HASS · Year 2

Active learning ideas

Food Sources and Preparation: Then & Now

History comes alive when students actively engage with evidence, and this topic makes that possible by turning classrooms into detective workshops. When learners handle artifacts, interview each other, and examine photos, they connect abstract timelines to tangible human experience.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS2K01

• 30–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 40 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Artifact Detective

Provide small groups with a 'mystery object' from a local museum or op-shop. Students use a checklist to record what it's made of, how it feels, and what they think it was for before sharing their findings with the class.

How did people get and prepare their food long ago compared to how we do it today?

Facilitation Tip

During The Artifact Detective, place one artifact at each small-group station and limit groups to five minutes per station to encourage focused observation.

What to look for

Present students with two images: one showing a historical kitchen with a wood stove and hand tools, and another showing a modern kitchen with an electric stove and microwave. Ask: 'What differences do you notice in how food might be prepared in these two kitchens? What tools are being used, and how might they change the time it takes to cook?'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Think-Pair-Share
• 30 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Oral History Interview

Students prepare three questions to ask an elder. They practice these questions in pairs, role-playing the interview, then discuss why hearing a story from a person feels different than reading it in a book.

How has technology changed the way food is grown, made, and brought to our homes?

Facilitation Tip

During the Oral History Interview, provide sentence starters on cards so students practice asking questions that begin with 'Can you tell me more about...' instead of yes/no queries.

What to look for

Give each student a card with the question: 'Name one way people got their food long ago and one way they get their food today. What is one piece of technology that helps us get food today?'

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

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 30 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Photo Analysis

Display five large photos of the local area from different decades. Students move in groups to each photo, using magnifying glasses to find 'clues' about the time period, such as car styles or clothing.

What do you think might happen to the way we eat if the way we get food keeps changing?

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk: Photo Analysis, assign each pair a colored marker so their annotations show clear thinking about changes over time as they move from image to image.

What to look for

Show students pictures of different food preservation methods (e.g., drying fruit, canning vegetables, refrigerating milk). Ask them to sort the pictures into two groups: 'Methods used long ago' and 'Methods used today'. Discuss why they sorted them that way.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by framing history as a puzzle rather than a lecture. They avoid presenting timelines as fixed facts, instead letting students test hypotheses with objects and voices from the past. Research shows that when learners manipulate realia—like a butter mold or a tin can—their recall of historical processes improves markedly.

By the end of these activities, students should confidently explain how people sourced and prepared food in the past versus today, using real evidence to support their claims. Their discussions and artifacts will show they can distinguish between primary sources and later interpretations.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During The Artifact Detective, watch for students who assume a butter mold must be decorative rather than functional.

  Prompt them to hold the mold and imagine pressing cream inside—ask, 'What shape does the butter take when removed? How would this affect daily work in a kitchen?' to guide them toward its practical use.

• During Think-Pair-Share: Oral History Interview, watch for students who treat the interview like a quiz rather than a story gathering mission.

  Model open-ended questions such as, 'What did that smell remind you of?' and have students practice these before collecting real accounts to steer them away from yes/no exchanges.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Think-Pair-Share
• Gallery Walk