HASS · Year 6

Active learning ideas

The Evolving World of Work

Active learning helps Year 6 students grasp complex changes in the world of work by making abstract concepts tangible. Interviewing family members, debating real-world impacts, and simulating future careers turn data into lived experience, which builds empathy and retention better than abstract discussion.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS6K11

• 30–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Expert Panel
• 45 min · Pairs

Pairs Interviews: Past Jobs Timeline

Students in pairs prepare 5-6 questions about grandparents' or family work experiences. Conduct interviews by phone or visit, record key jobs and skills. Create a class timeline displaying changes from past to present.

Compare the types of jobs prevalent in our grandparents' era with those common today.

Facilitation Tip

During Individual Sort, include a mix of technical and interpersonal skills and ask students to justify their choices in one sentence.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are interviewing someone who worked in a factory 50 years ago and someone who works in a tech company today. What different types of jobs would they describe? What different skills would they say were most important?' Facilitate a class discussion comparing their responses.

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

Activity 02

• Expert Panel
• 50 min · Small Groups

Small Groups Debate: Automation Impacts

Assign groups to argue for or against statements like 'Automation creates more jobs than it eliminates.' Provide articles for quick research, hold 10-minute debates, then class vote and reflection.

Analyze the potential impacts of automation and artificial intelligence on future job opportunities.

What to look for

Provide students with a list of 10 skills (e.g., coding, critical thinking, manual dexterity, empathy, data analysis, physical strength). Ask them to circle the 5 skills they believe will be MOST important for jobs in 20 years and write one sentence explaining their top choice.

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

Activity 03

• Expert Panel
• 40 min · Whole Class

Whole Class Simulation: Future Job Fair

Students invent 3 future jobs influenced by AI, prepare posters with required skills. Set up a job fair where class members visit booths, apply for roles, and discuss matches.

Predict the essential skills that will be most valuable for the workforce of tomorrow.

What to look for

On a slip of paper, have students write one example of a job that exists today but likely did not exist 50 years ago, and one sentence explaining why technology made this new job possible.

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

Activity 04

• Expert Panel
• 30 min · Individual

Individual Sort: Skills for Tomorrow

Provide cards with skills like coding or empathy. Students sort into 'past jobs,' 'today,' and 'future' piles individually, then justify in small group discussions.

Compare the types of jobs prevalent in our grandparents' era with those common today.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are interviewing someone who worked in a factory 50 years ago and someone who works in a tech company today. What different types of jobs would they describe? What different skills would they say were most important?' Facilitate a class discussion comparing their responses.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by grounding abstract concepts in lived experience, using family stories to humanize data. They avoid presenting technology as purely positive or negative, instead framing it as a tool that creates both challenges and opportunities. Research suggests students learn best when they see themselves as active participants in shaping the future, not passive observers of change.

Successful learning looks like students confidently explaining how technology reshapes jobs today and in the future. They should compare past and present roles accurately, debate automation’s impact with evidence, and identify essential skills for tomorrow’s workforce without oversimplifying or fearing change.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Pairs Interviews: watch for students assuming robots will eliminate all jobs without considering new roles.

  Use the interview template to prompt students to ask, 'What new jobs have appeared because of technology?' This shifts focus from loss to transformation during their family conversations.

• During Individual Sort: watch for students selecting only technical skills for the future.

  Ask students to compare their selections with a partner, then add two interpersonal skills they initially missed, explaining why each matters in any job.

• During Small Groups Debate: watch for students claiming work has not changed over generations.

  Encourage groups to use specific examples from their interviews to highlight shifts, such as the decline of certain manual roles and the rise of digital or care-based jobs.

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Methods used in this brief

• Expert Panel