Personal & Social Development Empathy & Social Awarenessusually ages 7–9

Different Lives and Experiences

Understand that people's lives and experiences can be very different from their own — that some children face challenges like disability, poverty, family difficulties, or being new to a country — and develop compassion rather than judgement

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Describe at least two ways another child's life experience might differ significantly from their own
Explain why it's important not to judge someone based on their circumstances
Suggest a kind action they could take to help someone facing a difficult situation

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Try this together

If a new child joins your child's class who doesn't speak much English or whose family situation is very different, does your child show understanding and try to include them rather than avoiding them?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Similarities & Differencesages 5–7Understanding different lives builds on noticing similarities/differences

Seeing Someone Else's Point of Viewages 7–9Understanding different lives benefits from perspective-taking skills

Vocabulary: social awarenessages 7–11Understanding diverse lives requires vocabulary for compassion, fairness, and community

Different Lives and Experiencesthis skill · ages 7–9

Unlocks

Stereotypes and Individual Differencesages 9–11Recognising stereotypes builds on understanding diverse life experiences

The world contains many cultures, traditionsages 9–11Cultural diversity appreciation builds on understanding different lives

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 2 ACARA · 2 NSW · 1 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9HS1K02medium confidenceYear 1 · Knowledge and understanding

continuity and change between aspects of their daily lives and their parents’ and grandparents’ childhoods

AC9HS1K01low confidenceYear 1 · Knowledge and understanding

differences in family structures and roles today, and how these have changed or remained the same over time

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

PH1-IHW-01low confidencePDHPE K-6 · Stage 1

PH2-IHW-01low confidencePDHPE K-6 · Stage 2

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2HP2P02low confidenceHealth and Physical Education · Levels 1 and 2 · Personal, Social and Community Health – Health Education strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Fairness, Equality and Equityages 7–9 Seeing Someone Else's Point of Viewages 7–9 Vocabulary: social awarenessages 7–11 Everyday Kindness and Careages 5–7

All Empathy & Social Awareness skills →