New HASS Inquiry Questions
Subject Based Inquiry Questions
Foundation - My personal world
Foundation
 Who am I, where do I live and who came
before me?
 Why are some places and events special
and how do we know?
Year 1 - How my world is different from the
past and can change in the future
 How has family life and the place we live
in changed over time?
 What events, activities and places do I
care about? Why?
Year 2 - Our past and present connections to
people and places
 What does my place tell me about the past
and present?
 How are people connected to their place
and other places, past or present?
 How has technology affected daily life
over time and the connections between
people in different places?
Year 3 - Diverse communities and places and
the contribution people make
 How do symbols, events, individuals and
places in my community make it unique?
 How do people contribute to their
communities, past and present?
 What events do different people and
groups celebrate and commemorate and
what does this tell us about our
communities?
History
What is my history and how do I know?
What stories do other people tell about the past?
How can stories of the past be told and shared?
Geography
What are places like?
What makes a place special?
How can we look after the places we live in?
Year 1
History
How has family life changed or remained the same
over time?
How can we show that the present is different from or
similar to the past?
How do we describe the sequence of time?
Geography
What are the different features of places?
How can we care for places?
How have the features of places changed?
Year 2
History
What aspects of the past can you see today? What do
they tell us?
What remains of the past are important to the local
community? Why?
How have changes in technology shaped our daily
life?
Geography
What is a place?
How are people connected to their place and other
places?
What factors affect my connections to places?
Year 3
History
Who lived here first and how do we know?
How has our community changed? What features
have been lost and what features have been
retained?
What is the nature of the contribution made by
different groups and individuals in the community?
How and why do people choose to remember
significant events of the past?
Geography
What are the main natural and human features of
Australia?
How and why are places similar and different?
What would it be like to live in a neighbouring
country?
Civics and Citizenship
How are decisions made democratically?
Why do we make rules?
How can I participate in my community?
Year 4 - How people, places and
environments interact, past and present
 How have laws affected the lives of
people, past and present?
 What were the short- and long-term
effects of European settlement on the local
environment and Indigenous land and water
management practices?
 What is the significance of the
environment and what are different views on
how it can be used and sustained, past and
present?
Year 4
History
Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?
What was it like for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait
Islander Peoples before the arrival of Europeans?
Why did the Europeans settle in Australia?
What was the nature and consequence of contact
between Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Peoples and early traders, explorers and settlers?
Geography
How does the environment support the lives of people
and other living things?
How do different views about the environment
influence approaches to sustainability?
How can people use places and environments more
sustainably?
Civics and Citizenship
How can local government contribute to community
life?
What is the difference between rules and laws and
why are they important?
How has my identity been shaped by the groups to
which I belong?
Year 5 - Australian communities – their past,
present and possible futures
 How have individuals and groups in the
past and present contributed to the
development of Australia?
 What is the relationship between
environments and my roles as a consumer
and citizen?
 How have people enacted their values and
perceptions about their community, other
people and places, past and present?
Year 5
History
What do we know about the lives of people in
Australia’s colonial past and how do we know?
How did an Australian colony develop over time and
why?
How did colonial settlement change the environment?
What were the significant events and who were the
significant people that shaped the Australian
colonies?
Geography
How do people and environments influence one
another?
How do people influence the human characteristics of
places and the management of spaces within them?
How can the impact of bushfires or floods on people
and places be reduced?
Civics and Citizenship
What is democracy in Australia and why is voting in a
democracy important?
Why do we have laws and regulations?
How and why do people participate in groups to
achieve shared goals?
Economics and Business
Why do I have to make choices as a consumer?
What influences the decisions I make?
What can I do to make informed decisions?
Year 6
Year 6 - Australia in the past and present and
its connections with a diverse world
 How have key figures, events and values
shaped Australian society, its system of
government and citizenship?
 How have experiences of democracy and
citizenship differed between groups over
time and place, including those from and in
Asia?
 How has Australia developed as a society
with global connections, and what is my role
as a global citizen?
History
Why and how did Australia become a nation?
How did Australian society change throughout the
twentieth century?
Who were the people who came to Australia? Why did
they come?
What contribution have significant individuals and
groups made to the development of Australian
society?
Geography
How do places, people and cultures differ across the
world?
What are Australia’s global connections between
people and places?
How do people’s connections to places affect their
perception of them?
Civics and Citizenship
What are the roles and responsibilities of the different
levels of government in Australia?
How are laws developed in Australia?
What does it mean to be an Australian citizen?
Economics and Business
Why are there trade-offs associated with making
decisions?
What are the possible effects of my consumer and
financial choices?
Why do businesses exist and what are the different
ways they provide goods and services?
Year 7
Year 7 - Sustainable pasts, present, futures
 How is the ancient world investigated and
why are investigations of ancient key
people, events, ideas and developments
significant in the modern world?
 How has the use, management and value
of finite natural resources affected how
people have lived and societies have
evolved in the past and present, and what
does this mean for future planning?
 What principles and processes underpin
Australia’s cohesive society and stable
economy and what is the role of political,
economic and social institutions in
developing and maintaining this?
* New questions/wording
20/10/2015
History
How do we know about the ancient past?
Why and where did the earliest societies develop?
What emerged as the defining characteristics of
ancient societies?
What have been the legacies of ancient societies?
Geography
How do people’s reliance on places and environments
influence their perception of them?
What effect does the uneven distribution of resources
and services have on the lives of people?
What approaches can be used to improve the
availability of resources and access to services?
Civics and Citizenship
How is Australia’s system of democratic government
shaped by the Constitution?
What principles of justice help to protect the
individual’s rights to justice in Australia’s system of
law?
How is Australia a diverse society and what factors
contribute to a cohesive society?
Economics and Business
Why is there a relationship between consumers and
producers in the market?
Why is personal, organisational and financial planning
for the future important for both consumers and
businesses?
How does entrepreneurial behaviour contribute to a
successful business?
What types of work exist and in what other ways can
people derive an income?