HASS · Year 2

Active learning ideas

Caring for Country: First Nations Practices

Active learning works for this topic because it moves beyond abstract facts to embodied understanding. Students connect emotionally and intellectually when they simulate cultural burning or map traditional practices, seeing how knowledge is lived and practiced. This hands-on approach builds respect and curiosity while grounding complex ideas in concrete experience.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS2K03
• AC9HASS2K04

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

Activity 01

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 45 min · Small Groups

Role-Play: Cultural Burning Simulation

Divide class into small groups to act out a cultural burn: one group prepares 'dry grass' from paper strips, another lights a safe 'fire' with battery-operated tea lights, and observers note regrowth with planted seeds. Rotate roles and discuss outcomes. Conclude with a class chart of benefits.

What are some of the ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have cared for their Country for thousands of years?

Facilitation Tip

During the Role-Play: Cultural Burning Simulation, assign roles clearly so quieter students can focus on observation rather than performance.

What to look for

Provide students with a picture of a natural landscape. Ask them to draw or write two ways Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples might care for this Country, based on what they have learned. Include one specific practice like cultural burning or sustainable gathering.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Concept Mapping
• 30 min · Pairs

Concept Mapping: Our Country Practices

Provide large maps of local area; pairs label traditional practices like fishing spots or yam grounds using stickers and drawings. Research simple facts from provided cards. Share maps in whole class gallery walk, noting connections to health of land.

How do traditional land management practices help keep the environment healthy?

Facilitation Tip

For Mapping: Our Country Practices, provide colored pencils and pre-drawn base maps so students focus on accuracy of symbols rather than artistic skill.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How do traditional land management practices help keep the environment healthy?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to share examples of practices and explain the positive environmental outcomes. Prompt them to consider the long-term benefits.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 40 min · Small Groups

Story Circles: Elders' Wisdom

Play short videos or invite a guest Elder to share stories of caring for Country. Students sit in circles, draw one practice they hear, then pass drawings while retelling in pairs. Compile into class big book for ongoing reference.

What can we learn from First Nations peoples about how to care for the land and environment around us?

Facilitation Tip

In Story Circles: Elders’ Wisdom, sit in a tight circle to encourage eye contact and turn-taking; model listening by repeating key ideas from each speaker.

What to look for

Show students images representing different environmental challenges (e.g., dry grass, overfished river, introduced weeds). Ask students to match each image with a traditional First Nations practice that could help address it, explaining their choice briefly.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 35 min · Individual

Model Building: Sustainable Harvest

Individuals build mini-models of bush tucker gardens using craft sticks, seeds, and labels for rotation rules. Test by 'harvesting' sustainably over sessions. Groups compare models and explain rules to class.

What are some of the ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have cared for their Country for thousands of years?

Facilitation Tip

For Model Building: Sustainable Harvest, limit the materials to ensure students focus on problem-solving rather than decoration.

What to look for

Provide students with a picture of a natural landscape. Ask them to draw or write two ways Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples might care for this Country, based on what they have learned. Include one specific practice like cultural burning or sustainable gathering.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic with respect and authority, balancing cultural sensitivity with academic rigor. Avoid framing these practices as historical artifacts; emphasize their continuity and relevance. Research shows students build deeper understanding when they connect past practices to present-day environmental challenges, so teachers should explicitly bridge these links in discussion and reflection.

Successful learning looks like students confidently describing at least two traditional practices with accurate details. They should explain how these practices support the environment over time, using terms like seasonal timing, balance, and renewal. Collaboration during activities shows they can transfer knowledge between peers and activities.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role-Play: Cultural Burning Simulation, watch for students assuming cultural burning is harmful because of their experience with wildfires. Redirect by asking, “How does the size, speed, and purpose of this fire differ from what you have seen in news reports?”

  During Mapping: Our Country Practices, challenge this misconception by asking students to label a map with both cultural burning sites and wildfire risk zones, noting differences in size, timing, and effect on plant regrowth.

• During Role-Play: Cultural Burning Simulation, watch for students thinking traditional land care was random or unplanned. Redirect by asking, “What evidence do you see in the simulation that this practice follows specific timing or weather conditions?”

  During Model Building: Sustainable Harvest, have students annotate their models with seasonal calendars and resource limits, showing how rules were enforced to prevent overharvesting.

• During Story Circles: Elders’ Wisdom, watch for students dismissing traditional practices as outdated because they see modern tools like drones or GPS. Redirect by asking, “How might these new tools be used alongside, rather than replacing, traditional knowledge?”

  During Mapping: Our Country Practices, ask students to overlay modern land management zones with traditional seasonal pathways, highlighting how both systems can coexist and inform each other.

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Methods used in this brief

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• Concept Mapping