Finding out and sorting out inquiry

LESSON TWO
LEARNING AREA: History LESSON TOPIC: Families in the past and
families from different cultures
Focus on Family Structure
YEAR LEVEL: 1
LENGTH of LESSON: 45 minutes
CURRICULUM LINKS
Historical Knowledge and Understanding
Present and past family life
ACHHK028 Differences in family structures and roles today, and how these have changed or
remained the same over time
Comparing families in the present with those from the recent past (the families of parents
and grandparents) in terms of their size and structure (for example the different types of
family such as nuclear, single parent, blended)
Historical Skills
Chronology, terms ad concepts
ACHHS032 Distinguish between the past, present and future
Using terms to denote time (for example then, now, yesterday, today, past, present,
generations)
Analysis and use of sources
ACHHS034 Explore a range of sources about the past
English
Literacy
Text in context
ACELY1655 Respond to texts drawn from a range of cultures and experiences
Interacting with others
ACELY1656 Engage in conversations and discussions, using active listening behaviours, showing
interest, and contributing ideas, information and questions
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this lesson students will:
Engage in appropriate use of language and terms to distinguish families from the past and
diverse cultures
Identify the different structures that characterise a family dynamic
Compare families in relation to their structure and size
Comment on people and places beyond their immediate experience
Increasing their understanding of families from the past and different cultures
LESSON OBJECTIVES
By the end of this lesson, students will:
1. Identify the differences and similarities in family structures from the past and diverse
cultures and begin to relate this to their own family dynamic
2. Express their understanding of the difference in family structures
3. Explore sources from and about the past to add meaning to their learning
INQUIRY QUESTION FOR LESSON

What do families of the past and different cultures look like? How has family life changed or
remained the same over time?
STUDENTS PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Understanding of key terms and language in relation to the unit (then, now, past,
present, generations) Introduced in Lesson 1
An understanding of who the people are that make up their own family
A basic understanding of family structures
PREPARATION:
Resources
Family portraits from the past and different cultures to be displayed in the classroom after
lesson for students to make reference to later in the unit
Family structure portrait table worksheet
A-Frame whiteboard and whiteboard markers
Classroom Organisation
Students to gather on the floor as a group in front of the Easel (Guided to do this with
nothing in their hands)
Pair rotations to complete portrait table
LESSON PROCEDURE
Motivation (Orientating Phase) 10 minutes
Ask children to gather on the group mat in front of the easel (with nothing in their hands)
Reengage students in their understanding of our unit topic
Introduce the lesson and engage in a discussion with the students about our topic for today:
Families in the past and families from different cultures and explain that our primary focus is
on Family Structure
Engage students in this lesson by having a discussion about our understanding of families:
o Do you think all families are the same?
o How can families be different?
o What makes up a family? Can this be different for each family?
Procedure (Enhancing Phase) 20-30 minutes
Explain to students that they are going to work in pairs to look at different pictures and
complete a table, read out by the teacher, but answered by them, to look at different
families from the past and different cultures around the world show class the table and
introduce the questions that they will answer
As a group record some words on the whiteboard that may be used when completed our
table (Parents, grandparents, children, brothers, sisters, clothing, old, past, cultures)
**Organise into pairs, distribute worksheet and start each pair at a different photo already set
up around the room **
Students to start working on the Family structure table with their peer
Teacher to read out questions and allow time for students to complete the table together
Move around the room to the next photo
Pose questions to keep students motivated and on track
Are you starting to see some similarities / differences with your family
structure?
Has anyone found anything interesting about the photos?
Can anyone see any patterns with the portraits?
Have a think about how these families differ from your own family?

Once students have finished they are to move back to the mat and start discussing with
their peers some of the responses they have found
Gather all the students back onto the mat for a discussion and go through table to help
identify and answer questions the students may have about the portraits and where/when
they were from:
o What were some similarities people found with their own family?
o What were some differences that people found?
o Who saw in the pictures some of the families doing things that their families do
now?
o Can we see that even though in the past or from a different culture families can
be similar to us and different?

Conclusion (Synthesising Phase) 5 minutes

Do a quick reflection on the learning with students linking it back to their assessment
pieces: Later on in this unit, we will be looking at interviewing our own family members and
presenting what it was like for a family member in the past
Discuss homework task with the students
o Students are to go home and collect a picture/s or write down all the members from
their family to bring for our next class and also a family photo or list of the people of
an older relatives family
DIFFERENTIATION OF LEARNING
Have students paired with appropriate partners for the paired activity, pair students who
may easily get distracted with those who are more able to stay on task and those who have
difficulties with those who are able to help scaffold their learning peer scaffolding
Some students may be sensitive about their family dynamic so it is important in all
discussions that all family structures and groups are recognised and supported
Have students who require extra attention or may disrupt the class sitting close to you
during group time
Allow students with physical ailments to sit on chairs during group time if required
Encourage all students to be engaged in class discussions and scaffold this by asking
prompting questions and focusing attention towards them during specific instructions
Common words within the lesson are written on the whiteboard to assist learners
throughout the writing tasks
ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING/LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Assessment as Learning: Reflect on whether or not students were engaged in the
lesson and how they contributed to class discussion (have a quick checklist with all
students names)
2. Assessment for Learning: Students completed table where students able to use
meaningful reflections to evaluate the portraits of different families and families from the
past