Year 8 sample lesson plan by OUPANZ

Lesson plan Chapter 21 Democracy in Australia Recommended teaching time for Chapter 21 Democracy in Australia: • Approximately 8 hours (i.e. 9 x 50 minute lessons) Australian Curriculum links Strand: Knowledge and understanding; sub-strand: Government and democracy  How Australians are informed about and participate in democracy (AC9HC8K01)  The role of political parties and independent representatives in Australian democracy, including elections and the formation of governments (AC9HC8K02) Achievement standard: By the end of Year 8, students explain how Australians are informed about and participate in their democracy. They describe the roles of political parties and elected representatives in Australian government. They explain the characteristics of laws, how laws are made and the types of law in Australia. Students identify ways in which Australians express different aspects of their identity and explain perspectives on Australia’s national identity. Students develop questions and locate, select and organise relevant information from different sources to investigate political and legal systems, and contemporary civic issues. They analyse information and identify and describe perspectives and challenges related to political, legal or civic issues. They explain the methods or strategies related to civic participation or action. Students use civic and citizenship knowledge, concepts, terms and references to evidence from sources to create descriptions, explanations and arguments. Australian Curriculum links Strand: Skills Questioning and researching  Develop questions to investigate Australia’s political and legal systems, and contemporary civic issues © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

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(AC9HC8S01)  Locate, select and organise information, data and ideas from different sources (AC9HC8S02) Analysis, evaluation and interpretation  Analyse information, data and ideas about political, legal or civic issues to identify and explain differences in perspectives and potential challenges (AC9HC8S03) Civic participation and decision-making  Explain the methods or strategies related to making decisions about civic participation (AC9HC8S04) Communicating  Create descriptions, explanations and arguments, using civics and citizenship knowledge, concepts and terms that reference evidence (AC9HC8S05) Topics in Chapter 21 Democracy in Australia Supporting resources (available via obook pro) Topic 21.1 Australia’s political system Student book answers Topic 21.2 Australia’s political parties Interactive activities and chapter review quizzes Topic 21.3 Australia’s parliaments Differentiation worksheets Topic 21.4 Australia’s voting system Key skill worksheets and answers Topic 21A Skills in Context: Political cartoons Student worksheets and answers Topic 21.5 Participating in Australia’s democracy Videos and weblinks Topic 21.6 Having a say Quizlet Topic 21.7 Informed citizens Miscellaneous printable documents, including templates Topic 21B Skills in Context: Petitions Things to know before teaching Chapter 21 Democracy in Australia Navigating the text The content covered in each section of this chapter closely follows the Civics and Citizenship 7–10 curriculum released by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) in 2022. By using this chapter as part of your teaching program, you can be assured that you are integrating all of the Civics and Citizenship skills as prescribed by ACARA in the Australian Curriculum. Each section of this chapter is organised according to key inquiry questions from the syllabus. By regularly revisiting these questions as you work through the chapter, asking your students to engage with them, and/or encouraging them © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

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to generate their own key questions, you will be embedding an inquiry model of learning. Inquiry learning values process as well as product – moving away from the mere acquisition of facts to the development of deep understandings about concepts and generalisations that are transferable. Every topic in this chapter is accompanied by a ‘Check your learning’ question box that can be used flexibly in class or for homework. Questions are organised into the following four categories: Retrieve; Comprehend; Analyse; Apply. Answers are provided in the Teacher obook pro. Skills in Context activities At the end of each section of the Student Book is a Skills in Context activity. These are designed to allow students to practise the skills and knowledge they have learnt and mastered throughout the preceding section of the Student Book to a new case study. They can be used in a variety of ways including as assessment tasks or extension activities. Chapter review activities At the end of each chapter (excluding the toolkit chapters) is a chapter review spread to consolidate and assess learning. A review activity includes a stimulus source with graded questions, and a chapter checklist provides students with an opportunity to reflect on their learning. Answers Answers to every Check Your Learning question, Key Skill activity question, Skills in Context activity question and Chapter review question can be found on the Teacher obook pro. Interactive assessments Individual topics in the Student Books are accompanied by formative interactive assessments, and each chapter ends with a differentiated summative quiz. These interactive assessments are auto-marking, and they provide students with instant feedback. The results of all assessments feed through to two types of reports:  an assessment report, which records the results at chapter level and topic level  a curriculum report, which records results against curriculum outcomes. Formative assessments can be attempted multiple times, with only the first result captured in the reports. The summative assessments can only be attempted once. © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

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Worksheets Chapters are supported by a series of worksheets, including key skill worksheets and differentiation worksheets for each section. Worksheet solutions can be found on the Teacher obook pro. Videos and weblinks Chapters are supported by videos and weblinks. Quizlet Each chapter is supported by different interactive learning tools and fun games on Quizlet that consolidate students’ understand of key terms and concepts and encourage independent study. Quizlet Live enables students to battle in teams or individually against other class members. Instructions for teachers launching a game of Quizlet Live:  Log onto Oxford Digital and launch the Quizlet website.  Follow the prompts to set up a game to host for your students, including how you would like them to compete – individually or in teams.  Your game is now set up and ready for students to join. They can join by opening Quizlet on a web browser or the app and either: o scanning the six-digit code that appears on your screen o scanning the QR code that appears on your screen.  Once all students are ready, click the large ‘Create game’ button and a summary of the students playing will appear. Click ‘Start game’.  As the teacher, your screen will display a leaderboard that updates in live time as students answer questions.

© Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

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Lesson 21.1: Australia’s political system Pages 466–467 By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:  explain the meaning of representative democracy  describe the structure of federal parliament.

Australian Curriculum links Level: 8 Sub-strand: Government and democracy Content description: The role of political parties and independent representatives in Australian democracy, including elections and the formation of governments (AC9HC8K02)

Things to know before you start teaching this lesson  The main aim of this lesson should be to ensure that every student can explain the meaning of a representative democracy, and that they can describe the structure of the federal parliament.  This chapters builds on the content covered in topics 19.1 and 19.2 of Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 7 Australian Curriculum.  Chapter 20 The civics and citizenship toolkit (pp. 456–463) will be invaluable for the teaching this chapter.

STARTER ACTIVITY 5 mins



Support/ Extension

Watch the Parliamentary Education Office video describing parliament to review what students would have learnt in Year 7 (2:07 mins). Review the results of the last election (see link in the Resources column) and review the key members of parliament (e.g. Prime Minister; Leader of the Opposition,

Resources Video  Parliamentary Education Office: What is Parliament? (2.07 mins)

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etc.) including if there have been any changes since the election.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

Website  Australian Electoral Commission: Election results

Support/ Extension

Activity 1: Engage with topic 21.1  Talk through the key content on pages 466–467. 10 mins

20 mins

Activity 2: Parliament vs. government  Many students find it difficult to understand the difference between the parliament and the government. Parliament refers to all those members in both the Senate (upper house) and the House of Representatives (lower house) that have been elected. To form government, a party needs to win an absolute majority of seats (50% + 1) in the House of Representatives. Sometimes parties form coalitions to help them secure the absolute majority needed to form government, such as the coalition between the Liberal Party and the National Party.  Provide each student with a House of Representatives seating plan template (see link in the Resources column) and ask students to colour in the parties, and label key seats to represent the parliament as a whole, versus

Support  Go over the results of the last election with students, explaining who won the seats in the lower house and how government was formed. Extension  Have students research the results of the last election and explain how

Resources Student Book  Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum, pages 466–467 Websites  Parliament of Australia: House of Representatives chamber seating plan (black and white template)  Australian Electoral Commission: Election results  Parliament of Australia: House of Representatives Seating Plan (actual for 2023)

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10 mins

who has formed government. As a suggestion, use the following colours for each party: o Labor Party – red o Liberal Party – blue o The Nationals – yellow o The Greens – green o Katter’s Australian Party – purple o Centre Alliance – orange o Independents – pink, or all different colours  This activity will be built upon in the next topic, which focuses on the different political parties in Australia. Activity 3: The Senate  Provide each student with a Senate seating plan template (see Resources column) and ask students to colour in the parties, and label key seats to represent the different parties in the Senate.  This activity will be built upon in the next topic, which focuses on the different political parties in Australia.

government was formed.

Support  Go over the results of the last election with students, explaining who won the seats in the Senate. Extension  Have students research the results of the last election and explain how government was formed. Then explain the composition and

Websites  Parliament of Australia: About the Senate (template)  Parliament of Australia: Senate seating plan (actual for 2023)

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role of the Senate

REVIEW AND CONSOLIDATE

5 mins

Support/ Extension

Resources

Support/ Extension

Resources

Summary  A representative democracy is a political system based on citizens voting to elect their representative.  The parliament is an organisation that makes the laws in the country. In Australia, Parliament is made up of the Governor General, the House of Representatives and the Senate.

TOTAL 50 mins

HOMEWORK Students are to complete any work not finished in class, such as ‘Check your learning’ questions or ‘Quiz me!’ activity. 20 mins

obook pro  Interactive assessment: 21.1 Check your learning  Interactive assessment: Quiz me!

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Lesson 21.2: Australia’s political parties Pages 468–469 By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:  summarise the role of political parties, including independents.

Things to know before you start teaching this lesson  The main aim of this lesson should be to ensure that every student can summarise the role of the different political parties and independent politicians.  The federal parliament is made up of members from a number of different political parties and independents.  In the 2022 Federal election, the Australian Labor Party achieved a majority government for the first time since 2007, winning 77 seats in the House of Representatives.  While the Coalition was soundly defeated, Labor did not achieve a landslide victory, as a result of electoral successes by independent candidates and the Australian Greens, with the crossbench swelling to 16 seats.

STARTER ACTIVITY 5 mins

 

Support/ Extension

Watch Behind the News video ‘Election result’. Review the seating plans from the previous lessons to see the party breakdown.

Resources Video  Behind the News: 2022 Election Result (3.28 mins) Page 9

MAIN ACTIVITIES

Support/ Extension

Activity 1: Engage with topic 21.2  Talk through the key content on pages 468–469.

Resources Student Book  Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum, pages 468–469

10 mins

Activity 2: Australian political parties  Have students go to the Australian Electoral Commission website and choose the political party that they are most 20 mins interested in.  Students should create a summary explaining what the political party believes in and why they are interested in that party. 10 mins Activity 3: Creating policy  Amid all the discussion of how parliament works and what political parties stand for, it can be easy to forget to reinforce what parliament actually does. Reiterate to students that parliament’s purpose is to review and make laws for Australians. Parliament gives approval for © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

obook pro  Weblink: Australian Electoral Commission: Register of political parties Website  Australian Electoral Commission: Register of political parties

Video  Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority: Policy (5.27 mins; under ‘Student videos’) Page 10

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the government to spend public money raised through taxes and scrutinises the government’s activities. Parliament also provides a forum to discuss issues of national importance. Show students the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority video titled ‘Policy’ (5.27 mins) and discuss it as a class to draw out the key points.

REVIEW AND CONSOLIDATE

5 mins

Support/ Extension

Resources

Support/ Extension

Resources

Summary  The federal parliament is made up of members from a number of different political parties, along with independent candidates who don’t belong to any party.  The two major political parties in Australia are the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Liberal Party of Australia.

TOTAL 50 mins

HOMEWORK 20 mins

Students are to complete any work not finished in class, such as ‘Check your learning’ questions or ‘Quiz me!’ activity.

obook pro  Interactive assessment: 21.2 Check your learning  Interactive assessment: Quiz Page 11

me!

ADDITIONAL OR OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES

50 mins

Support/ Extension

Activity: It’s my party!  Have students devise their own political party. They must: o state what their principles are o state what they seek to achieve by being elected o produce a slogan and a logo for their political party o list their party’s three main policies.  You may like to set this activity up as part of a practice election by linking it to the activities in lessons 21.4, 21.5 and 21.7. Activity: The rise of the ‘Teal Party’  After examining the similarities and differences of the main political parties in Australia, discuss the role of independents.  The 2022 Federal Election saw the historic rise of independent nominations and successful candidates – many of the banding together and being referred to as the ‘Teal Party’.  You may like to watch the 7.30 video ‘The so-called “teal independents” challenging sitting government MPs this election’, which discusses why there has been a rise.  Conduct some additional research into all of the teal and non-teal independent candidates who ran in the 2022

Resources

Video  ABC News: The socalled ‘teal independents’ challenging sitting government MPs this election (8 mins)

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Federal Election and who won. 

Having looked at the major political parties in Australia, have students predict and/or debate whether independent candidates will increase or decrease at the next election and why.

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Lesson 21.3: Australia’s parliaments Pages 470–473 By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:  describe the makeup of Australia’s federal parliament  summarise the makeup of Australia’s state and territory parliaments  explain the meaning of ‘minority government’, ‘hung parliament’ and ‘balance of power’.

Things to know before you start teaching this lesson  The main aim of this lesson should be to ensure that every student can describe the structure of the federal, state and territory parliament.  The first three chapters have quite a lot of vocabulary for students to learn. Prior to starting this lesson, you may like to have some of these key terms placed up around the room (consider a ‘Word Wall’ or ‘Vocabulary Vault’) for students to refer to.

STARTER ACTIVITY 5 mins



Using the information on the Parliamentary Education Office website, put together a short presentation showing a series of images of current members of parliament to show to the class. See how many students can identify these key politicians, then reveal their titles and provide a bit of

Support/ Extension Extension  Give the diagram to students and ask them to research as many roles as possible and find

Resources Websites  Parliamentary Education Office: Who’s who in the current Parliament

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information about their role.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

who is currently in each role.

Support/ Extension

Activity 1: Engage with topic 21.3  Talk through the key content on pages 470–473. 10 mins

10 mins

20 mins

Activity 2: State by state breakdown  Provide students with a map of Australia with the state and territory borders.  Using the Source 8 table in the Student Book, ask students to annotate the map to show a visual representation of the state and territory parliaments.

Extension  Research and discuss why the ACT and NT are considered territories and not states. You may like to extend this to become a group discussion.

Activity 3: Federal vs. state (and local) powers  Have students use play the ‘Three levels of government game’ on the Parliamentary Education Office website.  Once completed, ask students to record their answers in table.

REVIEW AND CONSOLIDATE

Support/ Extension

Resources Student Book  Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum, pages 470–473 Student Book  Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum, pages 470–473 Website  AustraliaMap360°: Australia blank map Website  Parliamentary Education Office: Three levels of government game

Resources Page 15

5 mins

Summary  After British colonisation, the six colonies (now states) in Australia based their parliament structures on the British Westminster System – consisting of one or two houses and the ‘Crown’.  After each election, there are a number of potential outcomes, including majority government, minority government or hung parliament.  If one party can not form a majority government, there may be independent candidates or a minor party who hold the balance of power – as was the case in the 2018 Federal Election.

TOTAL 50 mins

HOMEWORK

Support/ Extension

Students are to complete any work not finished in class, such as ‘Check your learning’ questions or ‘Quiz me!’ activity. 20 mins

Resources obook pro  Interactive assessment: 21.3 Check your learning  Interactive assessment: Quiz me!

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Lesson 21.4: Australia’s voting system Pages 474–475 By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:  describe Australia’s system of preferential voting.

Things to know before you start teaching this lesson  The main aim of this lesson should be to ensure that every student can describe the preferential voting system.  Additional information about the voting system in Australia can be found on the Australian Electoral Commission website: https://education.aec.gov.au/teacher-resources/

STARTER ACTIVITY 5 mins



Support/ Extension

Resources

Pose a question to the class and have students put up their hands to answer (for example, who thinks we should watch a movie on the last day of term?). Count the votes, with hands up representing a ‘yes’ or ‘in favour’ vote. Ask students why they voted yes or no. Did they consider their friends’ votes? Did they just ‘go with the flow’? Ask someone in the minority group how they feel

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about the outcome. Depending on time, you could run the activity again as a secret ballot, either hands up with eyes closed, or on pieces of paper. Now, pose the same question, but with 3–4 options that students can choose from (for example: what should we do on the last day of term? 1. Watch a movie; 2. Play basketball; 3. Review our homework; 4. Play computer games). Discuss the outcomes – probably less people are happy with the outcome when there are more choices available. In order to make the most people feel happy (or represented) in Australia, we have preferential voting. This is so that even if you don’t get your first option, hopefully you get your second or third.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

Support/ Extension

Activity 1: Engage with topic 21.4  Talk through the key content on pages 474–475. 10 mins

10 mins

Activity 2: Preferential voting  Watch the short video on preferential voting.  Students need to remember that the candidate with the least number of votes has their preferences distributed to other candidates until one candidate achieves an © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

Resources Student Book  Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum, pages 474–475 Video  Parliamentary Education Office: Preferential voting (3.34 mins) Page 18

absolute majority (50% + 1).  Have students explain preferential voting in their own words and include some examples. They may want to use the additional information provided on the Australian Electoral Commission website. Activity 3: Filling in a ballot paper  Provide students with four different (pre-filled) ballot forms (including some with errors – like repeating a number or not putting a number in every box). Have students replicate these in the House of Representatives electronic ballot paper website and see whether these ballot forms would be valid or not. 20 mins  Have students describe the difference between a valid and invalid vote based on what they found out, including some diagrams or visual representations.

REVIEW AND CONSOLIDATE 5 mins

Extension  Ask students to consider why the candidate at the top of the ballot paper might have an advantage over the candidate at the bottom. Have students come up with alternative suggestions for the Australian Electoral Commission to use.

Support/ Extension

Website  Australian Electoral Commission: Election results Website  Australian Electoral Commission: Practise voting – House of Representatives

Resources

Summary  In Australia, voting in federal and state/territory elections is compulsory.  In federal elections we use a preferential system of voting which provides multiple counts of ballot papers to determine who has gained an absolute majority of total votes. © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

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Even though voting is compulsory, votes must be deemed ‘valid’ to be counted.

TOTAL 50 mins

HOMEWORK

Support/ Extension

Students are to complete any work not finished in class, such as ‘Check your learning’ questions or ‘Quiz me!’ activity.

obook pro  Interactive assessment: 21.4 Check your learning  Interactive assessment: Quiz me!

20 mins

ADDITIONAL OR OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES

30 mins

50 mins

Resources

Support/ Extension

Activity: Secret ballot  Students might be interested in the history of the secret ballot, also referred to as the ‘Australian Ballot’ (see the Resources column).  Ask students to write a structured paragraph on the reason why voting is via secret ballot and how this method helps protect our democracy. Activity: Practice election  You may like to set this activity up as part of a practice election with the activities in topics 21.2, 21.5 and 21.7. © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

Resources Website  National Museum Australia: Secret ballot introduced

Website  Australian Electoral Commission: Get Page 20

Voting

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Lesson 21A Skills in Context: Political cartoons Pages 476–477

Australian Curriculum links Level: 8 Sub-strand: Government and democracy Content descriptions:  How Australians are informed about and participate in democracy (AC9HC8K01)  Analyse information, data and ideas about political, legal or civic issues to identify and explain differences in perspectives and potential challenges (AC9HC8S03) Things to know before you start teaching this lesson  The main aim of this lesson is to practise the skill of analysing a political cartoon and extracting the key message/s the cartoonist is trying to make.  The more students practise analysing sources, the easier it will be for them. Give students plenty of practice by looking at some other topical political cartoons.

Support/ Extension

Resources

MAIN ACTIVITIES

Support/ Extension

Resources

Activity 1: Engage with Skills in Context 21A

Extension

Student Book

STARTER ACTIVITY  5 mins

10 mins

Have students review the concept of freedom of speech (see Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 7, topic 19.4) and the limitations of it (bounds of the law).

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30 mins

Talk through the key content on pages 476–477. Have students work individually to complete the activities in the ‘Practise the skill’ questions.

Students complete the ‘Extend your understanding’ questions.

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Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum, pages 476–477

obook pro  Differentiation worksheets: 21A How does Australia’s democracy work? Websites  Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House website: Cartoons and democracy  Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House: How to analyse a political cartoon

Activity 2: Analysing political cartoons  Model how to analyse a cartoon using Source 13 as an example. Go through the steps outlined in the ‘Key skill’ activity.  Once you have completed this, undertake the activity again to practise the skill some more.  Additional support about analysing political cartoons and the role they play can be found on the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House website.

REVIEW AND CONSOLIDATE 5 mins



Support/ Extension

Resources

Summary  Political cartoons serve a number of purposes, including © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

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criticising government policies and raising awareness of the need to change laws. Cartoonists also use humour to comment on political, economic and social issues.

TOTAL 50 mins

HOMEWORK 10 mins

Students are to complete any work not finished in class, such as the ‘Test me!’ activity.

ADDITIONAL OR OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES 50 mins

Support/ Extension

Resources obook pro  Interactive assessment: Test me!

Support/ Extension

Activity: Create your own cartoon  Students might be interested in the art of drawing political caricatures. Watch the video of American political cartoonist Mark Fiore drawing Donald Trump. They could also explore the work of New York Times bestselling Australian cartoonist Gavin Aung Than, who is best known for turning quotes from people such as Malala Yousafzai into inspiring comics.  Once they have explored the process, students could have a go at creating their own cartoon/caricature. You could provide students with a political scenario/theme or © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

Resources Videos  KQED News: Cartooning-in-Place: How to draw political caricatures (8.47 mins; watch 5 mins)  Gavin Aung Than: Zen Pencils (6.25 mins) Website Page 24

have students choose their own.

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Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House: Draw a caricature

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Lesson 21.5: Participating in Australia’s democracy Pages 478–479 By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:  describe ways Australians can participate in our democracy.

Australian Curriculum links Level: 8 Sub-strand: Government and democracy Content description: How Australians are informed about and participate in democracy (AC9HC8K01)

Things to know before you start teaching this lesson  The main aim of this lesson is to ensure that every student can describe ways that they can participate in our democracy.

STARTER ACTIVITY 

6 mins

Resources Video  Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority: Active civic participation (5.31 mins; under ‘Student videos’)

Watch the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority video titled ‘Active civic participation’ (5.31 mins).

MAIN ACTIVITIES 10 mins

Support/ Extension

Activity 1: Engage with topic 21.5  Talk through the key content on pages 478–479. © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

Resources Student Book  Oxford Humanities Page 26

and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum, pages 478–479

30 mins

Activity 2: Famous activists  Show students a short video biography of Mahatma Gandhi (see the Resources column). Have students research an activist such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosie Batty, Greta Thunberg, Eddie Mabo or Mahatma Gandhi and present what they find in a poster or create a presentation to deliver to the class.

REVIEW AND CONSOLIDATE 4 mins

Extension:  Have students research an activist or inspiring figure from a political movement. Ask them to describe the activist’s cause and how they were successful in seeking change.

Support/ Extension

obook pro  Weblink: Australian Electoral Commission: Find my electorate Video  CloudBio: Gandhi Biography (2.45 mins)

Resources

Summary  As Australia is a representative democracy, much of the decision making is left to the politicians elected by the people.  It is important that all Australians make their opinions © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

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and voices heard so that their representatives make political decisions that represent their interests, values and beliefs. TOTAL 50 mins

HOMEWORK

Support/ Extension

Students are to complete any work not finished in class, such as ‘Check your learning’ questions or ‘Quiz me!’ activity.

obook pro  Interactive assessment: 21.5 Check your learning  Interactive assessment: Quiz me!

20 mins

ADDITIONAL OR OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES 50 mins

Resources

Support/ Extension

Resources

Activity: Plan a campaign for change  Divide the class into groups of four or five students. Ask them to pick something that they would like changed. It could be a law, or the way something is run in the school or in the local town/area.  Ideas to get students inspired could be: o Australia’s use of fossil fuels o Australia’s relationship with First Nations peoples o the lack of things for young people to do in the local © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

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area o the age for voting, or getting a driver’s licence. When each group has picked their issue, they should consider the best way to approach making this change. (For example, if it is a local issue, they might want to write to the council or their local member of parliament. If they want to raise awareness, they might be better off starting a Facebook page or establishing a social media hashtag). Each group should then present their campaign idea to the rest of the class, who should be encouraged to question and ‘pick holes’ in it, in a constructive manner (they should only pick holes in the campaign, not the idea itself). When all groups have presented, the class should vote for the plan that they think has the best chance of succeeding and leading to real change. You may like to set this activity up as part of a practice election with the activities in topics 21.2, 21.4 and 21.7.

Lesson 21.6: Having a say Pages 480–481 By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:  describe how who can participate in Australian

Australian Curriculum links Level: 8

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democracy has changed since Federation Sub-strand: Government and democracy  explain the role of an independent electoral service such Content description: How Australians are informed about and participate in democracy (AC9HC8K01) as the Australian Electoral Commission. Things to know before you start teaching this lesson  The main aim of this lesson is to ensure that every student can describe the changes that have occurred since federation on who can vote and when these occurred. They should also be able to describe the role of the Australian Electoral Commission.  The main activity requires students to complete a timeline – if your students have not completed a timeline before, you may need to provide additional instructions or resources on how to complete a timeline.

STARTER ACTIVITY 5 mins

Support/ Extension

History of voting  Watch the video on the history of voting in Australia.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

Video  Behind the News: History of Voting (4.36 mins)

Support/ Extension

Activity 1: Engage with topic 21.6  Talk through the key content on pages 480–481. 10 mins

20 mins

Activity 2: Creating a timeline  Using the information on page 480, have students create a timeline of key changes to voting since Federation.  There are also some additional key dates available on

Resources

Support  If students have not created a timeline previously, you may

Resources Student Book  Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum, pages 480–481 Website  Australian Electoral Commission: Australian voting Page 30

the AEC website that you may like to include.

10 mins

Activity 3: The Australian Electoral Commission  Have students write a short summary on the role of the Australian Electoral Commission.  As Australia has compulsory voting for federal and state/territory elections, have students research and write an answer to the following questions: o What do I do if I am overseas when there is an election? o What do I do if I am inter-state when there is an election? o What do I do if I am working on election day? o What do I do if I am in hospital/sick on election day?

REVIEW AND CONSOLIDATE 5 mins

need to provide additional instruction or resources on this skill. Refer to Chapter 7, page 211.

history in action

Support  Watch the video on the role of the Australian Electoral Commission https://www.aec.gov .au/About_AEC/

Video  Australian Electoral Commission: The AEC’s role (0.37 mins)

Support/ Extension

Resources

Summary  Participation in Australia’s democracy has not always been available for everyone.  Since Federation, there have been several key events which have changed who is able to vote.  The Australian Electoral Commission is the independent © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

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body responsible for managing federal elections. TOTAL 50 mins

HOMEWORK

Support/ Extension

Students are to complete any work not finished in class, such as ‘Check your learning’ questions or ‘Quiz me!’ activity.

obook pro  Interactive assessment: 21.6 Check your learning  Interactive assessment: Quiz me!

20 mins

ADDITIONAL OR OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES

20 mins

Resources

Support/ Extension

Activity: History of voting interactive activity  Play the AEC online interactive module that summarises the key features of the Australian voting system and the key events that have changed the system.  Students might like to add some of these dates from this interactive to their timeline from Activity 2.

Resources Website



Australian Electoral Commission: History of Voting interactive

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Lesson 21.7: Informed citizens Pages 482–483 By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:  describe ways that citizens can be influenced in how they vote.

Australian Curriculum links Level: 8 Sub-strand: Government and democracy Content description: How Australians are informed about and participate in democracy (AC9HC8K01)

Things to know before you start teaching this lesson  The main aim of this lesson is to ensure students can describe the ways voters can be both informed and influenced in the way they vote in elections by a range of sources.

STARTER ACTIVITY 

Support/ Extension

Video  Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority: Media (5.26 mins; under ‘Student videos’)

Watch the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority video titled ‘Media’.

6 mins

MAIN ACTIVITIES 10 mins

Resources

Support/ Extension

Activity 1: Engage with topic 21.7  Talk through the key content on pages 482–483. © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

Resources Student Book  Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences Page 33

8 Australian Curriculum, pages 482–483

30 mins

Activity 2: Gruen Nation  Watch Gruen Nation Series 3, Episode 2, which examines several different marketing and advertising strategies used by political parties in the 2022 Federal Election (the episode is 36 minutes, you may only want to watch part of it).  Discuss the problem of advertising (particularly on social media) and how that can impact election outcomes.  Note: even though this episode is rated PG, there is some mature content. Teachers are advised to watch in advance.

REVIEW AND CONSOLIDATE 4 mins

obook pro  Weblink: Australian Electoral Commission: Disinformation register Video  ABC iView: Gruen Nation or via ClickView

Support/ Extension

Resources

Summary  Informed citizens have the knowledge to understand what is happening in the world.  A democracy relies on individuals being able to make informed decisions about which political party or © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

Page 34



independent candidate best reflects their political, economic and social values. Advertising and interest groups can inform and influence how people vote.

TOTAL 50 mins

HOMEWORK

Support/ Extension

Students are to complete any work not finished in class, such as ‘Check your learning’ questions or ‘Quiz me!’ activity.

obook pro  Interactive assessment: 21.7 Check your learning  Interactive assessment: Quiz me!

20 mins

ADDITIONAL OR OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES

50 mins

Resources

Support/ Extension

Resources

Activity: Create a political ad  Create an advertising campaign for your political party and campaign for change.  This can be part of a practice election with the activities for topics 21.2, 21.4 and 21.5.

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Lesson 21B Skills in Context: Petitions Pages 484–485

Australian Curriculum links Level: 8 Sub-strand: Government and democracy Content descriptions:  How Australians are informed about and participate in democracy (AC9HC8K01)  Explain the methods or strategies related to making decisions about civic participation (AC9HC8S04) Things to know before you start teaching this lesson  The main aim of this lesson is to ensure that every student can explain what a petition is and how it works.

STARTER ACTIVITY 5 mins



Support/ Extension

Resources

Provide each student with a post-it note (alternatively you could set this activity up digitally using a program like Padlet). Ask students for 1 thing that they would like to change at school (it might be the start time; uniforms; the canteen menu, etc.). Students have 1 minutes to come up with their problem – without discussion – and either stick their post-it on the wall/board or submit their idea on Padlet. At the end of the two minutes, you will have a large

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

number of responses. Some will be similar (group these together), but lots will be different. Introduce the idea that you can be involved with changing things in your school/society – if you go about, it the right way.

MAIN ACTIVITIES Activity 1: Engage with Skills in Context 21B  Talk through the key content on pages 484–485.  Have students work individually to complete the activities in the ‘Practise the skill’ questions.

Support/ Extension Extension  Students complete the ‘Extend your understanding’ questions.

10 mins

30 mins

Activity 2: Petitioning for change  Have students research how they could start a petition through online platforms such as Campaigns by Me, or actually develop a petition for a change in your school or © Oxford University Press 2023 Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum second edition Teacher obook pro ISBN 9780190331634 Permission has been granted for this page to be photocopied within the purchasing institution only. Version 1.0

Resources Student Book  Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 8 Australian Curriculum, pages 484–485 obook pro  Differentiation worksheets: 21B How do citizens participate in Australia’s democracy?  Weblink: Parliament of Australia: Petitions Websites  Parliament of Australia: Petitions  Change.org: Page 37



local area (possibly using the results from the starter activity). The Parliament of Australia website has a fact sheet on petitions and the change.org website has examples of recent online petitions that have been successful. Ensure that students have noted down the key features and functions of petitions.

REVIEW AND CONSOLIDATE

5 mins



Victories Campaigns by Me

Support/ Extension

Resources

Support/ Extension

Resources

Summary  Even if you are not old enough to vote, you can still make your voice heard on issues you are passionate about.  Petitions are one method of direct action that anyone can start, and there are a number of online platforms to assist in collecting signatures

TOTAL 50 mins

HOMEWORK 10 mins

Students are to complete any work not finished in class, such as the ‘Test me!’ activity.

obook pro  Interactive assessment: Test me! Page 38