HASS · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Understanding Cultural Heritage

Active learning helps students connect abstract concepts like cultural heritage to their own lives through tangible, personal experiences. By handling family objects, telling stories, and creating artifacts, students move from passive listening to active meaning-making, which builds deeper understanding and respect for diversity.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS1K01

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

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 45 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Family Treasures

Students bring a family photo, recipe card, or small artifact representing heritage. Display items around the room, then walk in small groups to observe and ask owners one question each. Conclude with a whole-class share of favorites.

What traditions, foods, or celebrations does your family have that are special to you?

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, have students stand quietly for 30 seconds at each display to absorb details, then jot one observation or question on a sticky note to share later.

What to look for

Provide students with a small card. Ask them to draw one thing their family does that is a tradition or custom and write one sentence explaining why it is special to them.

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

Activity 02

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 30 min · Whole Class

Story Circle: Tradition Tales

Form a circle where each student shares one family tradition using a talking stick. Record key words on chart paper. Follow with pairs drawing their tradition.

How do families share their traditions and customs with their children?

Facilitation Tip

In the Story Circle, model sharing first by telling a brief, personal family story to set the tone and encourage vulnerability.

What to look for

Ask students: 'Tell us about one way your family shares a tradition. Who shares it, and who learns it?' Encourage them to use examples of specific actions or words used in their families.

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

Activity 03

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 35 min · Pairs

Music Makers: Heritage Songs

Teach simple family songs or rhythms from various cultures using percussion. Pairs practice and perform for the class. Discuss how music carries heritage.

Why is it important to remember and celebrate where our families come from?

Facilitation Tip

For Music Makers, play a short excerpt of a song from a different culture first, then ask students to brainstorm how music carries heritage even without words.

What to look for

During a class sharing session, observe students' participation. Note which students can clearly identify and describe a family tradition or custom, and which students may need additional prompting or support.

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

Activity 04

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 40 min · Individual

Art Gallery: Custom Creations

Students draw or collage a family celebration with labels for language or food elements. Mount on walls for a class gallery walk and peer feedback.

What traditions, foods, or celebrations does your family have that are special to you?

What to look for

Provide students with a small card. Ask them to draw one thing their family does that is a tradition or custom and write one sentence explaining why it is special to them.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should focus on personal connections rather than broad generalizations, using students’ own families as the entry point to broader concepts. Avoid framing heritage as static; instead, highlight how families adapt traditions over time. Research shows that when students see their own lives reflected in the curriculum, engagement and retention increase significantly.

Students will confidently identify and describe their family traditions, explain how these customs are passed down, and recognize the value of cultural heritage in their own lives and in Australia’s multicultural society. Participation in discussions and activities will show growing empathy and curiosity about others’ backgrounds.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Gallery Walk: Family Treasures, watch for students assuming all families celebrate the same holidays or eat the same foods. Redirect by asking, 'What’s one food your family serves during celebrations that others might not?' to highlight differences.

  During Story Circle: Tradition Tales, listen for students saying heritage is only about the past. Redirect by asking, 'How does your family’s tradition change or stay the same over time?' to show adaptation.

• During Music Makers: Heritage Songs, watch for students dismissing songs that are not in English as 'not relevant.' Redirect by asking, 'What instruments or rhythms do you recognize from this song that might be used in other cultures?'

  During Art Gallery: Custom Creations, watch for students believing cultural practices are identical across all families from one background. Redirect by asking, 'What makes your family’s version of this art unique compared to what others might create?'

• During the Gallery Walk: Family Treasures, watch for students saying cultural heritage doesn’t matter in Australia today. Redirect by asking, 'How does your family’s tradition show up in your school or neighborhood celebrations?'

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Inside-Outside Circle