A great HASS unit begins with a question worth asking: "Why did European explorers come to Australia?" or "How did Aboriginal peoples adapt to different Australian environments?" These questions generate investigation, debate, and multiple perspectives.
Avoid yes/no questions. Ask 'why', 'how', or 'what if'. Make the question personally relevant: "How do decisions made 100 years ago affect where you live today?"
Central question: "Why did the Anzac legend become so important to Australian identity?" Supporting questions: "What events shaped the Anzac story? How did soldiers experience WWI? What did Australians think about the war at home? Why do we still remember it?"
Each supporting question guides investigation and keeps the unit coherent. Students see connections between smaller inquiries and the big idea.
Give students primary sources (letters, photographs, maps, newspaper clippings, government records). Teach them to ask: "Who created this? When? Why? What perspective does it show? What's missing or biased?"
Year 5-6: Simple observation ("This is a letter from a soldier. He writes about missing home."). Year 7-8: Deeper inference ("This photo shows soldiers marching, but it doesn't show the wounded or sick. Why might this photograph have been selected for a newspaper?").
Divide the unit into group investigations. One group researches Aboriginal perspectives pre-colonisation, another researches European motivations, another examines the impact of colonisation. Groups share findings, and students synthesise multiple perspectives.
Presentations can be posters, digital timelines, dramatisations, or debates. The process of investigating and presenting deepens understanding far more than reading a textbook chapter.
Return to the central question. "Based on what we've learned, how would you answer this now? Has your thinking changed? What surprised you?"
This metacognitive step helps students recognise their own learning and consolidate understanding. It also prepares them for more sophisticated analysis in secondary years.
