Unit Outline

This unit introduces you to the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) in the primary school context, with a focus on how to effectively teach its content to students. You will explore key HASS pedagogies, such as using historical sources and conducting geographical fieldwork, alongside strategies for explicitly teaching content knowledge and skills. Through planning learning experiences and developing teaching resources aligned with the curriculum, you will build confidence in designing meaningful HASS lessons. The unit also deepens your understanding of research-informed best practices in HASS education, while further developing your research and communication skills.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Design effective learning experiences for primary students (F-6) that are consistent with the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences.
2	Create learning resources which support primary students’ understanding of content and skills from the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences.
3	Evaluate lesson plans and teaching resources based on an understanding of the research evidence for effective teaching of Humanities and Social Sciences in the primary school.
4	Incorporate theoretical and professional literature to communicate ideas about teaching the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences in the primary school.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Concurrent Pre-requisite	EMT502

Alterations as a result of student feedback

The unit has been revised to incorporate a balanced focus on explicit teaching and guided inquiry.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Understanding the Curriculum	Week 4	20 %	LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Planning for Primary History	Week 10	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Planning for Primary Geography	Week 13	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Understanding the Curriculum

Task Description:

Explain the structure of the Australian Curriculum: HASS (F-6).

In your response, you should refer to:
• Knowledge and Understanding Strand
• Skills Strand
• Year Level Descriptions
• Achievement Standards

Provide examples, where appropriate, from one (or more) of the Year Levels within the curriculum.

Your response must adhere to academic writing conventions (i.e., formal academic prose and appropriate APA referencing).

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 2.1

Task due 11.59 pm

Task Length:

500 words

Due Date:

Week 4 (27/Jul/2026)

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Demonstrate understanding of the structure and scope of the Australian Curriclum: HASS (F-6) (40%)	LO4
2	Use examples from the Australian Curriculum: HASS strands to explain the structure and scope of the curriculum requirements (30%)	LO4
3	Communicate ideas through appropriate use of academic writing conventions (academic language and APA referencing) and justify arguments with reference to theoretical and professional literature (30%)	LO4

Assessment Task 2: Planning for Primary History

Task Description:

4Part A: Design two HASS (History) lessons (approx. 700 words)
Design a sequence of two connected lessons (each approximately 45 minutes) for a selected year level in the Primary HASS curriculum (F–6). Your lessons should:
• Be clearly aligned with Australian Curriculum: HASS content descriptions and achievement standards.
• Primarily focus on the teaching of history content within the Australian Curriculum: HASS
• Include learning intentions and success criteria for each lesson.
• Demonstrate the explicit teaching of relevant HASS knowledge and skills.
• Incorporate a teacher-designed resource that models and/or scaffolds student learning appropriately.

Part B: Create a resource to model and/or scaffold learning (approx. 300 words)
Create a resource to model and/or scaffold student learning in one or both of your lessons. Examples include:
• Worksheets or templates
• Graphic/visual organisers
• Multimedia or digital resource

Part C: Evaluation and justification (approx. 750 words)
Write a critical evaluation of your lesson plans and resource. In your evaluation, justify your planning decisions with reference to research evidence about effective teaching in HASS. Use academic writing conventions and APA referencing to support your arguments.

Task Length:

1750 words

Due Date:

Week 10 (14/Sep/2026)

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Design learning experiences that are consistent with the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences (40%)	LO1
2	Create resources that support student learning (30%).	LO2
3	Evaluate lesson plans and resources based an understanding of the research evidence about effective teaching in Humanities and Social Sciences in the primary school (20%).	LO3
4	Communicate ideas through the appropriate use of academic writing conventions and justify arguments with reference to theoretical and professional literature (10%).	LO4

Assessment Task 3: Planning for Primary Geography

Task Description:

Part A: Geography fieldwork lesson (Approx. 700 words)
Design a 90-minute geography fieldwork lesson (excluding travel time) for a selected year level in the Australian Curriculum: HASS (F–6).
Your lesson should:
• Be clearly aligned to relevant Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences content descriptions and the achievement standard
• Include learning intentions and success criteria
• Incorporate the explicit teaching of fieldwork techniques and opportunity for students to collect geographical data.

Part B: Create a resource for students (Approx. 300 words)
Create a student-friendly resource or activity sheet that explains one of the fieldwork activities. This should be written as a procedure, using clear, age-appropriate language and active verbs (e.g., observe, record, draw, collect, compare).
Your resource should:
• Provide step-by-step instructions for students to follow in the field
• Meet the learning intentions of the lesson
Attach the resource as an appendix.

Part C: Evaluation and justification (approx. 750 words)
Write a critical evaluation of your fieldwork lesson and resource. In your evaluation, justify your planning decisions with reference to research evidence about effective teaching in HASS. Use academic writing conventions and APA referencing to support your arguments.

Task Length:

1750 words

Due Date:

Week 13 (07/Oct/2026)

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Design learning experiences that are consistent with the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences (40%).	LO1
2	Create resources that support student learning (30%).	LO2
3	Evaluate lesson plans and resources based an understanding of the research evidence about effective teaching in Humanities and Social Sciences in the primary school (20%).	LO3
4	Communicate ideas through the appropriate use of academic writing conventions and justify arguments with reference to theoretical and professional literature (10%).	LO4

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

Taylor, T., Fahey, C., Kriewaldt, J., & Boon, D. (2019). Place and time: Teaching history, geography and social sciences (2nd ed.). Pearson.

Note: this text is available for a limited loan period from the University of Tasmania. Further required readings will be made available to you via MyLO or via the University Library website.