Changes in our lives
Changes in our lives is a HSIE unit of work about history that develops early stage 1
students understanding of change over time and personal heritage.
HSIE Syllabus references:
EN
CU
CC
SS
CCES1 Significant events and places and Time and change
Describes events or retells stories that demonstrate their own heritage and the heritage of
others.
Students will learn about:
• events and stages in their lifetimes
• people in their families, past and present
• people who have met their needs in the past
• places in the their immediate environment
• changes in their lives, both past and present
• changes to people and places in their neighbourhood
• Aboriginal Dreaming stories as a reflection of the creation of Australia
• the structure of students’ families.
Teaching and learning
Aboriginal Dreaming
• Share Aboriginal Dreaming stories appropriate for Early Stage 1
including How the birds got their colours, by Mary Albert, Dunbi
the owl, by Pamela Lofts, The echidna and the shade tree, by
Mona Green and How the kangaroo got their tales, by George
Lirrmiyarr Mung Mung.
View the video How the kangaroo got her pouch - Aboriginal
Dreaming story.
A useful resource for Dreaming stories written for young students is
the Ashton Scholastic series edited by Pamela Lofts and written by
various Aboriginal storytellers. These books form part of an
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resource pack for teachers.
Seach various online video sites for Aboriginal Dreaming. Select
stories, told by Aboriginal story custodians, that are suitable for use
with Early Stage 1 students.
• Read the stories, listen to and view the stories, anticipating what
will happen next.
• Explain the significance of these stories to the heritage and
culture of the Aboriginal people to which they belong. Refer to the
explanation included in the Teachers handbook in the Big mob
books for little fullas (BOS) alternatively refer to Why the stories
are told by Aunty Beryl and Why the stories are told.
People in our lives
• Organise for students to bring in some photos or prints of
themselves and their family and that show how they and their
family have changed over time. Teachers need to be sensitive to
the circumstances of their students and alternative sources may
be needed such as a combination of digital images and drawings,
or images selected to represent a made up family(s) ‘adopted’ by
the class to support this learning.
• Guide students to identify the people who were important in their
lives at each age, e.g. baby – mother, father; toddler – parents,
grandparents, baby sitter, neighbour; present – parents,
grandparents, teacher, brothers and sisters.
• Identify and discuss the changes to the people who are important
in our lives. Consider:
- how other people have cared for us
- what sort of things they do
- how other people are important in our lives
- how the people in our lives change as we get older.
• Students draw and label the people who are important in their
lives. Add to these drawings with sentence scaffolds i.e. (name of
person e.g. Mum) is important to me because (reason e.g. they
take care of me).
Relationships
Inform students that we have relationships with people we know. We
have connections with them. We are connected to lots of people in
different ways.
• Record connections under three categories:
- family (mother, father, brother, aunty, step family, foster mum)
- friends (same age, same sport, same interests/hobbies/likes,
same school)
- people who help me (teacher, doctor, shop keeper, mail
deliverer, neighbour, coach, police officer).
Complete a worksheet or activity categorising one family member,
one friend and one non related person. Identify each person who
Evidence of achievement
CCES1
Describes events or retells
stories that demonstrate their
own heritage and the heritage of
others
• reflects on the changes
described in Aboriginal
Dreaming stories
• expresses some
understanding of the
significance of Dreaming
stories.
CCES1
Describes events or retells
stories that demonstrate their
own heritage and the heritage of
others
• describes changes in their life
and in their family
• reflects on the people who
are important in their lives,
now and in the past
SSES1
Identifies ways in which their
own needs and the needs of
others are met, individually and
cooperatively
 identifies people who meet
their needs
 categorises and explains
how identified people care
for them.
Teaching and learning
cares for them and justify how this occurs.
• Students make paper doll chains representing various people they
are connected with. Students draw clothing and features is typical
of the people represented in their daisy chain.
Evidence of achievement
Teaching and learning
Family heritage
• Use a literary text that shows children’s lives in another time.
Identify the changes between the text and students’ own lives.
Consider:
- clothing
- environment, style/height of buildings, gardens, parks
- modes of transport
- food
- games being played
- family members.
• Discuss the similarities and differences. Compile a word bank
from the discussion.
• Students complete a worksheet with drawings labelled from the
word bank, showing ‘Then’ and ‘Now’.
Evidence of achievement
CCES1
Describes events or retells
stories that demonstrate their
own heritage and the heritage of
others.
• listens to and talks about
stories about families
• identifies different cultural
heritage in families
• describes different families
and family members
• identifies important people in
their lives and in the lives of
others
• talks about then and now.
Assessment: Students present an oral presentation related to
comparison of a day in a child's life now and in the past, focusing on
a specific area e.g. food, toys, transport. If possible students can
include other areas.
Resource websites: Click on the learning object link. Click on Start:
National Parks: wheels in the bush or Start: National Parks: boots in
the bush.
http://tlf.dlr.det.nsw.edu.au/learningobjects/Content/L932/imsmanifes
t.xml.html
http://tlf.dlr.det.nsw.edu.au/learningobjects/Content/L669/imsmanifes
t.xml.html
Note: to open learning object, click on Start: National park:
wheels/boots in the bush.
Assessment Strategy
The teacher:
• analyses student's presentation
Assessment criteria
The student:
• uses descriptive language related to the past and change over
time (e.g. long ago, now, back then, before, then)
• gives a variety of examples and description of now and then
objects
• makes a brief oral presentation on a child's life now and in the
past.
Changes to places we know
• Identify a place in the local area, such as a park or garden that
students are familiar with, and that has undergone some changes.
These could be positive or negative. Ask:
- has this place [name] always been like it is now?
- what is different?
- are the changes good changes or bad changes?
- do you like this place?
- what is special about this place?
- when you are older, do you think this place will still be
important / special to you? Why or why not?
- what do you think this place will be like in the future? Why?
- why do you think these future changes will happen?
• Focus on where students live. Ask who has lived there since they
were born. Who has lived somewhere else? Students could form
two lines to show each.
CCES1
Describes events or retells
stories that demonstrate their
own heritage and the heritage of
others.
• identifies changes to people
and places over time
• describes changes over time
to people and places
• decides if changes are
positive, negative or
interesting
• decides if the changes are
slow or quick.
.
Teaching and learning
• Has the place where you live now changed since you have been
living there? Identify some changes e.g. room has been painted a
different colour, different furniture, new rooms added, tree cut
down, gardens added. Are these changes good or bad? What
other changes do you think might happen to where you live in the
future?
• Students focus on their own neighbourhood and identify some of
the changes they remember e.g. there is a new family next door,
the house across the road has a new fence and a new roof, the
noisy car is gone, the old dog died, there is a new puppy in the
house next door. Students draw and annotate some of the
changes in their neighbourhood in a mind map.
• Places can change quickly or slowly over time. A storm can do a
lot of damage and make some places unsafe (give some specific
examples) while other places change slowly e.g. trees and plants
grow slowly.
• Identify some other family traditions that show change over time
e.g. some families have a tradition of planting a tree when a new
baby is born, so that the tree grows with the child.
• Students complete an illustration showing themselves growing
and changing over time and how a tree that could have been
planted when they were born would also grow and change.
Evidence of achievement
Me and my family
CUES1
Describes events or retells
stories that demonstrate their
own heritage and the heritage of
others.
• engages with stories about
other eras
• reflects on the lives of older
people and the changes in
people’s lives
• talks about a family artefact
• sequences some images into
chronological order
• communicates information
about change.
• Discuss a range of images showing family life in the past. Identify
the features that are evidence of another time.
• Read stories about families in other eras, discuss and compare
the similarities and differences to students’ family structure.
Students identify and discuss the similarities and differences to
own family structure, the tasks of family members, the clothes
they are wearing, where they live. Examples of books include Pigs
and honey and Going for oysters.
• Invite a student’s grandparent or older person in the community to
speak to the class about the how their lives have changed.
• Sequence some images of people they know into chronological
order.
• Review students’ understanding of families and change. Students
recall an event that they remember. They talk about a events that
reflects their family culture and family life. Students bring some
personal artefacts to illustrate these events, something that is a
reminder of the people and the event e.g. a memento, a card.
Discuss the significance of the artefact to the heritage and culture
of the student’s family.
• Construct a 12 month timeline to record and illustrate special
events that occur in their lives over a period of a year e.g.
birthdays, cultural events, school events, religious events.
The English book rap or the picture book Granpa would be an ideal
supplement to this unit: See
http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/raps/granpa/welcome.htm
Assessment Strategy
The teacher:
• observes students oral presentation about personal artefacts.
Assessment Criteria:
The student:
• discusses the significance of a family artefact.