HASS · Year 1 · Family History and Traditions · Term 1

Origins of Family Migration

Students investigate where their families originated and the reasons for their journeys to Australia or other locations.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS1K01
• AC9HASS1K05

About This Topic

Origins of Family Migration guides Year 1 students to explore the places their families came from and the reasons for their journeys to Australia or other locations. Children investigate pushes like hardship or conflict and pulls such as better opportunities or family ties. They contrast this with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' continuous belonging to Country for over 60,000 years, addressing key questions about movement choices, enduring connections, and the mixed emotions of relocation.

This topic supports AC9HASS1K01 by developing knowledge of personal and family histories and AC9HASS1K05 through understanding places and connections to them. Students build empathy by considering diverse perspectives, practice expressing feelings, and recognize Australia's multicultural fabric. Simple tools like timelines and maps make these ideas accessible at this age.

Active learning benefits this topic most because it centers children's own stories. When students interview family members, share artefacts in circles, or role-play packing for a journey, they gain ownership of concepts. These approaches turn abstract migration into personal narratives, strengthen class bonds, and encourage respectful listening to varied experiences.

Key Questions

1. Why might a family choose to move to a new place to live?
2. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived in Australia for over 60,000 years. What does it mean to have always belonged to a place?
3. How might it feel to move to a new country? What might be exciting and what might be hard?

Learning Objectives

• Identify the continent or country of origin for at least two family members.
• Explain one reason why a family might have moved to Australia or another location.
• Compare the concept of 'always belonging' to Country for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with the experience of moving to a new place.
• Describe one exciting aspect and one challenging aspect of moving to a new country from a personal or imagined perspective.

Before You Start

My Family and Community

Why: Students need a basic understanding of their immediate family and community to begin exploring broader family histories.

Living in Australia

Why: Students require foundational knowledge about Australia as a place to understand the concept of moving to Australia.

Key Vocabulary

Origin	The place where a person or their family first came from. It is the starting point of a journey.
Migration	The movement of people from one country or region to another. This can be for many different reasons.
Push factors	Reasons that make people want to leave their home country, such as war, poverty, or lack of jobs.
Pull factors	Reasons that attract people to a new country, such as job opportunities, safety, or family already living there.
Country (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander context)	The land, waters, and all things within it that are sacred and connected to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' identity and spirituality. It means belonging to the land.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Everyone in Australia migrated from somewhere else recently.

What to Teach Instead

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived on Country for over 60,000 years. Guest speakers or story circles with Indigenous perspectives help students distinguish continuous belonging from migration stories and value diverse histories.

Common Misconception

Families only move for happy reasons like holidays.

What to Teach Instead

Moves often involve challenges like leaving friends or facing unknowns. Role-play activities let students explore mixed emotions through play, adjusting their views based on peers' shared family insights.

Common Misconception

All families have the same migration story.

What to Teach Instead

Stories vary by culture, time, and reasons. Collaborative mapping reveals diversity, prompting discussions where students compare paths and appreciate unique journeys.

Active Learning Ideas

Sharing Circle: Family Origins

Form a circle for students to pass a talking stick and share one fact about where their family came from or why they moved. Model respectful listening first. Follow with a class chart of shared stories.

25 min·Whole Class

Migration Mapping: Draw Journeys

Provide maps of Australia and the world. Students draw or sticker their family's path to current home, labeling reasons. Pairs compare maps and note similarities. Display on a class mural.

40 min·Pairs

Role Play: New Home Adventure

In small groups, students pack bags with toy items for a move, act out travel challenges and arrivals. Rotate roles. Debrief feelings of excitement and worry.

30 min·Small Groups

Artefact Show-and-Tell: Family Treasures

Students bring or draw a family item linked to origins. Present to small groups, explaining its story. Groups vote on most interesting to share class-wide.

35 min·Small Groups

Real-World Connections

• Museums like the Immigration Museum in Melbourne display artefacts and stories from people who have migrated to Australia, showing items families brought with them on their journeys.
• Travel agents and airline companies facilitate journeys for people moving between countries, helping them plan flights and understand travel requirements.
• Librarians in local community libraries often have books and resources about family history research and the experiences of different cultural groups in Australia.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Ask students to draw a picture of their family's country of origin on one side of a paper and a reason for moving on the other. They can verbally explain their drawing to the teacher or a peer.

Discussion Prompt

Facilitate a class circle where students share one thing they learned about why families move. Prompt with: 'What is one thing that might make a family want to leave their home?' and 'What is one thing that might make them excited about a new place?'

Exit Ticket

Provide students with a simple worksheet. Ask them to write or draw the name of the place their family came from and one word describing how they might feel if they had to move to a new country.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to sensitively include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives?

Start with respectful resources like picture books on Country connections or local Elder stories if appropriate. Invite students to draw their special places. Emphasize listening without comparison to migrations. This builds cultural respect and meets curriculum expectations for continuous histories.

What if a student does not know their family history?

Provide options like imagining a story based on class examples or researching a book character's journey. Pair with a buddy for support. Focus assessment on participation and listening, ensuring every child contributes through drawing or simple retells.

How can active learning help students grasp family migration?

Activities like role-playing moves or mapping journeys make concepts concrete and personal. Students physically pack bags or trace paths, linking emotions to actions. Group sharing builds empathy as they hear real stories, turning passive facts into memorable understanding.

How to differentiate for diverse classroom needs?

Offer visual maps for drawers, sentence starters for sharers, or quiet reflection journals for shy students. Extend for some with family interviews at home. Use peer buddies to support EAL learners, keeping all engaged in core ideas of reasons and feelings.