Evaluation Pack
A new, knowledge-rich F–6 Humanities program with explicit teaching and literacy at its core Coming for Term 1, 2027 oup.com.au/oxfordconnections
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Dr Nathaniel Swain Series Consultant With expertise in language, literacy, instructional practices and cognitive science, Dr Nathaniel Swain is dedicated to empowering teachers to develop “life-changing” language and literacy skills in every student, through effective and engaging teaching. He is a Teacher, Instructional Coach, and Writer. He produces a blog for teachers called Dr Swain’s Cognitorium and is co-host of the Chalk Dust Podcast with Rebecca Birch. Having worked at Universities and Government School Systems in Victoria, Australia, Nathaniel has taught a range of learners in schools and tertiary settings. Dr Swain founded a community of teachers committed to the Science of Learning: THINK FORWARD EDUCATORS, now 25,000 members and growing. Dr Swain is a sought after speaker on educational circuits, and has a best-selling book entitled “Harnessing the Science of Learning: Success stories to help kickstart your school improvement”.
Series Authors
Grace Romano
Anna Jones
Vanessa Rendall
Kate Durling
A passionate Literacy Coach with over 30 years of experience in primary education.
Anna has over 15 years of experience in educational publishing, developing highquality content across a range of primary subjects
A published author who is passionate about making learning engaging and meaningful for all students.
Kate brings expertise in developing unit sequences, lesson plans and resources that incorporate effective classroom practices and differentiated learning to meet diverse student needs.
Lisa Kebbell
Joanna Brown
Aria Ritz
Amanda Coleman
Lisa brings together explicit teaching with opportunities for inquiry, encouraging students to explore ideas, ask questions and think deeply about their learning.
Joanna Brown is an English/Humanities teacher who has worked in both Primary and Secondary education.
Aria Ritz is a proud Palawa woman, undertaking her Bachelor of Laws.
Amanda enjoys researching, writing, and developing educational resources that help bring history, geography and civics to life in the classroom.
Aria reviewed the First Nations content in the series
Series Overview Oxford Connections: People & Places is an engaging, supportive F–6 program that explicitly teaches the HASS/HSIE/Humanities curricula while embedding and developing core literacy skills. The program provides all the content required to explicitly teach, practice and embed required curriculum knowledge and skills. Oxford Connections: People & Places supports a knowledge-rich curriculum by offering carefully curated reading passages that immerse students in diverse subjects, build background knowledge and strengthen literacy skills. With videos, interactives and check for understanding opportunities, Humanities becomes engaging, exciting and accessible for all students.
Teacher and Student materials Teacher Digital Subscriptions for Years F–6 provide: detailed lesson plans front-of-class materials with embedded interactive elements and curriculum-aligned video content assessment further application activities Year F subscription includes Student Activity Sheets for independent work With these ready-to-use, curated resources, teachers can approach complex and sensitive topics with assurance and authority. Student Books for Years 1–6 provide reading passages, source materials and activities that inspire curiosity and help students understand how people, places and connections shape our world. Whether exploring history, geography, civics, business or real-world issues, students gain more than content knowledge – they build confidence in reading, writing and comprehension, empowering success across the curriculum.
Teaching and Learning Approach Explicit Teaching This series supports the explicit teaching of curriculum knowledge and skills. Lessons are structured around sequenced stages – moving learners from modelled instruction and guided practice to independent application. Lessons are organised into five stages: Review, Teach and Practice (I Do), Practice (We Do), Apply (You Do) and Review.
Review
Short, focused review to activate prior knowledge and reinforce previously taught content and literacy skills Lesson Plan & Front of class material
Teach & Practice
Introduce learning intention Prior knowledge activated via class discussion Explicit teaching of key vocabulary Check for Understanding questions used
I Do
Lesson Plan & Front of class material
Practice
Teacher and students engage collaboratively with lesson content Teacher provides additional modelling through scaffolding and worked examples in lesson materials Check for Understanding questions used
We Do
Lesson Plan & Front of class material
Apply
Students independently apply taught knowledge and skills Support for differentiated activities provided Student Book & Lesson Plan
Review
Students reflect on their learning through class discussion Lesson Plan & Front of class material
You Do
Learning Design At Oxford University Press, we are passionate about helping everyone achieve their full potential. By combining research-informed learning design and pedagogy with our extensive global experience and expertise, we develop educational solutions that advance knowledge and learning and deliver real impact. Throughout each Oxford Connections: People & Places lesson, a range of learning design principles are applied including: managing cognitive load metacognition and self-regulation building knowledge and skills active learning adaptive learning These embedded principles support literacy development, build subject knowledge and cater to different learning needs. By gradually shifting responsibility from teacher to student, the program encourages confidence, deeper understanding and long-term learning success.
Curriculum Alignment Australian Curriculum 9.0: HASS F–6 NSW Syllabus: Human Society and its Environment K–6 Syllabus (2024) Western Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences P–6 Victorian Curriculum 2.0: Humanities F–6 The program also supports the VTLM 2.0.
Oxford Connections: People & Places in the classroom
1 Select Unit Select the Unit you would like to teach, either following the series Scope & Sequence or to suit your school program.
2 Teach Unit Lessons sequentially Using the Lesson Plan, Front-of-Class materials and Student Book pages, explicitly teach the subject content, discuss and then have students apply their knowledge independently.
3 Unit Review Use the Lesson Plan, Front-of-Class materials and Student Book pages to review the Unit content and have students complete an independent activity.
4 Further Application (optional) Use the Lesson Plan and Front-ofClass materials to support students to complete an Extended Writing Task or a Source Analysis and Response Task. This gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their learning and extend their understanding. How to use Oxford Connections: People & Places, available in the Teacher Subscriptions
Teacher Digital Subscriptions Lesson Plans Detailed lesson plans provide comprehensive support for every part of each lesson. Background information for lesson content is provided, for quick review prior to a lesson. Check for Understanding questions are provided for both the Teach and Practice and the Practice sections of the lesson, these allow a check-in on students’ comprehension of lesson content and provide opportunities for engagement and discussion. The Lesson Plan also provides support for differentiation in the Apply part of the lesson. Notes are included for Working Towards, On Level and Above Level – allowing teachers to tailor this section to the needs of their whole class. Lesson Plans can be viewed online, or downloaded for offline use.
Front of Class materials Every Oxford Connections: People & Places lesson is planned, prepared and ready to use. The front of class materials: Provide all the content for the teaching of every lesson (all planning and preparation is done) Guide teachers and students through the whole lesson Uses a consistent structure to reduce cognitive load Include interactive elements and video content, bringing subject area content to life.
Samples from the Front of Class materials in Oxford Connections: People & Places, available in the Teacher Subscriptions
Further application activities Further Application Lessons are an optional lesson included at the end of every unit from Year 1-6 and are an opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning from the unit in a focused writing task. In Years 1 and 2 students are asked to demonstrate their understanding through the writing of simple to complex sentences and making of comparisons based on content. In Years 3-6 students are asked to complete either an Extended Writing Task or a Source Analysis and Response Task which gives students the opportunity demonstrate their learning and extend their understanding beyond what was taught in the unit. Students will draw on knowledge gained throughout the unit and the key focus literacy skills covered to build confidence in their understanding and foster mastery over time.
A sample lesson plan and front of class presentation for the optional Further Application Lessons.
Assessment Assessment in Oxford Connections: People & Places can occur after every unit, or at the end of each school term. Teachers and schools are free to choose which schedule of assessment works best for them and their students. All assessments can be accessed and printed from the Teacher Subscriptions. Assessments are provided for Years 3-6 along with support for teachers to ensure accessible assessment practices for all students. Assessments are split into three question types: multiple-choice, short answer and extended answer. Each question is linked to lesson content and curriculum outcomes to ensure all curriculum points are assessed throughout the year. Assessments, available in the Teacher Subscriptions
Additional resources The Teacher Digital subscriptions also include: Year F Teacher Subscription includes printable Student Activity Sheets for independent student work Digital version of the Student Book for front of class display Student Book answers Scope and Sequence document Curriculum alignment documents VTLM 2.0 alignment Letter to Parents & Carers
An interactive activity from the front of class presentation in the Year 4 Teaching Subscription
Student Books The series includes engaging print Student Books for Years 1–6. Each lesson has a corresponding double page spread in the Student Book for independent student practice. The left page features stimulus content in the form of a rich text reading passage or image. The right page contains comprehension questions linked to the stimulus content that allows students to independently apply their learning from the lesson while also demonstrating their use of a linked focus literacy skill. Each lesson contains a stimulus page featuring text, an image, diagram or map related to the lesson focus.
Activities related to the stimulus page content allow students to apply content knowledge, along with reading, writing and comprehension skills.
Student Books
Sample Pages
View Sample Pages
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Learn more at: oup.com.au/oxfordconnections