HASS · Year 2

Active learning ideas

First Nations Sustainable Technologies

Active learning helps students grasp the complexity of First Nations sustainable technologies by letting them build, simulate, and map these practices. When children construct models, run simulations, and trace water systems on paper, they move from abstract ideas to concrete understanding of how Indigenous peoples managed resources with care and precision.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS2K02
• AC9HASS2K03

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

Activity 01

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 30 min · Pairs

Model Building: Fish Trap Construction

Provide sticks, twine, and stones for pairs to build a small-scale fish trap model based on diagrams of Gunditjmara eel traps. Discuss how the design directs fish flow without harm. Students test models in a water tray and reflect on sustainability.

How did Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples use their knowledge and technology to care for the environment they lived in?

Facilitation Tip

During Model Building: Fish Trap Construction, circulate with guiding questions like 'Why might a curved shape work better than a straight one?' to prompt critical thinking about design choices.

What to look for

Present students with images of different technologies (e.g., a modern dam, a woven basket, a fire pit, a stone arrangement). Ask them to sort the images into two groups: 'First Nations Sustainable Technologies' and 'Other Technologies'. Discuss their reasoning for each placement.

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

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 45 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: Fire Stick Farming

Use a large sand tray as Country; students in small groups light 'cool burns' with colored powders to show mosaic patterns. Observe regrowth with planted seeds. Compare to uniform burning and note benefits for animals and plants.

How are the ways First Nations peoples managed the land different from how we manage it today?

Facilitation Tip

During Simulation: Fire Stick Farming, remind students to use slow, deliberate motions to model fire spread, emphasizing control and purpose rather than excitement.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How did knowing the seasons and the land help First Nations peoples live sustainably?' Encourage students to share examples related to food, water, or fire management. Prompt them to consider what might happen if people didn't understand their environment.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Concept Mapping
• 35 min · Whole Class

Concept Mapping: Water Management Sites

As a whole class, plot local or known First Nations water sites on a large Australia map using sticky notes. Discuss designs like rock wells. Students draw their own sustainable water plan for the school.

What can we learn from First Nations sustainable practices that might help us look after our environment today?

Facilitation Tip

During Mapping: Water Management Sites, provide colored pencils for elevation lines so students visually connect terrain to water flow patterns.

What to look for

On a small card, ask students to draw one First Nations sustainable technology they learned about and write one sentence explaining how it helped people care for the environment. Collect these to gauge understanding of specific practices.

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

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 40 min · Small Groups

Role-Play: Seasonal Practices

In small groups, assign roles as First Nations knowledge holders demonstrating a practice. Perform for the class, explaining tools and purposes. Peers ask questions to compare with today.

How did Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples use their knowledge and technology to care for the environment they lived in?

Facilitation Tip

During Role-Play: Seasonal Practices, assign specific roles tied to seasonal tasks so students experience interdependence in resource management.

What to look for

Present students with images of different technologies (e.g., a modern dam, a woven basket, a fire pit, a stone arrangement). Ask them to sort the images into two groups: 'First Nations Sustainable Technologies' and 'Other Technologies'. Discuss their reasoning for each placement.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should frame the topic as a study of innovation, not just tradition. Focus on the problem-solving behind each technology, such as 'How do we catch fish without scaring them away?' or 'How do we keep water clean in dry seasons?' Avoid romanticizing the past by emphasizing active care over passive harmony. Research shows that hands-on comparisons between old and new methods help students critique modern assumptions without dismissing them.

Successful learning looks like students explaining how specific technologies work, connecting them to environmental care, and comparing them to modern methods. Students should demonstrate curiosity about seasonal knowledge and confidently share examples of fish traps, fire stick farming, or water management in their own words.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Model Building: Fish Trap Construction, watch for comments like 'This is just a basket for fish.'

  Redirect students by asking them to test their model in a shallow tray of water, observing how the shape guides fish toward the opening without blocking them.

• During Simulation: Fire Stick Farming, watch for students treating fire as destructive rather than controlled.

  Have students pause after each action to discuss how the fire clears old growth to help new plants grow, linking cause and effect in the simulation.

• During Mapping: Water Management Sites, watch for assumptions that all water systems were the same across Australia.

  Show students maps of different regions and ask them to explain why a stone dam in one area might look different from a well in another, using the materials in front of them.

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Methods used in this brief

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• Simulation Game
• Concept Mapping