Maya found a colorful box in the library corner. Inside were three pairs of glasses with special labels. Her friends Max, Karl, and Emily gathered around. "What are these?" Maya asked. "Let's try them!" said Max excitedly. Emily read the first label: "History Glasses - See the Past." Karl picked up another pair: "Geography Glasses - See Places." Maya held the third: "People Glasses - See Different Views." The librarian smiled. "These help you see the playground in special ways." The friends couldn't wait to explore.

The Mystery Box

Maya put on the History Glasses first. Suddenly, the playground transformed! "I see children from long ago playing here!" she exclaimed. Indigenous Australian children played traditional games in the same spot. "Everything has a history," Max observed. Karl pointed to the swings. "Those were added twenty years ago." Emily noticedmarks on the old tree. "People carved their names here for decades." Maya understood now. "History glasses show us how places change over time and who was here before us." The friends nodded, amazed by the past all around them.

Seeing Through History

The friends decided to organize a playground game. Max suggested, "Everyone should follow the rules I make." Karl disagreed. "We should share the toys fairly so nobody feels left out." Emily had another idea: "Let's work together and make rules that help everyone." Maya tried the People Glasses. Through them, she saw children from Africa, Asia, and South America playing differently. "Look! Kids around the world play in so many ways!" she said. They realized every view helped them understand. Together, they created a game using everyone's ideas.

Different Ways to Play

Maya wore the Geography Glasses last. The playground became a tiny Earth! She saw mountains, rivers, and oceans. "Geography shows us where things are and why," she explained. The hill became a mountain range. The sandbox looked like a desert. Emily pointed to puddles: "Those are like lakes!" The friends understood each pair of glasses showed something important. "History tells us when and what happened," said Karl. "Geography shows us where," added Max. "And different perspectives show us why people think differently," Maya concluded. They decided to keep learning about the wonderful world around them.

Seeing the Whole World

Maya

wears round eyeglasses and a green sweater

Karl

Emily

Identify key HASS disciplines (like history, geography, economics, civics, etc.) and show how they provide useful lenses for understanding ourselves and the world around us. Each discipline could be different glasses that allow the character to see the world through these different lenses and maybe explore what each one of these look like in a different part of the world, or do the same part of the world, looked at through each different discipline/lens. One for ATSI and one for non-Western, Majority World/ Global South perspectives too. 
3 Characters representing Webber, Marx and Durkheim. Max, Karl and Emily could come in/be in a discussion about ‘their’ different views on ‘society’ and society could be the playground. Maybe they are trying to work out how to run a game and are explaining how they think the game should work. The game represents society. 


At the end of the book there could be activities for the kids to do or questions to discuss as a class. 
