EEO311 Learners Living in their world Humanities

SCOPE & SEQUENCE UNIT PLANNING

Duration: 10 weeks
STUDENT NAMES: Jessica Spinucci and Emily Lomax

Weekly Focus:
Local Perspectives

Topic:
Places & people in my community

Key Concepts/Values
Community
Sense of belonging

Year Level:

Big Idea: We belong to community of many people and places

One

in which we engage and encounter on a daily basis.

Teaching proposal
Through this unit it is envisaged that students will gain a sense of belonging as they investigate the community, the people
and the places in which they engage with and encounter every day. The importance of community and recognising/forming
links is highlighted in the text Teaching Humanities and Social Science edited by Gilbert and Hoepper (2014, p. 313);
Forging links with the community has advantages for students and schools, as there are opportunities for students to make a
difference, to access resources and to learn new skills.
Both places and people are investigated in the unit, with students making links to their own lives they will be creating a sense
of belonging which, as suggested by Harvie (2015) 'should be introduced in the first year of school as they are introduced to
the classroom community'. The unit will build on this important idea through engaging resources and activities.
When learning about the local community it is important that learning is taken beyond the four walls of a classroom, whether
that be through facilitated discussion and sharing of student experiences or an excursion; as Garner and Jackson (2013)
describe what fieldwork is and how it is effective, they express that learning outside the classroom has fantastic advantage.
Further to this students will engage in all humanities discipline areas as identified by the Australian Curriculum (2013),
Through studying humanities and social sciences, students will develop the ability to question, think critically, solve problems,
communicate effectively, make decisions and adapt to change.

The big idea chosen for the topic combines the key concepts and values of community and creating a sense of belonging. It
provides an overarching idea of what the students will be engaging with throughout the 10 weeks and also introduces a new
concept of the world as a community, which the students may not have engaged with before (Gilbert, 2014, p. 71). It is simple,
yet it can be unpacked and expanded upon to reveal many understandings and key skills which are listed in this scope and
sequence.
The five understandings, the key skills and the activities discussed in this unit work to promote authentic learning among the
students. Authentic learning takes place when students are actively engaged in the content, drawing on prior knowledge and
applying newly learnt concepts (Gilbert, 2014, p.69). Over the 10 weeks of the unit, students will be required to make
connections beyond the classroom by participating in inquiry-based activities. These activities provide students with the
opportunity to actively engage with the local community, participate in group discussions, research and investigate using ICT
and present their findings in a range of responses. The activities are designed to promote hands-on learning and encourage
students to be independent learners, rather than passive learners. As Newmann and Wehlage (1993; cited in Gilbert, 2014)
suggest, there are limited benefits of passive learning such as simply remembering information about communities. It is
much more beneficial for students to interact with the topic and be actively involved in the learning process.
Ultimately the unit of work has been designed to promote student learning through active, hands-on participation in activities,
and experiences beyond the classroom that will result in authentic learning.

Understandings:

Key Skills

At the end of this unit, students will understand that:

At the conclusion of this unit students will be able to:
1. It is the people and the places that make up a community
Recognise that there are significant people in the
2. There are roles and responsibilities within a community
community
3. In our community, we have different resources available
Investigate the local community and determine the
4. It is important to acknowledge and respect the original
important features
landowners and their place in history
Research using ICT
5. Communities can change over time
Present a range of responses to activities

Australian Curriculum areas covered in this inquiry unit related to Humanities

Discipline

History

Geography

Knowledge & Understanding

Differences and similarities between
students' daily lives and life during
their parents and grandparents
childhoods, including family traditions,
leisure time and communications.

code
ACHHK030

Skills

code

Identify and compare features of objects

from the past and present

ACHHS035

Pose questions about familiar and

unfamiliar places

ACHGS007

Collect and record geographical data and ACHGS008

information, for example, by observing, by
interviewing, or from sources such as
photographs, plans, satellite images, story
books and films
Represent data and the location of places
and their features by constructing tables,
plans and labelled maps

ACHGS009

Present findings in a range of

communication forms, for example,
written, oral, digital and visual, and
describe the direction and location of
places, using terms such as north, south,
opposite, near, far

ACHGS011

ACHGS012
Reflect on their learning and suggest

responses to their findings

Humanities

Through observation, they investigate

and describe elements of the natural
and built environments in their local
area.
They begin to understand how local
resources are used to make products
which meet local people's needs and
the needs of people in other places.
They also begin to understand that
resources from other places may be
used to make products locally to meet
their needs.

Civics &
Citizenship

They explore the roles, rights and

responsibilities of various family and
community members
They explore the purpose and
benefits of school, community and
national events

CROSS CURRICULUM PRIORITIES

Indigenous

Organising ideas

code

Organising ideas

code

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Peoples have lived in Australia for
tens of thousands of years and

OI.6

Australia acknowledges the significant

contributions of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people locally and globally.

OI.9

experiences can be viewed through

historical, social and political lenses.

Asia
Sustainability
GENERAL CAPABILITIES
Personal and social
capability

Literacy

Ethical understanding

Numeracy

(ICT) capability

Critical and creative

thinking

Organising elements:
Investigating with ICT
Creating with ICT
Communicating with ICT
Managing and operating ICT

Intercultural
understanding

Organising Elements:
Self-awareness
Self-management
Social awareness
Social management
Organising elements:
Exploring values, rights and
responsibilities
Organising Elements:
Recognising culture and developing
respect
Interacting and empathising with others
Reflecting on intercultural experiences
and taking responsibility

SCOPE & SEQUENCE UNIT PLAN

When
(Weeks)

Understandings

Learning Experiences/Learning processes

1-2

It is the people and Tuning in activities

the places that
To start off the unit we will do a mind map on What
make up a
makes up a community. With a focus on the local
community
community the mind map will aim to present ideas such
as the people and places around us.
Read My Place Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins
Communities can
(1988)
change over time
Discuss My Place in terms of similarities and differences
(Please note: As the book is quite long and 'wordy' teacher may
decided to only read a few pages from the book)
Ask 'WHY' 5 times beginning with Why is it important to
learn about our neighbourhood?

Resources
Include references AND
images (if appropriate)
here:

AC links/
codes

ACHHK030
ACHHS035

(Wheatley & Rawlins

1988)

Civics and
Citizenship:
They explore the
roles, rights and
responsibilities of
various family
and community
members
They explore the
purpose and
benefits of
school,
community and
national events

3-5

In our community,
we have different
resources available

Communities can

What is in my neighbourhood
Students to bring in a photo of their house. Activity:
Create and label on a class poster. (Pictured: Where we
live)
Students to use the mind map to prompt them and write a
list of what is around their house and/or draw pictures

Example 'Where we live

poster' :

ACHGS007
ACHGS008
ACHGS009

change over time

Excursion:
'Walking Tour'
Before the excursion: In preparation for the excursion,
students will work in pairs and look at ' Google Maps'
using Ipads and/or computers to investigate what is
around the school before heading out on a 'Walking Tour'.
The students will share one thing they found on 'Google
Maps' that they expect to see on the 'Walking Tour'.
Teacher to also talk about behaviour, road safety, how to
act in public place etc.
During the excursion: Students to bring along cameras
or Ipads to take photos of what they find in our community
As the 'Walking Tour' commences the teacher will be a
tour guide, pointing out features and stopping along the
way around the school community and neighbourhood.
(Teacher choice: Stop for a picnic lunch along the way at a
local facility or park.)
After the excursion: Think , pair, share Students to
discuss what they have seen and what they have learnt
about the community
Students to use photos they have taken from the walking
tour and write a sentence using the starter: In my
community
As a class we will then use photos and descriptions to
make another map, with the school at the centre and
photos around showing what is in our neighbourhood
creating a neighbourhood map.

ACHGS011
ACHGS012

source:
https://www.pinterest.com
/pin/34790313993879008
9/

Google Maps:
https://www.google.com
.au/maps
Equipment needed:
Cameras
Ipads/Computers or
Laptops
Example 'What is in our
neighbourhood' - (will
use real photos)

Source: http://mylilbeans.blogspot.com.au/
2010/04/my-communitytheme.html?m=1

6-8

It is important to
acknowledge and
respect the original
landowners and
their place in
history
It is the people and
the places that
make up a
community

There are roles and

responsibilities
within a community

Who is in my community
My Place by Nadia Wheatley & Donna Rawlins
Read through the book once again (or some of the book)
but this time focusing on who is the in the book
Discuss what the people in the book are doing and how
they are contributing to the community, refer back to how
these characters are similar to people in our own
communities/families
Take a particular focus on the end of the book, where it
ties in the traditional landowners. Discuss how the
traditional landowners have contributed to the community
we have today, and who owned the land that our school is
on.
Community Helpers
Watch a video on community helpers to introduce the
students to some of the people that we find in a
community that are there to help us
Create community helpers puppets to reinforce the idea
that there are special people in the community that are
dedicated to helping others (policeman, fireman, doctor,
paramedic, mailman, nurse etc.)
Students can colour in the community helpers, cut them
out and glue them only icy pole sticks.
Once the students have made their community helper
characters, they can add one each to the map of the
community and talk about the different roles that these
helpers have (referring back to the video)

ACHHK030
ACHHS035
OI.6
OI.9
(Wheatley & Rawlins
1988)
Community helpers
video link:

https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=mw6RBvUmay
A
Example of community
helpers puppets:

Humanities level
1: They explore
the roles, rights
and
responsibilities of
various family
and community
members

Incursion
There are roles and CFA Fire Safe Kids education program
responsibilities
Before the incursion: Get the students to make a K-W-L
within a community
chart (just filling in the K & W for now) about
firemen/women
Ask students to write what they already know about
firemen or fire safety, and also what they want to know to
prepare them before the incursion.
The students can have a few questions ready for the CFA
when they come into the school.
This is also a good opportunity to discuss behaviour
during incursions and how they will be expected to
behave when the demonstration is going on
During the incursion: The CFA Fire Safe Kids will
undertake their education program students may ask
the question they have for the firemen
After the incursion: ask students to reflect on what they
learnt during the incursion and they can add this to the L
part of their K-W-L chart.
As part of the reflection process, the students will also
complete an activity where they fill out the speech bubble
of a firemen they need to come up with some facts that
they learnt during the incursion (teacher can have
prewritten facts if needed such as Get down low and go
go go)
Students can write into the speech bubble or they can fill
them out on the computer if these facilities are available
The students will colour in their fireman outfit and cut it
out. Each student will have a picture of his or her face to
cut out as well.
Once each student has printed off their speech bubble
they can arrange their face and fireman outfit to fit next to

CFA Website for

bookings:
http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/
kids-schools/fire-safekids/

Humanities level
1: They explore
the roles, rights
and
responsibilities of
various family
and community
members

the speech bubble.

9-10

It is the people and

the places that
make up a
community

Bringing it together

The different roles of community helpers

To bring all of the knowledge gained about community
There are roles and
helpers and their roles within the community, students will
responsibilities
create an art piece and written piece to represent
within a community
themselves as a community member/helper
The students will choose one of the community helpers
that they have learnt about (nurse, fireman, police officer
etc.) and draw a portrait of themselves as this member of
community.
The students need to think about what job they have,
where they would work (e.g. nurse works at a hospital)
and then present there picture to the class along with this
information. Its a way of bringing all of the information

together in a fun and creative way.

The teacher could collect all of the drawings and make a
book out of them, and the students could also write the
information they presented about their community
member to add to the book.
Circle Chart preparing to expand to the wider community
To finish off the sequence of lessons, solidify their
learning and to gain an insight into what the wider
community could include, the students will make their own
circle chart.
The students will be given 6 pieces of piece in the shape
of a circle (begin with small circle and build up to the 6th
paper being the biggest)
Starting with the smallest circle, the students will draw a
picture of their school and write the name of the school
along the bottom curve of the circle.

Community helpers
portrait example

Source:
https://www.pinterest.co
m/pin/321092648410945
873/
Circle Chart example

Source:
https://www.pinterest.com
/pin/AaaezCjKcFdfOSt7Tj

Humanities level
1: They explore
the roles, rights
and
responsibilities of
various family
and community
members

The students will continue on each piece of paper going

from name of school, name of the street the school is on,
the suburb name, the state, the country and the planet.
This activity can generate some thinking around the wider
communities, and also leading to a unit of Living in
Australia.

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hOqQqryQNP1YyyOFxc/

Bibliography:
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2013). The Australian Curriculum. Retrieved 20 September 2015,
<http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au>
Gilbert, R 2014, Planning for student learning in R. Gilbert and B. Hoepper (eds.), Teaching humanities and social sciences: history, geography,
economics and citizenship, 5th ed, Cengage Learning Australia, South Melbourne.
Harvie K , EEO311 Learners Living In Their World: Humanities Perspectives, Deakin University, PowerPoint Slides, 27 March 2015
Pickford, T, Garner, W & Jackson, E 2013 Enquiry outside the classroom in T Pickford, W Garner & E Jackson, Primary Humanities:
learning through enquiry, Sage Publications Ltd, London, pp. 38-57
Weatley, N & Rawlins, D, 1988, My Place, Long man, Melbourne, Australia.