HASS · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Homes and Housing Over Time

Active learning builds deep understanding when students handle real materials and build artifacts. For this topic, touching wattle sticks, arranging photos in timelines, and constructing models makes abstract ideas about change tangible. Students remember how materials and designs met needs when they manipulate them directly.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS1K03

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 30 min · Pairs

Gallery Walk: Past and Present Homes

Display labelled photos of Australian homes from the past (e.g., slab huts) and today around the room. Pairs walk the gallery, noting three differences in materials or features on sticky notes. Regroup to share findings on a class chart.

How are homes today different from homes that people lived in long ago?

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, position images at student eye level so learners can study details without straining or crowding.

What to look for

Provide students with pictures of different types of homes (e.g., a bark hut, a wattle and daub cottage, a modern brick house). Ask them to sort the pictures into 'Homes from Long Ago' and 'Homes Today' and explain one reason for their choice for each category.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 45 min · Small Groups

Model Building: Timeline Homes

Provide recyclables like cardboard, sticks, and fabric. Small groups build one past home and one modern home, labelling materials used. Groups present models on a shared timeline string across the classroom.

What materials did people use to build their homes in the past?

Facilitation Tip

When students build timeline homes, circulate with a checklist to note who needs support with sequencing or material choices.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If you were building a home in Australia 100 years ago, what materials would you use and why?' Encourage students to refer to the vocabulary and concepts learned about historical building practices and available resources.

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

Activity 03

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 35 min · Individual

Design Challenge: Future Homes

Individuals sketch a home for 2050, including one new material or amenity. Pairs swap sketches to add ideas, then share with the class via a 'future gallery' vote on favourites.

What do you think homes might look like in the future?

Facilitation Tip

For the Design Challenge, provide a clear rubric on the board so students self-assess as they work.

What to look for

Ask students to draw one feature of a home from long ago and one feature of a home today. Underneath each drawing, they should write one word describing the difference (e.g., 'simple' vs. 'modern', 'natural' vs. 'manufactured').

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

Activity 04

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 25 min · Whole Class

Story Circle: Family Homes

Sit in a whole-class circle. Each student shares one detail about their home or a grandparent's home. Teacher records key changes on a visual web to spark discussion on patterns over time.

How are homes today different from homes that people lived in long ago?

Facilitation Tip

In Story Circle, sit in the circle with students to model active listening and prompt shy speakers with specific follow-up questions.

What to look for

Provide students with pictures of different types of homes (e.g., a bark hut, a wattle and daub cottage, a modern brick house). Ask them to sort the pictures into 'Homes from Long Ago' and 'Homes Today' and explain one reason for their choice for each category.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with what students know by having them sketch a home they live in now before introducing past homes. Use contrasting examples—like a bark hut next to a brick house—to make change visible. Avoid overgeneralizing; instead, highlight regional variety and adaptation to climate. Research shows that when students physically manipulate objects, their recall of historical details improves by up to 40% compared to passive viewing.

Students will confidently explain how homes today differ from those long ago, justify their choices with evidence, and articulate how future designs build on current trends. They will use historical vocabulary accurately and compare materials and amenities across time periods.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Gallery Walk Past and Present Homes, students may assume all past homes were uncomfortable and lacked amenities.

  During Gallery Walk Past and Present Homes, direct students to compare features like fireplaces, shutters, and roof shapes. Ask them to note one comfort or practical feature in each past home they see, then discuss why these features met the needs of the time.

• During Model Building Timeline Homes, students may believe housing changed very little over centuries.

  During Model Building Timeline Homes, provide a set of photos showing clear progressions, such as thatched roofs to corrugated iron to tiled roofs. Ask students to arrange models in order and explain one key change between each pair to reinforce the idea of continuous evolution.

• During Design Challenge Future Homes, students may imagine fantastical, unrealistic future homes.

  During Design Challenge Future Homes, provide examples of current trends, such as solar panels or recycled materials, and ask students to build one realistic feature into their model. Use peer feedback to redirect ideas toward plausible innovations rather than fantasy.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Inside-Outside Circle