Whose shoes?

Students learn about similarities and differences in family life by comparing the present with the past.

Key inquiry question #1:

How can we show the present is different from or similar to the past?

Key inquiry question #2:

How do we describe the sequence of time?

Content summary

We are learning to:

use historical sources to decide how the present is different from or similar to the past.

Success criteria

What I'm looking for:

I can explain how these shoes show that life in the present is different from or similar to the past.

Activity 1

Captain Cook's shoe buckles

Number of set tasks: 1

NSW syllabus for the Australian curriculum

Outcomes

A student:

HT1-4 demonstrates skills of historical inquiry and communication

Historical skills

Students:

Comprehension: chronology, terms and concepts

sequence familiar objects and events (ACHHS031, ACHHS047)
distinguish between the past, present and future (ACHHS032, ACHHS048)

Use of sources

explore and use a range of sources about the past (ACHHS034, ACHHS050)
identify and compare features of objects from the past and present (ACHHS035, ACHHS051)

Research

pose questions about the past using sources provided (ACHHS033, ACHHS049)

Explanation and communication

use a range of communication forms(oral, graphic, written, role play) and digital technologies (ACHHS03, ACHHS054)

Historical concepts

Continuity and change: some things change over time and others remain the same
Empathetic understanding: developing an understanding of another’s views, life and decisions made
Significance: importance of an event, development or individual/group

LAC

Learning across the curriculum

Critical and creative thinking
Literacy

Content

How the present, past and future are signified by terms indicating time such as ‘a long time ago’, ‘then and now’, ‘now and then’, ‘old and new’, ‘tomorrow’, as well as by dates and changes that may have personal significance, such as birthdays, celebrations and seasons (ACHASSK029)

Students:
• define and use terms relating to time, sequencing objects or photographs from the past

ACTIVITY NOTES FOR TEACHERS

Activity 1
Activity 2

Activity 1

Ask students to:

Work in pairs or groups.
Look at each pair of shoes and discuss their ideas about the shoes in each photo.
Answer the question; who wore these shoes?
Give reasons for their conclusion.
Use words relating to time, such as now, past and present, a long time ago to describe when these shoes were worn.
Extend their thinking by deciding which shoes are the oldest and giving the reasons for their decision.

Activity 2

Captain Cook's shoe buckles
These buckles clipped onto the top of Captain Cook’s shoe. Cook wore these buckles on his shoes when he was presented to King George III of England in 1775.

Ask students to:

Draw a design for the shoe that Captain Cook wore when he met the King.
Include the shoe buckles in the design.
Remember that the design has to suit the person and the time (over 200 years ago)
Write words to describe the colour of the shoe and the material of the shoe

For more information about the life and career of Captain James Cook, see the article on him by The Australian Dictionary of Biography.