Foundation Year
My personal world
The Foundation curriculum focuses on developing students' understanding of their personal worlds, including their personal and family histories and the places they and their families live in and belong to. The emphasis is on the student's own history and their own place. They explore why places are special to them and others. As students explore the people and features of their social and physical worlds, they examine representations of place and sources, which may include stories from family members and from different cultures. They may also study places of similar size that are familiar to them or that they are curious about, coming to see how people feel about and look after places. Learning about their own heritage and their own place contributes to students' sense of identity and belonging, beginning the idea of active citizenship.
The content provides opportunities for students to begin to develop humanities and social sciences understanding through key concepts including significance, continuity and change, place and space and perspectives. 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 two sub-strands: history and geography. 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.
- Who am I, where do I live and who came before me?
- Why are some places and events special and how do we know?
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
Achievement Standard
By the end of Foundation Year, students identify important events in their own lives and recognise why some places are special to people. They describe the features of familiar places and recognise that places can be represented on maps and models. They identify how they, their families and friends know about their past and commemorate events that are important to them.
Students respond to questions about their own past and places they belong to. They sequence familiar events in order. They observe the familiar features of places and represent these features and their location on pictorial maps and models. They reflect on their learning to suggest ways they can care for a familiar place. Students relate stories about their past and share and compare observations about familiar places.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
Achievement Standard
By the end of the Foundation year, students identify important events in their own lives. They identify how they, their families and friends know about their past and commemorate events that are important to them.
Students sequence familiar events in order. They respond to questions about their own past. Students relate a story about their past using a range of texts.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
Achievement Standard
By the end of Foundation Year, students describe the features of familiar places and recognise why some places are special to people. They recognise that places can be represented on maps and a globe and why places are important to people.
Students observe the familiar features of places and represent these features and their location on pictorial maps and models. They share and compare observations in a range of texts and use everyday language to describe direction and location. Students reflect on their learning to suggest ways they can care for a familiar place.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
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Sustainability Activity - Caring for the Environment
Promote sustainable living with a sustainability sorting activity.
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Build a Family Tree – Template
A versatile resource to use when exploring family history with your students.
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Australian Landform Map
A map of Australia showing the major landforms.
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Tiddalick the Frog Dreaming Story Sequencing Activity Cards
Use these Tiddalick the Frog sequencing activity cards as a resource for teaching Australian Dreaming Stories.
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Who Lived Here Before You? PowerPoint
A 17 slide editable PowerPoint template introducing students to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples connection to land.
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My Special Place – Assessment Worksheet
A worksheet for students to use when demonstrating their understanding of special places in the local community.
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Places on a Map - Task Cards
Teach your young learners to read community maps with a set of task cards.
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Blank Timeline Template
A blank editable timeline template to use as a recording worksheet in history lessons.
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Mapping a Journey – Worksheet
A worksheet that allows students to create a map of a journey when exploring local places.
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All About My Family Mini Booklet
A template for students to complete all about their family.
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What Makes Australia Unique Posters
A set of 6 educational posters highlighting some of the things that make Australia unique
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My Home – Worksheets
A set of 4 worksheets that allow students to describe the special and important features of their home.
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Learning About the Past PowerPoint
Use this 15-slide editable PowerPoint template when introducing younger students to historical sources.
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Five Australian Landmarks Posters
A set of 5 posters highlighting some of Australia's most famous Landmarks.
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Geographic Landforms Features Poster and Worksheet
Add this poster of different types of geographic features of Earth to your classroom walls to provide a visual reference for students.
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NAIDOC 2021 – Heal Country! - Word Search (Early Years)
A puzzle related to key concepts of the NAIDOC theme.
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Know Your Place Jigsaws
Six mini jigsaw puzzles focusing on different places.
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How Are People and Places Connected? - Geography Word Wall Vocabulary
51 people and places vocabulary word wall cards.
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Discovering the Past Worksheet
A worksheet to use when discussing how to discover information about the past.
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NAIDOC Week 2022 Find-a-Word – Lower Years
A lower-years find-a-word puzzle emphasising topic words from information sheet about the NAIDOC 2022 theme: “Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!”
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NAIDOC Week 2022 – Teacher Information Sheet
A teacher information sheet about the NAIDOC 2022 theme: “Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!”
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NAIDOC Week 2022 Comprehension Activity
A worksheet with text and comprehension questions exploring the 2022 NAIDOC theme.
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NAIDOC Week 2022 Jumbled Word Puzzle
A student word puzzle focusing on topic words from the information sheet about the NAIDOC 2022 theme: “Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!”.
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NAIDOC Week 2022 – Student Information Sheet
A student information sheet about the NAIDOC 2022 theme: “Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!”.
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NAIDOC 2021 – Heal Country! - Worksheet (Early Years)
A worksheet for students to reflect on the NAIDOC theme as it relates to them.
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NAIDOC 2021 – Heal Country! Teacher information sheet
A teacher information sheet about the NAIDOC 2021 theme: Heal Country!
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NAIDOC 2021 – Heal Country! Student information sheet
A student information sheet about the NAIDOC 2021 theme: Heal Country!
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Why Teach About Aboriginal Artefacts? Poster
An educational poster providing a rationale for teaching Australian children about Aboriginal artefacts.
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Why Teach About Aboriginal Languages? Poster
An educational poster providing a rationale for teaching Australian children about Aboriginal languages.
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A Very Special Memory – Worksheet
Explore the role that photographs play in communicating the stories of our past with this simple worksheet.
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A Very Special Object – Worksheet
Explore the role that objects play in communicating the stories of our past with this simple worksheet.
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People Live in Places PowerPoint
A 21 slide editable PowerPoint template introducing students to investigating the places people live in and belong to.