Understanding Local Events

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Curriculum Details

Learning Area: Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS)
Year Level: Year 3 and Year 4
Strand: Knowledge and Understanding – History
Substrand:

• Year 3: Community and Remembrance
• Year 4: First Contacts
  General Capabilities:
• Critical and Creative Thinking
• Ethical Understanding
• Literacy
• Intercultural Understanding
  Cross-curriculum Priorities: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures

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Lesson Title

Visual Weekly News: A Critical Look at Events in Australia

Duration: 116 minutes (modular into 4 consecutive 29-minute parts)
Class Size: 30 students
Year Level: Year 3–4
Focus: Exploring a current Australian news event through visual expression, collaboration, diverse perspectives, and respectful discussion.

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Learning Intentions

By the end of this lesson, students will:

• Understand different viewpoints and consequences of a recent local or national event.
• Conduct simple guided research on a current event in Australia.
• Work in groups to develop a visual representation of their learning.
• Present their ideas clearly and respectfully compare their findings with others.
• Engage in a whole-class discussion, practising critical thinking and empathy.

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Success Criteria

Students will be successful when they can:
✔ Identify key facts and viewpoints from a recent Australian news story.
✔ Use visuals (drawings, charts, diagrams, timelines, or posters) to communicate their understanding.
✔ Present their group’s work using clear voice and explanations.
✔ Show understanding of different perspectives during class discussion, asking and answering thought-provoking questions respectfully.

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Preparation & Resources

1. Print-friendly news articles (1-2 short dyslexia-friendly summaries of age-appropriate news events with readable fonts such as Lexend Deca or OpenDyslexic).
2. Butcher’s paper/poster paper
3. Textas, pencils, scissors, glue, coloured paper
4. Tablets/laptops for brief research if available (or printed materials)
5. Visual support on whiteboard/anchor chart with key vocabulary and success criteria
6. A designated teacher-facilitation station for targeted support

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Topic Option Suggestions (Choose 1-2 in advance)

Choose a news topic that has real-world consequences but is age-appropriate and relatable. Ideas include:

• Local Flooding or Bushfires (cause-effect, community responses, environmental impact)
• NAIDOC Week Achievements (celebrating Indigenous history and perspectives)
• Plastic Waste in Oceans (sustainability, innovation, community action)
• Recent School Strike for Climate Protest (student voice, environmental action, rights to protest)
• The Matildas at the Women's World Cup (representation, national pride, teamwork)

These stories should have simple summaries available and multiple viewpoints for students to explore.

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Lesson Sequence

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0:00 – 0:10 | Welcome & Hook (10 mins)

Strategy: Whole-Class Discussion

• Begin with a “What’s in the News?” visual board – show images (no text!) of 2–3 recent events from Australia.
• Use See, Think, Wonder prompt:
  • What do you see?
  • What do you think is happening?
  • What do you wonder about this photo/topic?

Inclusivity Tip: Use visuals and simplified language for all learners. Allow non-verbal responses too (pointing, drawing, movement).

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0:10 – 0:30 | Introducing the News Events (20 mins)

Strategy: Small-Group Guided Reading (Mixed-Ability Groups)

• Divide students into groups of 5. Each group gets a dyslexia-friendly summary of one chosen news event.
• Use these guided prompts:
  • Who are the people involved?
  • What happened?
  • Where and when did this happen?
  • Why is this news important for Australians?
  • What are possible opinions different people may have about it?

Differentiation:

• Students with support needs get read-aloud materials or use voice-recorded summaries.
• Encourage drawing/writing on large paper to assist EAL/D learners or early literacy students.

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0:30 – 1:00 | Research & Idea Mapping (30 mins)

Strategy: Group Inquiry and Mapping

• Students brainstorm answers using a template with categories:

  • Facts
  • Feelings
  • Who's affected?
  • Different opinions
  • Our wondering questions

• Use guiding questions to scaffold thinking:

  • If you were there, what would you feel?
  • What might others feel who are far away?
  • What change would you want to see?

Inclusion Tip: Provide sentence starters like:

• “I noticed that…”
• “This makes me feel…”
• “One question I have is…”

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1:00 – 1:30 | Visual Creation (30 mins)

Strategy: Creative Visual Representation

• In the same groups, students create a Visual News Display using their research. This could be:

  • A poster with key ideas and drawings
  • A paper mural/timeline illustrating what happened and its effect
  • A large Venn diagram showing opposing ideas/opinions
  • Or a "News Carousel": 4 quadrants (What? Who? Feelings? Opinions?)

• Rotate around groups offering help and leadership roles (timekeeper, artist, writer, presenter, fact-finder).

Differentiation:

• Provide multiple mediums: digital, drawing, collage
• Support non-verbal students with image selection and physical involvement like cutting/pasting
• Visual aids and sentence templates available at each group table

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1:30 – 1:50 | Group Presentations (20 mins)

Strategy: Small-Group Presentations

• Each group presents their visual piece to another group (partner-showing model), then swaps. Each presentation is 5 minutes.
• Presenter roles rotate: everyone speaks (or signs/draws/points as appropriate)

Support Scaffold:

• “One thing we learned is…”
• “One idea we had…”
• “One thing we’re still wondering...”

Teacher Tip: Use a visible timer. Celebrate all efforts!

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1:50 – 2:06 | Whole-Class Discussion & Reflection (16 mins)

Strategy: Socratic Circle (seated group circle discussion)

With all visual pieces displayed around the room – bring the class together to discuss:

• “What were similarities between different groups’ thinking?”
• “What made you think differently than before?”
• “Is it possible that people see the same event differently?”
• “What happens if we don't listen to all voices in the news?”

Critical Thinking Focus:

• Encourage respectful disagreement and support all answers.
• Invite students to take a stand—visually (thumbs up/down/wiggle if unsure).

Wrap-up: One-word takeaway from each child – e.g. “Respect”, “Fair”, “Confused”, “Hope”, “Proud”, etc.

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Assessment Opportunities

Teacher Observations:

• Participation and collaboration
• Understanding of perspective
• Clarity and relevance of visual creations
• Respectful listening and sharing

Student Self-Assessment (Exit Slip):

• “One thing I learnt today...”
• “A question I still have...”
• “Something I liked about working with my group...”

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Extension Activities

For early finishers or fast explorers:

• Create a newspaper front page headline for their event
• Design a comic strip to explain their group’s perspective
• Create an emoji chain that shows the emotional journey of the event

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Differentiation Strategies

Learner Type	Strategy
Dyslexic learners	Use dyslexia-friendly font, provide audio summaries, and pictorial sequencing
EAL/D students	Use bilingual vocab cards, read-alouds, and image prompts
Gifted learners	Challenge to explore contrasting media coverage or develop interview questions for hypothetical witnesses
Visual/kinesthetic learners	Facilitate poster-making, collage storytelling, or event re-enactments
Introverted students	Offer written statement cards or quiet corners for planning before public sharing

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Teacher Reflection Prompts (Post-Lesson)

• Which students demonstrated empathy or shifts in thinking?
• Were students able to distinguish between facts and opinions?
• Which groups collaborated effectively—and why?
• What barriers did students still face in understanding or presenting current events?

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Final Thoughts

This lesson is designed to help students both emotionally and cognitively engage with current Australian events through an inclusive, creative framework. It teaches far more than history—it prompts vital conversations about truth, fairness, empathy, and the diversity of voices in our communities.

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NOTE: This is a single-use relief-friendly lesson with flexibility to scale up into a week of deeper inquiry!