• Farmers' markets today allow people to buy fresh produce directly from growers, similar to how people obtained food before large supermarkets existed.
• Heritage festivals often feature demonstrations of traditional cooking methods, such as baking in a camp oven or cooking over a spit, giving a glimpse into past culinary practices.
• Specialty food stores may sell preserved goods like smoked fish or pickled vegetables, using techniques that have been used for centuries to extend food life.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Show students pictures of different food preparation tools from the past (e.g., a mortar and pestle, a cast iron pot) and present-day tools (e.g., a blender, a microwave). Ask students to sort the pictures into 'Past' and 'Present' categories and explain their reasoning for one item.

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'Imagine you need to store apples for the winter without a refrigerator. What are two ways people in the past might have done this?' Encourage students to recall and share methods like drying or storing in a cool place.

Exit Ticket

Give each student a card with a picture of a food item (e.g., a piece of fruit, a piece of meat). Ask them to write down one way people in the past might have cooked or preserved this food item before modern appliances.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I introduce food sourcing before supermarkets?

Start with class discussions on today's shopping trips, then show images of past hunting, gathering, and markets. Use stories from Australian history, like Dreamtime food quests or pioneer farms. Follow with sorting activities where students match foods to sources, reinforcing key questions through visual and tactile means.

What safe ways to demonstrate past cooking?

Use child-safe methods like solar box ovens for biscuits or no-cook damper mixing. Supervise closely with blunt tools for pretend stirring over 'fires' made from paper flames. These build skills while linking to standards, with drawings capturing steps for reflection.

How does active learning benefit this history topic?

Active approaches like role-playing markets or experimenting with preservation make the past concrete and exciting for Year 1 students. Sensory experiences, such as smelling dried herbs or kneading dough, help overcome abstract timelines. Collaborative tasks foster discussions that reveal changes over time, deepening curriculum connections and retention.

How to connect to Australian contexts?

Incorporate Indigenous perspectives on bush tucker preparation and early colonial foods. Invite guest speakers or use ACARA resources for authenticity. Activities like mapping local traditional foods tie personal places to history, supporting inclusive learning for diverse classrooms.