HASS · Year 1

Active learning ideas

School Life Through Time

Active learning works best for this topic because children connect emotionally when they see, touch, and act out differences between past and present schools. Comparing real artifacts and routines helps young learners grasp abstract ideas of change and continuity through concrete experiences.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS1K03

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 30 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Past vs Present Schools

Display images of historical and modern classrooms around the room. In small groups, students visit each station, record one similarity and one difference on sticky notes, then place notes on a class chart. Conclude with a whole-class share-out of patterns noticed.

How is our classroom today different from classrooms that children sat in long ago?

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, place images at child height and provide a simple checklist so students can mark what surprises them most about each school setting.

What to look for

Provide students with a set of picture cards showing historical school items (e.g., slate, inkwell, quill pen) and modern school items (e.g., tablet, whiteboard, laptop). Ask students to sort the cards into two piles: 'Then' and 'Now'. Discuss their choices as a class.

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

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 45 min · Pairs

Role-Play: Old School Day

Provide props like slates and bells. Pairs act out a historical lesson with rules such as standing for answers and reciting poems. Switch roles, then discuss feelings and changes in a group debrief.

What do you think school was like for your grandparents when they were young?

Facilitation Tip

For Old School Day role-play, assign each student a role card with one clear rule or task, such as 'recite the alphabet from memory' or 'help a younger child with tying shoes'.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a student in a one-room schoolhouse. What would be the hardest part of your school day compared to today?' Encourage students to share their ideas and listen to their classmates' responses, focusing on specific differences.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 40 min · Individual

Family Interview: School Stories

Students prepare three questions about grandparents' school life. Individually interview family members at home, draw key details, and share drawings in a class talking circle to build a shared timeline.

What is the same and what is different about school now compared to school in the past?

Facilitation Tip

In the Family Interview, give students a sentence starter strip with three questions to guide their conversation at home, like 'What did you learn in Grade 1?' and 'What was your favorite game at recess?'

What to look for

Give each student a small piece of paper. Ask them to draw one thing that is the same about school now and school in the past, and one thing that is different. They can add a simple label to their drawings.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 35 min · Small Groups

Artifact Sort: Then and Now

Lay out replica tools like abacuses and iPads. Small groups sort items into past and present categories, justify choices, and vote on the most surprising change as a class.

How is our classroom today different from classrooms that children sat in long ago?

Facilitation Tip

During Artifact Sort, use labeled trays for 'Then' and 'Now' so students physically move objects while discussing their uses.

What to look for

Provide students with a set of picture cards showing historical school items (e.g., slate, inkwell, quill pen) and modern school items (e.g., tablet, whiteboard, laptop). Ask students to sort the cards into two piles: 'Then' and 'Now'. Discuss their choices as a class.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by letting students handle replicas or images of historical objects first, then ask them to predict how they were used. Avoid long lectures; instead, use short, focused discussions after each activity to consolidate learning. Research shows that when children manipulate objects and talk about their observations, their recall of historical change improves significantly.

Students will recognize specific similarities and differences between past and present school life by pointing to evidence in images and objects. They will describe these contrasts with simple sentences or drawings, using vocabulary like 'then' and 'now'.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Old School Day role-play, watch for statements like 'School was all work and no play'.

  Prompt students to compare their role-play recess games to modern recess, using props like a wooden ball or jump rope to show how games have changed but play remains a constant.

• During Family Interview, listen for broad claims like 'School used to be so different'.

  Guide students to ask family members for specific memories, such as 'What did you use to write with?' or 'Where did you sit?' then compare these details to their own experiences in class.

• During Artifact Sort, notice if students group all old items together as 'worse' or all new items as 'better'.

  Ask students to explain their sorting choices by prompting them with 'Was this item harder or easier to use? Why?' to encourage evidence-based reasoning.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Role Play