No doubt you’ve been flat out since school started! The start of the year is a really exciting time but it can also be exhausting. There’s so much to do! Set up your room, prep stationery, make labels, clean and most importantly PLAN!
I’m one of those weird people that love to plan! #inserteyeroll However, I’ve changed my planning strategy over the last 2 years, particularly when it comes to the HASS component of the Australian Curriculum. I used to write my HASS plan and then look for resources and assessment ideas to suit my plan. This worked well – some of the time. It was great if I could find appropriate resources, but was a nightmare if I couldn’t find any and had to make them myself. Mostly it was just mind numbing worksheets from a book, that all looked the same and the students hated.
That struggle was really the catalyst for Aussie Star Resources. I wanted to be able to find HASS resources that were specific to my needs and the curriculum I was teaching. Now I approach planning differently. I actually start off with a search of Teachers Pay Teachers, Pinterest and good ol’ Google, to see what resources are available that meet my HASS topics and are appropriate for my lessons. Then I plan and write my lessons based on these resources. I feel far more prepared and I feel that the lessons are more engaging because I’m not trying to fit the resource in to my original plan. If I do need to make some resources, it’s far less than what I have had to make in the past. I’ve also used resources I’ve found for assessment tasks, which makes preparation and marking even easier.
So, here are five HASS resources you should consider adding to your HASS plan. These resources are a great sample of the many resources fantastic Aussie Teacher Authors are creating. Be sure to check out their stores – it’ll save you loads of resource creation time and let you get on with the things you really want to do. You can quickly access their stores by clicking on the title.
Keystone Creations
Are you musically inclined? I’m not which is why it’s so great to find two educators who firmly believe that Children Learn What They Sing™. To that end, Keystone Creations write and publish curriculum-aligned songs & lesson materials that support and enhance classroom learning. #scoreNuala O’Hanlon is a veteran teacher, lyricist, and a full writer member of APRA AMCOS. Her experience includes work in mainstream, open-plan, independent progressive, pre-school, ESL, special needs, and music classrooms. She has worked as a development and training officer in a hospital setting, and a camp counsellor (Ages 7-14). Nuala has a background in the Creative and Performing Arts.
Nuala’s colleague, Kathryn Radloff, is an Arts (Hons) Psych. graduate with a Creative Arts Diploma. Kathryn has worked in the area of social justice and advocacy. In addition, she has implemented social skills and behaviour modification programs for students with significant behavioural and learning difficulties. A singer/songwriter in her own right, Kathryn has a background in the creative & performing arts, social work & Psychology.
All Australian
This great resource has been created for Middle/Upper Primary students. It contains 5, Australian-specific, curriculum-aligned songs & lesson materials that target outcomes & learning sequences of curriculum documents. Also, they integrate learning across key subject areas. The content covers Australia, the Gold Rush, key people and events leading up to Australian Democracy, the government’s 9 values for Australian schools, and the Australian version of our song, ‘Healthy Kids’. There’s ‘A Lesson In Every Lyric’®. The songs are perfect for:- Engaging & motivating students
- Introducing new units of work
- Kick starting discussion
- Summarising and reinforcing content
- Aiding recall of important information
- Extending literacy
- Assembly & performance items…
Galarious Goods
The Creative Teacherpreneur behind Galarious Goods is a Queensland middle grades teacher with an Ancient History, History and Government background. Her store offers comprehensive resources to help get students enthusiastic about HASS.Elections in Australia Bundle
This resource bundle has been designed for Year 6 students and up. It meets the content requirements for Civics and Citizenship – Elections and Electoral Systems. The advantage of this bundle is that it can be used as a complete unit, for small group work or to complement other election resources. Bundles are a great way to buy resources! You have everything you need in one file and they are usually generously discounted.Paula’s Place
Paula is the inspired author of Paula’s Place. Paula has been teaching for 32 years and loves that each day is different. Her store caters for K-6 Grades. This year she is back teaching 5/6 and has taken on the role of Leading Teacher for Maths and Digital Technology. She loves sharing her teaching and learning space with others.Gold – Blood on the Southern Cross
This is a unit of work based on the Australian Curriculum for Year 5. It contains an enormous 51 pages! Within this resource you will find the following:- Australian Curriculum references
- Outline of Inquiry
- Key Understandings
- Inquiry Questions
- Preparing for the Gold Rush – KWHL, Word Wall, spelling words, gold rush/fever. Alphabet key, google it, list where gold can be found, multiple intelligences, different ways to mine for gold,
- How to get hold of gold – Gold towns, what tools do we use?
- Life on the Goldfields – Venn diagrams and flow charts
- Eureka Stockade – draw and label tools, gold licenses
- Famous People – research, summary and note taking
- Items for display
- Ten suggested writing tasks that include oral language
- Ideas for Maths, ICT and Visual Arts
- Homework ideas