Classroom Activities
Miss Geargeson in a graduation gown
Time to put on your 'teaching hat'
These suggested activities and resources are to further support the teaching of the key concepts from See My Hat! in the classroom. The See My Hat! digital resource is a useful starting point for introducing historical terminology and sources of information.
- Design a new type of hat. Label the design, identifying the specific features and purpose. Is the hat for play, work or dressing up? Who would wear the hat and what materials would it be made from?
- Identify a person in the community who wears a hat as part of their job. Take a photo or draw a picture of that person. Explain that person’s role in the community and why the hat is an important part of their job.
- Discuss the purpose of the hat for protection against the sun. Why is there a “No hat, no play” policy in schools? What would be the reasons for or against such a policy? Write a persuasive argument for or against the school policy.
- Play a game of Guess the Hat. One student chooses a hat and hides it in a box. The class asks questions that can only be answered “yes” or “no” in order to identify the type of hat and what it is used for.
- Choose a photograph from the See My Hat! resource. Use the photograph to inspire a story about the day the person or people wore their hats. Give your characters names and write about their adventures.
- Search the State Library of WA catalogue for photographs of hats. Choose a photograph and describe it. When was the photograph taken? What does the photograph tell you about hats?
- Create a set of cards depicting hats of different colour, style and purpose. Students sort the hats into groups of their own choice and describe the reasons behind why they classified the hats into those groups. Make a class list of different ways to classify hats.
- Provide a range of community hats in the classroom home corner/dress up box. Students can role-play being the community members (police officer, chef, miner etc).
Suggested reading
Antony, S, 2014, The Queen’s hat: the queen collection, Hachette Children’s group, Great Britain.
Buchanan, C, Williams, S 2016. Aussie Easter hat parade, Scholastic, Australia.
Fox, M, Tusa, T, 2017, The magic hat, Scholastic Australia, Australia.
Gravett. E, 2018, Old hat, Pan Macmillan, Australia.
Klassen, J 2011, I want my hat back, Candlewick Press, USA.
Slobodkina, E, Sayer, Anne Marie Mulhearn, 2015, Caps for sale: A tale of a peddler, some monkeys and their monkey business, Harpercollins, USA.
Temple, J, Temple, K, Foye, J, I got this hat, ABC Books, Australia.
Recommended websites