HASS · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Understanding Different Environments

Active learning brings environments to life for Year 1 students by letting them touch, build, and role-play rather than just see pictures. Sorting real photos, constructing models, and walking outside helps young learners connect abstract ideas like ‘city’ or ‘coast’ to concrete, memorable experiences.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS1K04

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

Activity 01

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 30 min · Small Groups

Sorting Activity: Environment Photos

Provide photos of urban, rural, and coastal scenes. In small groups, students sort them into categories and label key features like cars, cows, or waves. Groups share one feature per environment with the class.

What does a city look like? How is it different from the bush or the beach?

Facilitation Tip

During the Sorting Activity, circulate with guiding questions like ‘What else do you notice about this street that tells you it’s a city?’ to push thinking beyond initial observations.

What to look for

Provide students with a set of picture cards showing various environmental features (e.g., skyscraper, cow, surfboard, traffic light, paddock, sand dune). Ask students to sort the cards into three groups: Urban, Rural, and Coastal. Observe their sorting and ask clarifying questions like 'Why did you put the cow in the rural group?'

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

Activity 02

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 45 min · Pairs

Model Building: My Environment Diorama

Students use boxes, clay, and craft materials to build a diorama of their home environment and one other, such as city or beach. They add labels for unique features and present to a partner, explaining differences.

How does where you live affect what you do each day?

Facilitation Tip

When building dioramas, provide a checklist of required elements (e.g., at least one building, one natural feature, one human activity) to ensure all environments are represented.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you live in a city. What is one thing you might do today that someone living on a farm might not do?' Facilitate a class discussion, guiding students to connect daily activities to their environment. Record student responses on a chart comparing the environments.

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

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 35 min · Pairs

Role Play: A Day in Different Places

Set up three classroom zones as city, bush, and coast with props like toy cars, sticks, and shells. Pairs act out daily routines in each, then discuss how activities change by location.

Why might some people choose to live in a city, and others choose to live in the country or near the coast?

Facilitation Tip

For the Role Play, assign roles explicitly (e.g., city commuter, farmer, fisher) and give each student a simple prop to anchor their character in the scenario.

What to look for

Give each student a small piece of paper. Ask them to draw one feature that is special to either a city, the countryside, or the coast. Underneath their drawing, they should write one sentence explaining which environment it belongs to and why.

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

Activity 04

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 25 min · Whole Class

Mapping Walk: School Environment Survey

On a whole class walk around school grounds, students draw quick sketches of features and compare to photos of other environments. Back in class, they add to a shared poster.

What does a city look like? How is it different from the bush or the beach?

Facilitation Tip

On the Mapping Walk, pause at three distinct spots and ask students to sketch or photograph one thing that shows the environment’s influence on daily life.

What to look for

Provide students with a set of picture cards showing various environmental features (e.g., skyscraper, cow, surfboard, traffic light, paddock, sand dune). Ask students to sort the cards into three groups: Urban, Rural, and Coastal. Observe their sorting and ask clarifying questions like 'Why did you put the cow in the rural group?'

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with what children already know by asking them to name places they’ve visited, then build a progression from concrete examples to abstract comparisons. Avoid overwhelming them with too many features at once; focus on three clear contrasts. Research suggests young learners grasp spatial concepts better when they manipulate materials and move through spaces rather than sit and listen.

Students will confidently name and group environmental features, explain how location shapes daily life, and articulate why people choose different places to live. Their discussions should include specific examples, not just labels.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Sorting Activity: Photos, watch for students who place all tall buildings in the same group without noticing differences in city size or culture.

  Prompt students to compare two city photos side by side and name one way they are alike and one way they differ, using terms like ‘bigger’ or ‘more people.’

• During Role Play: A Day in Different Places, watch for students who assume rural life has no technology.

  Ask role-players to include one piece of technology in their scene (e.g., a tractor, radio) and explain how it helps their character, then have peers identify it.

• During Model Building: My Environment Diorama, watch for students who include only holiday activities at the coast.

  Have partners examine the diorama and list jobs or homes shown, then circle any that are tourist-focused versus everyday. Discuss the difference as a class.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inside-Outside Circle
• Role Play