Rationale
In a world that is increasingly culturally diverse and dynamically interconnected, it is important that students come to understand their world, past and present, and develop a capacity to respond to challenges, now and in the future, in innovative, informed, personal and collective ways.Aims
The F–6/7 Australian Curriculum for Humanities and Social Sciences aims to ensure that students develop:a sense of wonder, curiosity and respect about places, people, cultures and systems throughout the world, past and present, and an interest in and enjoyment of the study of these phenomena
Structure
The Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences may be implemented as a combined F–6 program or as an F–7 program. The F–6/7 curriculum is organised into two interrelated strands: knowledge and understanding and inquiry and skills.PDF documents
Resources and support materials for the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences F-6/7 are available as PDF documents.F-6/7 HASS - Combined Sequence of Content
F-6/7 HASS - Combined Sequence of Achievement
Glossary
Year 4
Year 4 Level Description
How people, places and environments interact, past and present
The Year 4 curriculum focuses on interactions between people, places and environments over time and space and the effects of these interactions. Students gain opportunities to expand their world knowledge and learn about the significance of environments, examining how people’s need and want of resources over time has affected peoples, societies and environments. Specifically, students study European exploration and colonisation in Australia and elsewhere up to the early 1800s and life for Indigenous Australians pre- and post-contact. They examine the concept of sustainability, and its application to resource use and waste management, past and present, by different groups. The curriculum introduces the role of local government, laws and rules, and group belonging and how they meet people’s needs. Themes of law and citizenship extend into their studies of diverse groups, the colonisation of Australia and other places, and how environmental sustainability is enacted.
The content provides opportunities for students to develop humanities and social sciences understanding through key concepts including significance; continuity and change; cause and effect; place and space; interconnections; roles, rights and responsibilities; and perspectives and action. These concepts may provide a focus for inquiries and be investigated across sub-strands or within a particular sub-strand context.
The content at this year level is organised into two strands: knowledge and understanding, and inquiry and skills. The knowledge and understanding strand draws from three sub-strands: history, geography and civics and citizenship. These strands (knowledge and understanding, and inquiry and skills) are interrelated and have been developed to be taught in an integrated way, which may include integrating with content from the sub-strands and from other learning areas, and in ways that are appropriate to specific local contexts. The order and detail in which they are taught are programming decisions.
Inquiry Questions
A framework for developing students’ knowledge, understanding and skills is provided by inquiry questions. The following inquiry questions allow for connections to be made across the sub-strands and may be used or adapted to suit local contexts: inquiry questions are also provided for each sub-strand that may enable connections within the humanities and social sciences learning area or across other learning areas.
- 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 Content Descriptions
Researching
Analysing
Evaluating and reflecting
Communicating
History
Concepts for developing understanding
The content in the history sub-strand provides opportunities for students to develop historical understanding through key concepts including sources, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy and significance. The Year 4 curriculum introduces world history and the movement of peoples. Students study the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, their connection to place (sources, perspectives, significance) and their contact with other societies (change and continuity, perspectives, empathy). Through a study of navigation, exploration and/or trade (sources), students come to learn about Australia’s early colonisation and develop understandings about contact between societies (continuity and change, cause and effect) and its effects on people and their environments (perspectives, empathy).
Inquiry Questions
- Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?
- What was life like for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples before the arrival of the Europeans?
- Why did the Europeans settle in Australia?
- What was the nature and consequence of contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and early traders, explorers and settlers?
Geography
Concepts for developing understanding
The content in the geography sub-strand provides opportunities to develop students’ understanding of place, space, environment, interconnection and sustainability. The content focuses on understandings about sustainability – the ongoing capacity of the environment to sustain human life and wellbeing. Students explore the features and functions of environments that support humans and other living things (environment, interconnection). They examine the use and management of resources and waste, and views about how to achieve sustainability (environment, interconnection, sustainability), including the custodial responsibility of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to their Country/Place (interconnection, sustainability). Students’ mental map of the world expands to South America and Africa and their main countries and characteristics (space, place, environment).
Inquiry Questions
- 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 environments more sustainably?
Civics and citizenship
Concepts for developing understanding
The content in the civics and citizenship sub-strand provides opportunities for students to develop understanding about government and democracy, laws and citizens and citizenship, diversity and identity. Students’ understanding of democratic decision-making is further developed through a study of the role of their local government and the services it provides to their community (government and democracy). They examine how rules and laws affect them and the importance of laws in society (laws and citizens) and they explore cultural diversity in their community; in particular, how belonging to different groups can shape personal identity (diversity and identity).
Inquiry Questions
- 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 4 Achievement Standards
By the end of Year 4, students recognise the significance of events in bringing about change and the importance of the environment. They explain how and why life changed in the past and identify aspects of the past that have remained the same. They describe the experiences of an individual or group in the past. They describe and compare the diverse characteristics of different places at local to national scales. Students identify the interconnections between components of the environment and between people and the environment. They identify structures that support their local community and recognise the importance of laws in society. They describe factors that shape a person’s identity and sense of belonging. They identify different views on how to respond to an issue or challenge.
Students develop questions to investigate. They locate and collect information and data from different sources, including observations to answer these questions. When examining information, they distinguish between facts and opinions and detect points of view. They interpret data and information to identify and describe distributions and simple patterns and draw conclusions. They share their points of view, respecting the views of others. Students sequence information about events and the lives of individuals in chronological order with reference to key dates. They sort, record and represent data in different formats, including large-scale maps using basic cartographic conventions. They reflect on their learning to propose action in response to an issue or challenge, and identify the possible effects of their proposed action. Students present ideas, findings and conclusions using discipline-specific terms in a range of communication forms.
By the end of Year 4, students recognise the significance of events in bringing about change. They explain how and why life changed in the past and identify aspects of the past that have remained the same. They describe the experiences of an individual or group in the past.
Students sequence information about events and the lives of individuals in chronological order with reference to key dates. They develop questions about the past and locate, collect and sort information from different sources to answer these questions. They analyse sources to detect points of view. Students develop and present texts, including narrative recounts, using historical terms.
By the end of Year 4, students describe the location of selected countries using compass direction. They describe and compare the characteristics of places in different locations at local to national scales. They identify the interconnections between components of the environment and between people and the environment. Students recognise the importance of the environment and identify different possible responses to a geographical challenge.
Students develop geographical questions to investigate and locate, collect and sort information and data from different sources to answer these questions. They record and represent data and the location of places and their characteristics in simple graphic forms, including large-scale maps that use the cartographic conventions of scale, legend, title and north point. They describe the location of places and their features using grid references and compass direction. Students interpret geographical data to identify spatial distributions and simple patterns and draw conclusions. They present findings using geographical terminology in a range of texts. They propose individual action in response to a local geographical challenge and identify some possible effects of their proposed action.
By the end of Year 4, students identify structures and decisions that support their local community and recognise the importance of laws in society. They describe factors that shape a person’s identity and sense of belonging.
Students develop questions about the society in which they live and locate and collect information from different sources to answer these questions. They examine information to distinguish between facts and opinions, identify points of view and to draw conclusions. They share their points of view, respecting the views of others, and identify the groups they belong to. Students present ideas and conclusions using discipline-specific terms in a range of communication forms.
Year 4 Work Sample Portfolios
Year 5
Year 5 Level Description
Australian communities – their past, present and possible futures
The Year 5 curriculum focuses on colonial Australia in the 1800s and the social, economic, political and environmental causes and effects of Australia’s development, and on the relationship between humans and their environment. Students’ geographical knowledge of Australia and the world is expanded as they explore the continents of Europe and North America, and study Australia’s colonisation, migration and democracy in the 1800s. Students investigate how the characteristics of environments are influenced by humans in different times and places, as they seek resources, settle in new places and manage the spaces within them. They also investigate how environments influence the characteristics of places where humans live and human activity in those places. Students explore how communities, past and present, have worked together based on shared beliefs and values. The curriculum introduces studies about Australia’s democratic values, its electoral system and law enforcement. In studying human desire and need for resources, students make connections to economics and business concepts around decisions and choices, gaining opportunities to consider their own and others’ financial, economic, environmental and social responsibilities and decision-making, past, present and future.
The content provides opportunities for students to develop humanities and social sciences understanding through key concepts including significance; continuity and change; cause and effect; place and space; interconnections; roles, rights and responsibilities; and perspectives and action. These concepts may provide a focus for inquiries and be investigated across sub-strands or within a particular sub-strand context.
The content at this year level is organised into two strands: knowledge and understanding, and inquiry and skills. The knowledge and understanding strand draws from four sub-strands: history, geography, civics and citizenship and economics and business. These strands (knowledge and understanding, and inquiry and skills) are interrelated and have been developed to be taught in an integrated way, which may include integrating with content from the sub-strands and from other learning areas, and in ways that are appropriate to specific local contexts. The order and detail in which they are taught are programming decisions.
Inquiry Questions
A framework for developing students’ knowledge, understanding and skills is provided by inquiry questions. The following inquiry questions allow for connections to be made across the sub-strands and may be used or adapted to suit local contexts: inquiry questions are also provided for each sub-strand that may enable connections within the humanities and social sciences learning area or across other learning areas.
- 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 Content Descriptions
Questioning
Researching
Analysing
Evaluating and reflecting
Communicating
History
Concepts for developing understanding
The content in the history sub-strand provides opportunities for students to develop historical understanding through key concepts including sources, continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy and significance. The curriculum in this year provides a study of colonial Australia in the 1800s. Students learn about the reasons for the founding of British colonies in Australia and the impact of a development or event on one Australian colony (continuity and change, cause and effect). They examine what life was like for different groups of people in the colonial period (sources), and explore the reasons for their actions (cause and effect, perspectives, empathy). They examine early migration, settlement patterns, people and their contributions, significant events, and political and economic developments (sources, continuity and change, significance, empathy). Students are also introduced to the concept of sources as they analyse sources to compare information and points of view in the past and present (sources, perspectives).
Inquiry Questions
- 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 Australian colonies?
Geography
Concepts for developing understanding
The content in the geography sub-strand provides opportunities to develop students’ understanding of place, space, environment, interconnection, change and sustainability. The curriculum focuses on the factors that shape the characteristics of places. They explore how climate and landforms influence the human characteristics of places, and how human actions influence the environmental characteristics of places (change, environment, place, interconnection). Students examine the way spaces within places are organised and managed (space, place), and how people work to prevent, mitigate and prepare for natural hazards (environment, place). Students’ mental map of the world expands to Europe and North America and their main countries and characteristics (space, place, environment).
Inquiry Questions
- 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
Concepts for developing understanding
The content in the civics and citizenship sub-strand provides opportunities for students to develop understanding about government and democracy, laws and citizens and citizenship, diversity and identity. Students are introduced to the key values of Australia’s liberal democratic system of government, such as freedom, equality, fairness and justice (government and democracy). Students begin to understand representative democracy by examining the features of the voting processes in Australia (government and democracy). Students expand on their knowledge of the law by studying the role of laws and law enforcement (laws and citizens). Students investigate how diverse groups cooperate and participate in our community (citizenship, diversity and identity).
Inquiry Questions
- 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
Concepts for developing understanding
The content in the economics and business sub-strand develops key ideas, with a focus on developing an understanding of why decisions need to be made when allocating resources (resource allocation) for society’s needs and wants, and the various factors that may influence them when making decisions (making choices). Methods that help with these decisions, particularly for consumer and financial decisions, are considered (consumer and financial literacy).
Inquiry Questions
- 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 5 Achievement Standards
By the end of Year 5, students describe the significance of people and events/developments in bringing about change. They identify the causes and effects of change on particular communities and describe aspects of the past that have remained the same. They describe the experiences of different people in the past. Students explain the characteristics of places in different locations at local to national scales. They identify and describe the interconnections between people and the human and environmental characteristics of places, and between components of environments. They identify the effects of these interconnections on the characteristics of places and environments. Students identify the importance of values and processes to Australia’s democracy and describe the roles of different people in Australia’s legal system. They recognise that choices need to be made when allocating resources. They describe factors that influence their choices as consumers and identify strategies that can be used to inform these choices. They describe different views on how to respond to an issue or challenge.
Students develop questions for an investigation. They locate and collect data and information from a range of sources to answer inquiry questions. They examine sources to determine their purpose and to identify different viewpoints. They interpret data to identify and describe distributions, simple patterns and trends, and to infer relationships, and suggest conclusions based on evidence. Students sequence information about events, the lives of individuals and selected phenomena in chronological order using timelines. They sort, record and represent data in different formats, including large-scale and small-scale maps, using basic conventions. They work with others to generate alternative responses to an issue or challenge and reflect on their learning to independently propose action, describing the possible effects of their proposed action. They present their ideas, findings and conclusions in a range of communication forms using discipline-specific terms and appropriate conventions.
By the end of Year 5, students describe the significance of people and events/developments in bringing about change. They identify the causes and effects of change on particular communities and describe aspects of the past that have remained the same. They describe the experiences of different people in the past.
Students sequence information about events and the lives of individuals in chronological order using timelines. When researching, students develop questions for a historical inquiry. They identify a range of sources and locate, collect and organise information related to this inquiry. They analyse sources to determine their origin and purpose and to identify different viewpoints. Students develop, organise and present their texts, particularly narrative recounts and descriptions, using historical terms and concepts.
By the end of Year 5, students describe the location of selected countries in relative terms. They explain the characteristics of places in different locations at local to national scales. They identify and describe the interconnections between people and the human and environmental characteristics of places, and between components of environments. They identify the effects of these interconnections on the characteristics of places and environments. They identify and describe different possible responses to a geographical challenge.
Students develop appropriate geographical questions for an investigation. They locate, collect and organise data and information from a range of sources to answer inquiry questions. They represent data and the location of places and their characteristics in graphic forms, including large-scale and small-scale maps that use the cartographic conventions of border, scale, legend, title and north point. They describe the location of places and their characteristics using compass direction and distance. Students interpret maps, geographical data and other information to identify and describe spatial distributions, simple patterns and trends, and suggest conclusions. They present findings and ideas using geographical terminology in a range of communication forms. They propose action in response to a geographical challenge and identify the possible effects of their proposed action.
By the end of Year 5, students identify the importance of values and processes to Australia’s democracy and describe the roles of different people in Australia’s legal system. They identify various ways people can participate effectively in groups to achieve shared goals and describe different views on how to respond to a current issue or challenge.
Students develop questions for an investigation about the society in which they live. They locate and collect information from different sources to answer these questions. They examine sources to determine their purpose and identify different viewpoints. They interpret information to suggest conclusions based on evidence. Students identify possible solutions to an issue as part of a plan for action and reflect on how they work together. They present their ideas, conclusions and viewpoints in a range of communication forms using civics and citizenship terms and concepts.
By the end of Year 5, students distinguish between needs and wants and recognise that choices need to be made when allocating resources. They describe factors that influence their choices as consumers. Students identify individual strategies that can be used to make informed consumer and financial choices.
Students develop questions for an investigation about an economics or business issue or event. They locate and collect data and information from a range of sources to answer these questions. They examine sources to determine their purpose and suggest conclusions based on evidence. They interpret, sort and represent data in different formats. They generate alternative responses to an issue or challenge and reflect on their learning to propose action, describing the possible effects of their decision. Students apply economics and business skills to everyday problems. They present their ideas, findings and conclusions in a range of communication forms using economics and business terms.