Syllabus links

and teacher notes

Stage 1 HSIE outcome

HS1-HIS-01 describes the ancient past and changes in communication over time, using stories, images, objects and sites as evidence

Excursion content

The way people communicate has changed over time

Examine ways people communicated with each other in the past
Identify ways people communicate with each other in the present
Describe ways communication has changed over time by comparing stories, images, objects and sites as evidence
Draw conclusions about why communications have changed over time using Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary

Not covered:

Describe ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have communicated over time by comparing stories, images, objects or sites as evidence, for example, art, song, dance, story, message sticks, smoke signals.
Sequence significant changes in communications that connected Australia to the world, for example, overland telegraph, postal services, television, internet, submarine cables

Potential post-visit content

Sequencing ideas in written texts supports understanding of the past

Experiences at the NSW Schoolhouse Museum will build knowledge and understandings to enable students compose written texts at school following the excursion as per the following content:

Use past and present tense to describe change over time
Use time connectives to sequence information and events
Create compound sentences using coordinating conjunctions to compare, describe or give an opinion on the past
Group simple and compound sentences into paragraphs to recount a sequence of events or a story from the past

Human Society and its Environment K–6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024.

NSW Department of Education unit links

The activities, objects and texts in this resource can support:

HSIE Stage 1 Unit 5

Lessons 4, 8, 9, 10 and 12

English Stage 1 Unit 7

Lessons 7 and 8 - Geoffrey Collin's written text describing how his lessons come

Candlestick telephone with crank handle box and separate bell box, circa 1920

History detective skills

Simplified, the process to forming a conclusion based on historical evidence is:

1. Gather and examine evidence – the what

Observe, touch, read and listen to a variety of sources sush as objects, photos and stories.

Ask questions – What does the object look like? What do I see in the photo? What does the story tell me? What does the caption or label say about it?

2. Make inferences – the why

Think about what you see and connect with what you already know to make a reasonable guess. 'I think... because ....'

I think the finger grip on the 1962 red plastic pen holder is an improvement on a wooden pen holder because it would make it more comfortable for holding the pen when writing.

3. Draw a conclusion – the so

A conclusion is the final summary statement. It draws on the inferences made and is based on evidence.

At school, printing technologies such as a rubber stamp and the jelly pad made map making quicker, easier, more efficient, more accessible and more accurate.

What is the difference between an inference and conclusion?

An inference is a logical, evidence-based 'guess' often based on examining one or two objects.

A conclusion is the final statement reached after considering several inferences and facts.

Inferences are the steps whilst the conclusion is the destination.

Vocabulary of historical inquiry

The following vocabulary is used when examining objects, images and stories to examine evidence, make inferences and draw conclusions.

Evidence – clues in objects, stories and images. An object isn't evidence until it is interpreted within a context.

Examine – observe closely using the senses – look, touch, listen

Compare – to make comparisons between sources of evidence such as objects and photographs

Sequence – to arrange chronolocially based on evidence

Benefit – something good or helpful about an action or using an object

Limitiation – something that limits the usefulness of an object, a barrier or challenge

Infer – to figure something out from clues and evidence such as objects, images and stories

Conclude – a statement that sums up what you've learnt from evidence and what you already know.

Note re interpreting schooling in the past

Children and schooling

Children’s experiences of schooling in the past were diverse. What is represented in the NSW Schoolhouse Museum education program is evidenced through primary sources but was not necessarily shared by all children in NSW.

School types

Children’s schooling experiences were impacted by the type of schools available due to remoteness, cultural heritage and abilities.

For instance:

Aboriginal students on Aboriginal reserves could only attend Aboriginal schools. These followed a modified syllabus focusing on manual and domestic skills taught by untrained teachers.
Policies allowed discrimination of Aboriginal students in public schools up to 1972 .
Children in isolated areas originally had access to only a basic education through half-time schools, house-to-house schools and travelling schools.

Refer to the NSW Department of Education’s Glossary of school types and the links on the History of education page on our website for further information.

Culture

When investigating changes and continuities in communication and education, it is important to recognise the complex and continuing learning systems of Aboriginal Peoples. Aboriginal children have both ‘school learning’ and cultural learning on Country with their extended families and Elders.

Diversity

Some children recently migrated to Australia may have experienced schooling which still uses early technologies such as slates.

Jack and Grace Middenway writing on slate boards. Detail of stereograph taken by their father, headmaster John Middenway, Bexley PS, circa 1900.

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