HASS · Year 2

Active learning ideas

Comparing Homes: Past vs. Present

Active learning helps Year 2 students grasp abstract concepts like continuity and change by engaging their senses and emotions. When children handle objects, role-play scenarios, and discuss photographs, they connect historical ideas to their own lives, making the past feel real rather than distant.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS2K01

• 20–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 45 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: The Mystery Box

Set up stations with a 'mystery' historical object (e.g., a washboard, a rotary phone, a stone tool) and its modern counterpart. Students rotate in small groups to touch, draw, and guess how the old object was used before revealing its purpose.

How were the materials used to build homes in the past different from those used today?

Facilitation Tip

During Station Rotation: The Mystery Box, place one modern and one historical artifact at each station to prompt immediate comparisons.

What to look for

Provide students with a Venn diagram. Ask them to draw or write one item that was the same in past and present homes in the overlapping section, one item that was only in past homes on one side, and one item that is only in present homes on the other side.

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

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 30 min · Small Groups

Role Play: A Day in the Life

Students are assigned a specific era and a daily task, such as preparing a meal or getting ready for school. They act out the process using only the tools available in that time period, then discuss the challenges and benefits of each era.

What do you think daily life was like for a family living in a home long ago compared to your home now?

Facilitation Tip

For Role Play: A Day in the Life, provide clear costume pieces and household props to help students fully immerse themselves in the period.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a child living in a home 100 years ago in Australia. What is one thing you would miss from your home today, and why?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to justify their answers based on their learning.

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

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Then and Now Photos

Display a photo of a local street or kitchen from 50 years ago. Students think individually about three differences they see, pair up to compare lists, and share one 'surprise' with the whole class.

What changes do you think homes might have in the future, and why?

Facilitation Tip

When running Think-Pair-Share: Then and Now Photos, give each pair one magnifying glass to examine details in old photographs, focusing their observations.

What to look for

Give each student a small card. Ask them to write down two different materials used to build homes in the past and two different materials used to build homes today. Collect these to check for understanding of material changes.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by grounding discussions in concrete artifacts and relatable experiences. Avoid abstract timelines or long lectures, as young children learn best through tangible examples and peer interaction. Research shows that storytelling and object-based learning build stronger historical empathy than textbook readings alone.

Successful learning looks like students confidently identifying similarities and differences between past and present homes. They should express curiosity about how families met their needs long ago and recognize that human connections remain constant even as tools change.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Station Rotation: The Mystery Box, watch for students assuming old objects are only used in black-and-white settings. Redirect by placing a brightly colored historic postcard or fabric scrap in the box and ask, 'What colors do you see here? How do you think these colors were made?'

  During Role Play: A Day in the Life, watch for students saying life in the past was boring. Redirect by having them brainstorm joyful activities families did without screens, such as storytelling or playing outside, then discuss which parts of those traditions still exist today.

---

Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation
• Role Play
• Think-Pair-Share