Date: 15/10/2014

Lesson Duration: 60 minutes

Unit: History Changes in family structure over time

Year Level: 1

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.
The content provides opportunities to develop historical understanding through key concepts
including continuity and change, cause and effect, perspectives, empathy and
significance. These concepts may be investigated within a particular historical context to
facilitate an understanding of the past and to provide a focus for historical inquiries.
The history content at this year level involves two strands: Historical Knowledge, and
Understanding and Historical Skills. These strands are interrelated and should be taught in an
integrated way; they may be integrated across learning areas and in ways that are appropriate
to specific local contexts. The order and detail in which they are taught are programming
decisions.
Key Inquiry Questions
A framework for developing students historical knowledge, understanding and skills is
provided by inquiry questions. The key inquiry questions at this year level are:

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?

CURRICULUM: Content Descriptions

History

Differences in family structures and roles today, and how these have changed or
remained the same over time (ACHHK028)
Distinguish between the past, present and future (ACHHS032)
Pose questions about the past using sources provided (ACHHS033)

LESSON OBJECTIVES
By the end of this lesson students will demonstrate their ability to:

Recognise that some family structures have changed over time.

Understand that a decade is a period of 10 years.

STUDENTS PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

In lesson 1 students:

Explored a range of sources and identified the roles of significant older people in
families
Examined how family structures can consist of people from each human life stage
Discussed the term generation

MATERIALS
Interactive whiteboard
Slideshow presentation
YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii_LtHrEiao
Playdough
Easel
Butchers paper
Permanent markers

Time

5 mins

Introduction and Motivation

Tuning In/Preparing to Find Out Phase

Gain students attention (i.e. clap). Ask students, table group by

table group, to sit on the carpet in front of the interactive
whiteboard.
Briefly recap previous lesson with students. Questions to ask
include:
What are the names of some members in your family?
Are members of a family from the same generation?
What does generation mean?
Play YouTube video to students to introduce them to the topic
of families. Briefly discuss this video with students i.e. were all
families the same?
Project upon the screen the PowerPoint presentation. Discuss
with students image 1.1. Points to consider include:
- Who do you think is in this picture?
- Why do you think it is a family?
- Do you think this picture was taken recently? Why/why
not?
Inform students of the learning intention for the lesson: Today
we are going to look at how families have changed and stayed
the same over time.

Teaching
Approaches &
Resources
Discussion
with students
to activate
prior
knowledge
Teacherdirected
learning.
Interactive
whiteboard +
slideshow
Modelling to
scaffold
students
learning.
YouTube
video.

Time

5mins

Main Content

Finding Out Phase

10min
s

10min
s

Teaching
Approaches &
Resources

Project upon the screen the PowerPoint and highlight the

timeline to the students i.e. What do you think this line here
is? Why are there numbers? What could these numbers
represent?
As a class read the dates out loud. Ask the students how
many years is each date going up by? 50, 60, 70(it is going
up in tens).
Explain to students that when we go up in periods of ten
years it is known as a decade. To ensure students
understanding of this concept ask:
- If we went up in periods of 5 years is that a decade?
Why/why not?
- Is 1940 1950 a decade? Why/why not?
- How many years are in a decade?
Discuss with students where 2014 is on the timeline. Ask the
students if 2014 is in the past (has happened), future (will
happen) or present (happening right now).
On the class timeline (pinned on the wall) stick the present
tag on 2014.
Examine the dates 1950 2000. Discuss whether or not these
dates are the past, present or future. Stick the past tag on
these dates.
Examine the date 2020. Once again, ask students if this is the
past, present or future. Ask students to explain why it is the
future (because it has not happened yet).

Sorting Out Phase

Explain to students that they are now going to examine how
family structures have changed and stayed the same over the
decades.
Explore a range of images of families (slideshow) and
discuss the features of each family to:
- Determine which features in the images tell us which
decade the families belong to (e.g. clothing, hairstyle,
family structure)
- Discuss and identify the many different types of families,
including nuclear, single parent or blended and the
different family structures in other cultures.
Direct students attention towards the easel. As a class write a
serious of questions that could be asked to determine:
- Decades parents, grandparents and other family members
have lived.
- The structure of parents and grandparents or other

Model how
to complete
the activity
to students.
Clarify any
questions.

Questions
to scaffold
and support
students
learning.

Easel

special peoples families when they were younger and

about the roles that they have had within their family
structures as a child.
Explain to students that they will have 10 minutes to use the
play dough at their desks to create their family. Model to
students how to complete this task i.e. pre-create play dough
figures of my parents, two brothers and myself. Inform
students that after 10 minutes they will re-group and share
their family with the class.
Monitor and support students during this time.

10min
s

Butchers
paper and
pens

Playdough

10min
s

Time
10 mins

Conclusion:

Resources

Gain students attention (clap sequence).

Ask students to sit in a circle. One-by-one students are to
share their family structure with the class. Questions to ask
to stimulate students thinking include:
- How is __ family similar to ___ family?
- What is different?
- Do your parents work? Who elses parents work?
- Who else is the eldest child?
Conclude the lesson by asking students
- How many years are in a decade?
- Have family structures changed over time?
- Why do you think they have changed?

ASSESSMENT
Can the student:

Explain differences between structures of families in the past and structures of

families today?
Identify what has changed and what has remained the same in family structures and
roles over time?

Explain key words such as decade, family roles and family structures?

Be aware of:

Students who cannot identify differences in represented families.

MODIFICATIONS
Support Modifications
Visual cues/instructions on PowerPoint to support student 1.

Whilst sitting on the carpet ensure that student 2 is sitting in front of the teacher to
monitor their behaviour.
Ask student 2 and 3 to repeat instructions to ensure that they have understood the play
dough task.
Students are to sit in table groups during this activity so that peer-scaffolding can take
place.
Student 4 may experience difficulties understanding that the play dough figurines
represent members of their family. They have bought in a photograph of their family
and will be required to:
- Describe who is in the picture.
- Create a play dough figurines to represent the family members shown in the
picture.
- Bonnie (teacher aide) will work with ______ during the play dough task to ensure
that they stay on task and to scaffold their learning.

Extension Modifications
Ask student 5 and student 6 to group members in their family according to their
generation i.e. grandparents, parents and siblings.

EVALUATION
Were the students engaged?
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Did I complete all objectives and were they met?
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Are there things that I would do differently?
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Did peers scaffold each other?
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Did I observe, monitor and scaffold enough?
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Was my questioning effective and did I respond appropriately?
___________________________________________________________________________
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Did I use efficient wait-time?
___________________________________________________________________________
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Should I have re-phrased any questions to make them easier to understand?
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Did I ask questions from across all 6 major areas of Blooms taxonomy?
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Is 60 minutes enough time to complete the lesson?
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APPENDIX 1

THE INTEGRATING SOCIALLY MODEL OF INQUIRY

TUNING
IN

FOCUS ACTIVITIES SHOULD:

Provide students with opportunities to become engaged
with the topic
Ascertain the students initial curiosity about the topic

FOCUS ACTIVITIES SHOULD:

PREPARING
TO FIND
OUT

FINDING
OUT

Establish what the students already know about the topic

Provide the students with a focus for the forthcoming
experience

FOCUS ACTIVITIES SHOULD:

Further stimulate the students curiosity
Provide new information which may answer some of the students
earlier questions
Raise other questions for students to explore in the future
Challenge the students knowledge, beliefs and values
Help students to make sense of further activities and experiences
which have been planned for them

FOCUS ACTIVITIES SHOULD:

SORTING
OUT

Provide students with concrete means of sorting out and

representing information and ideas arising from the
finding-out stage
Provide students with the opportunity to process the

FOCUS ACTIVITIES SHOULD:

GOING
FURTHER

MAKING
CONNECTIO
NS

Extend and challenge students understanding about the

topic
Provide more information in order to broaden the range of
understandings available to the students

FOCUS ACTIVITIES SHOULD:

Help students draw conclusions about what they have
learnt
Provide opportunities for reflection both on what has been
learnt and on the learning process itself

FOCUS ACTIVITIES SHOULD:

TAKING
ACTION

Assist students to make links between their understanding and

their experience in the real world
Enable students to make choices and develop the belief that
they can be effective participants in society
Provide further insight into students understanding for future
unit planning