Foundation Humanities and Social Sciences Achievement Standard
5 statements aligned to content descriptors and elaborations
Achievement standard (as ACARA publishes it)
Achievement standard
Click any sentence to jump to its statement and linked content descriptors.
By the end of Foundation, students identify significant people and events in their own lives, and how significant events are celebrated or commemorated. Students recognise the features of familiar places, why some places are special to people and the ways they can care for them.
Students pose questions, and sort and record information from observations and provided sources. They share a perspective and draw conclusions. Students use sources and terms to share observations about places and the past.
The 5 achievement standard statements
Open a statement to see the content descriptors ACARA links to it, then open a descriptor's elaborations.
By the end of Foundation, students identify significant people and events in their own lives, and how significant events are celebrated or commemorated.
Content descriptorAC9HSFK01 Knowledge and understanding
the people in their family, where they were born and raised, and how they are related to each other
Elaborations (3)
- Elaboration discussing the members of a family (for example, mother, father, caregiver, sister, brother, grandparent, auntie, uncle, cousin) and acknowledging other varieties of kinship structure that may be represented in the cultural background of students (for example, cousin-brother and mother-auntie in First Nations Australian families)
- Elaboration creating drawings of family members accompanied by information collected from questions and observations to share details of that person’s life, including the places they were born and raised
- Elaboration creating concept maps of their family with pictures or photographs to show connections to those people who make up their family
Content descriptorAC9HSFK02 Knowledge and understanding
the celebrations and commemorations of significant events shared with their families and others
Elaborations (2)
- Elaboration responding to a provided calendar of events that students, their family and friends celebrate or commemorate; for example, birthdays; religious festivals such as Easter, Ramadan, Buddha’s Birthday, Feast of Passover and Coming of the Light; family reunions; cultural festivals; and community commemorations such as NAIDOC Week and Anzac Day, and discussing why they are important
- Elaboration discussing ways of celebrating these significant occasions; for example, special meals, family gatherings, visiting special places, and the role of art, music, telling stories and handing on traditions from generation to generation for First Nations Australians
Students recognise the features of familiar places, why some places are special to people and the ways they can care for them.
Content descriptorAC9HSFK03 Knowledge and understanding
the features of familiar places they belong to, why some places are special and how places can be looked after
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration identifying the places, communities, Country/Place they live in and belong to and why that place may be special to them; for example, a neighbourhood, suburb, town or rural locality, community
- Elaboration exploring the features of their own place, and places they are familiar with or aware of; for example, places they have visited, places family members have come from, imaginary places in stories, or places featured on television and websites, in books or ebooks
- Elaboration identifying reasons why people live in or visit places, such as the provision of basic needs (water, food, shelter), to enhance lives (holiday places, places for recreation, for religious observance) and to maintain cultural connections to Country/Place
- Elaboration discussing different ways they could or do contribute to caring for special places, including those that are unique; for example, planting trees for a local endangered species, cleaning up litter at a local park or beach, or planting flora in a local wetland
Content descriptorAC9HSFK04 Knowledge and understanding
the importance of Country/Place to First Nations Australians and the Country/Place on which the school is located
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration identifying how and why the words “Country/Place” are used by First Nations Australians for the places they belong to
- Elaboration identifying and using the name of the local First Nations Australians’ language group or groups
- Elaboration listening and responding to invited members of the Traditional Owner group talking about Country/Place, and places of cultural and historical significance to the First Nations Australian community in the local neighbourhood, suburb, town or rural area
- Elaboration identifying local places of significance for First Nations Australians in the local area
Students pose questions, and sort and record information from observations and provided sources.
Content descriptorAC9HSFS01 Skills
pose questions about familiar objects, people, places and events
Elaborations (3)
- Elaboration posing questions about family and places, such as “How old was I?”, “Where was I?” and “What was I doing?”, having explored sources relating to their own life; for example, family interviews, photographs, stories, film, classmates’ paintings, excursions to places
- Elaboration posing questions about the features of places and how they can look after them, after being encouraged to observe them using various senses
- Elaboration posing questions about what makes events and places special; for example “What special events do my family celebrate?”, “What makes my favourite places special?”
Content descriptorAC9HSFS02 Skills
sort and record information including pictorial timelines and locations on pictorial maps or models
Elaborations (2)
- Elaboration sorting and displaying sources (for example, historical sources such as pictures, photographs and family mementoes) to organise a display about a family member or significant family event and creating pictorial timelines, such as adding photos or drawings of significant events as they happen, to create a timeline of events over the year
- Elaboration identifying features on a provided pictorial map or oblique aerial photograph of a familiar place and linking the representation of specific features to pictures they have drawn of those features; for example, using a pictorial map of a visited site such as a public garden or an oblique aerial photograph of their school to find familiar features, and then linking drawings of those features with lines to the features in the map or aerial photograph
They share a perspective and draw conclusions.
Content descriptorAC9HSFS03 Skills
share a perspective on information, such as stories about significant events and special places
Elaborations (2)
- Elaboration sharing aspects of events special to past generations of their family from provided stories and discussing why those events and places are special
- Elaboration identifying a place in their local area that they like, and talking about why they like it and how they could care for it
Content descriptorAC9HSFS04 Skills
draw conclusions in response to questions
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration identifying the main people in their family and explaining how they are related
- Elaboration identifying the most important celebrations and commemorations in their lives and those of their family
- Elaboration exploring the location and features of places they belong to and what makes those places special
- Elaboration suggesting ways that they are going to care for their classroom, bedroom or playground
Students use sources and terms to share observations about places and the past.
Content descriptorAC9HSFS05 Skills
share narratives and observations, using sources and terms about the past and places
Elaborations (3)
- Elaboration creating a display about a special place or family event using photographs, artefacts and/or drawings
- Elaboration using terms about time when talking about their experiences; for example, “then”, “now”, “yesterday”, “today”, “tomorrow”
- Elaboration using appropriate terms to describe the direction and location of a place such as “near and far”, “above and below”, “beside and opposite”
This achievement standard describes the expected learning for Foundation Humanities and Social Sciences. Use it to plan teaching and assessment with the Australian Curriculum v9.
At a Glance
| Strand | Substrand | CDs | Elaborations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge and understanding | History | 2 | 5 |
| Knowledge and understanding | Geography | 2 | 8 |
| Skills | Questioning and researching | 2 | 5 |
| Skills | Interpreting, analysing and evaluating | 1 | 2 |
| Skills | Concluding and decision-making | 1 | 4 |
| Skills | Communicating | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 9 | 27 | |