Wondering About Change

Overview

This is lesson 1 of 14 in Persuade Through Time. Students investigate a Walker Learning provocation featuring photographs, artefacts and familiar classroom objects, noticing changes in school, technology and daily life before recording questions for future inquiry.

Learning intentions

• WALT ask questions about how school, technology and daily life have changed.
• Students will notice and describe differences between past and present objects and experiences.
• Students will share observations clearly with a partner and the class.
• Students will listen respectfully and build on others’ ideas.

Success criteria

• I can identify one change between the past and today.
• I can share an observation about a photograph or object.
• I can ask a relevant question about change.
• I can explain what I would like to find out.

Curriculum links

• Listening and responding to spoken texts and ideas in classroom discussions.
• Asking and answering questions to clarify understanding and explore topics.
• Contributing ideas and taking turns in structured and informal interactions.
• Creating short written or multimodal texts using drawings, labels and simple sentences.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Hook and learning intention Display a striking before-and-after image, such as an old classroom beside a modern classroom, using the opening before-and-after image. Ask, “What do you notice? What do you wonder?” Introduce the WALT and explain that historians and curious learners ask questions before they decide what they think.

2. 5–10 minutes – Provocation orientation Reveal the Walker Learning provocation: photographs of schools and daily life from the past, an old book or slate, a current tablet or book, classroom tools, and familiar objects from home or school. Use the provocation instructions and observation prompts to model looking carefully without touching until invited. Demonstrate: “I notice the old book has no pictures in colour. I wonder who used it?”

3. 10–22 minutes – Explore, notice and wonder Arrange students in five groups of five. Each group rotates through or investigates one provocation station, handling objects respectfully. Students first observe silently, then discuss: “I notice…” and “I wonder…”. They record one drawing or observation and one question on the notice-and-wonder recording sheet. Adults or a peer scribe may write students’ words.

4. 22–30 minutes – Partner question building Students pair with someone from another station and share their observation and question. Revisit the question-building prompts and model turning a comment into a question: “Computers are different” becomes “How have computers changed?” Encourage question starters such as “What…?”, “Where…?”, “When…?”, “Why…?” and “How…?”

5. 30–38 minutes – Class inquiry circle Gather students together. Invite each group to share one interesting change and one question. Record questions on a class chart under the headings School, Technology and Daily life, using the class discussion and sorting prompts. Group similar questions and celebrate questions that could be investigated using photographs, interviews, objects or books.

6. 38–43 minutes – Individual reflection Students complete the final section of the reflection and question section by drawing or writing: “One change I noticed was…” and “I still wonder…” They may dictate their response to an adult or record it orally. Ask students to circle whether their question is about school, technology or daily life.

7. 43–45 minutes – Plenary and next steps Reopen the closing reflection slide. Students turn and talk: “Which question should we investigate first, and why?” Collect worksheets and explain that the class will use their questions to begin investigating change in the next lesson.

Resources

• the Wondering About Change teaching deck
• the notice-and-wonder recording sheet
• Before-and-after photographs of classrooms, technology and daily life
• Safe historical and contemporary classroom objects
• Five clearly labelled provocation stations
• Large chart paper or whiteboard
• Markers, pencils and crayons
• Sticky notes for additional student questions
• Optional tablet or voice recorder for oral responses

Assessment

• Listen for students identifying a meaningful difference and using observation language during station discussions.
• Review worksheets for one relevant observation and one question connected to school, technology or daily life.
• Note students’ ability to take turns, listen and contribute during the inquiry circle; use responses to plan support for the next lesson.

Differentiation

• Provide picture prompts, enlarged photographs, object labels and sentence starters: “I notice…”, “I wonder…”, “How has ___ changed?”
• Pair students strategically and allow oral recording, drawing, labelling, dictation or speech-to-text instead of requiring independent writing.
• For EAL learners and students requiring additional support, pre-teach key words such as past, today, old, new, change and question, with gestures and visual examples.
• Extend advanced learners by developing a “why” or “how” question and suggesting evidence that could answer it, such as an interview, photograph, book or object.