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A resource for building historical skills - Foundation Year
'What is this?' is designed to inspire young students to engage in historical inquiry, and to cultivate their historical literacy and skills.
It aligns with the Australian Curriculum: History for students in Foundation Year and includes a 15-minute video to introduce teachers to the inquiry-learning approach used in the resource.
- Explore the different structures of families and family groups today, and what they have in common - ACHHK002.
- Explore how the stories of families and the past can be communicated, for example through photographs, artefacts, books, oral histories, digital media, and museums - ACHHK004.
- Distinguish between the past, present and future - ACHH016.
- Pose questions about the past using sources provided - ACHHS017.
- Explore a range of sources about the past - ACHHS018.
- Identify and compare features of objects from the past and present - ACHHS019.
- Explore a point of view - ACHHS020.
- Use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic, written, role play) and digital technologies - ACHHS022.
What is this? Six historical objects
At the core of this resource is a set of six short videos to use in the classroom. Each one invites students to explore a different historical object. Having watched a video, students can undertake the suggested learning activities to help develop their skills of:
- observation and sequencing
- contextualisation and research
- empathy and speculation
We hope this resource makes teaching and learning history easy and fun. Let us know how it works for you and your students – we welcome your feedback.
Unless otherwise indicated (in this copyright notice or in relation to particular material on this website) you may copy, distribute, display, download and print the material on this web page for your own person use, for non-commercial education purposes or for non-commercial use within your organisation, provided that you attribute the National Museum of Australia. All other rights are reserved by the Museum. For example, you will have to obtain permission from the Museum if you wish to: (a) charge others for access to the material (other than at cost); (b) include the material in advertising or a product for sale; or (c) alter the material; unless a notice for that material provides otherwise.
The curriculum links in this resource are drawn from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), Australian Curriculum: History website.