AusVELS – History Early Years
Foundation Year- Level Description – Personal and Family Histories
The Foundation curriculum provides a study of personal and family histories. Students learn about their own history and that of their family; this may include stories from different cultures and other parts of the world. As participants in their own history, students build on their knowledge and understanding of how the past is different from the present.
Key inquiry questions
- 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?
Year 1 – Level Description – Present and Past Family Life
The Year 1 curriculum provides a study of present and past family life within the context of the students’ own world. Students learn about similarities and differences in family life by comparing the present with the past. They begin to explore the links, and the changes that occur, over time.
Key inquiry questions
- 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?
Year 2 – Level Description – The Past in the Present
The Year 2 curriculum provides a study of local history. Students explore, recognise and appreciate the history of their local area by examining remains of the past and considering why they should be preserved.
Key inquiry questions
- 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?
- How have changes in technology shaped our daily life?
Year 3 – Level Description – Community and Remembrance
The Year 3 curriculum provides a study of identity and diversity in both a local and broader context. Moving from the heritage of their local area, students explore the historical features and diversity of their community as represented in symbols and emblems of significance, and celebrations and commemorations, both locally and in other places around the world.
Key inquiry questions
- 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?
