Australia's Democracy

Overview

This 7-week lesson plan is designed for Year 6 Australian students, aligned with the Australian Curriculum's Civics and Citizenship focus areas (ACHASSK143, ACHASSK144, ACHASSK146, ACHASSK147). Through engaging, age-appropriate activities, students will explore Australia's democratic system, its institutions, and responsibilities of citizenship.

Each 60-minute lesson builds cumulatively, using collaborative learning, role-playing, real-life examples, and hands-on activities to ensure students develop a concrete understanding of Australia's government and their place within it.

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Week 1: Foundations of Democracy – The Westminster System

Curriculum Link: ACHASSK143 – Key institutions of Australia's democratic system based on the Westminster system

Learning Objectives

• Understand the Westminster system and its significance in shaping Australia's democracy.
• Identify key institutions (monarchy, parliament, courts).

Lesson Outline

Warm-Up (10 min):

• Ask students: "What does democracy mean to you?" Discuss briefly about fairness, freedom, and decision-making by majority.
• Relay fascinating facts about the Westminster system: origins in the UK, its importance in creating laws, and Australia's adaptation.

Main Activity (30 min):

• Interactive Group Task: Divide students into groups of 4-5. Assign each group one institution (monarchy, parliament, courts). Provide age-appropriate fact sheets with visuals. As a group, they create a mind map on butcher's paper, showing:
  • What the institution does.
  • Who it represents.
  • Examples (e.g., Governor-General, federal parliament).
• Students share their findings with the class in a short presentation.

Reflection and Consolidation (10 min):

• As a class, create a "Democracy Wall" on one corner of the classroom. Add keywords like "monarchy," "parliament," and "courts."
• Exit Ticket: Write one thing you learned about an institution on a sticky note and post it on the wall.

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Week 2: The Three Levels of Government

Curriculum Link: ACHASSK144 – Roles and responsibilities of the three levels of government

Learning Objectives

• Distinguish between the federal, state/territory, and local levels of government.
• Understand their shared and separate responsibilities (e.g., health and education).

Lesson Outline

Warm-Up (10 min):

• Play a quiz game: Is it Federal, State, or Local? Describe responsibilities (e.g., "Who collects rubbish?" "Who manages hospitals?") and have students hold up cards with their answers.

Main Activity (30 min):

• Hands-On Task:
  • Create a giant diagram on the classroom whiteboard showing three circles representing the levels of government.
  • Work together as a class to place illustrations or flashcards of responsibilities (e.g., "Defence," "Schools," "Immigration") in the corresponding level(s). Where responsibilities overlap, explain why.
  • Students copy the diagram into their workbooks.

Reflection and Consolidation (10 min):

• Imagine your town or city—what decisions would local leaders need to make? Discuss in pairs and share with the class.

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Week 3: The Federal Parliament

Curriculum Link: ACHASSK146 – How laws are initiated and passed through the federal parliament

Learning Objectives

• Understand the law-making process in the federal parliament.
• Recognise key players in creating laws (e.g., MPs, Prime Minister, the Senate).

Lesson Outline

Warm-Up (5 min):

• Begin with a storytelling prompt: "Imagine a rule about banning ice cream after 5 pm. How would that rule go from an idea to a law?"

Main Activity (40 min):

• Role-Play:
  • Assign students roles: Prime Minister, MPs, Senators, Speaker, etc.
  • Use a real-world law or a student suggestion for a simple mock legislative process.
  • Run through steps: Bill creation → debate → vote in the House of Representatives → Senate → Governor-General's royal assent.
  • Students create placards for their role, and the class acts out the process.

Reflection and Consolidation (15 min):

• Discuss: Why do we need laws? Who ensures they’re fair for everyone?
• Add the steps of law-making to the “Democracy Wall.”

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Week 4: Citizenship – What Does It Mean?

Curriculum Link: ACHASSK147 – Who can be an Australian citizen; rights, responsibilities, and shared values

Learning Objectives

• Identify who can become an Australian citizen.
• Explore the rights, responsibilities, and values of citizenship.

Lesson Outline

Warm-Up (5 min):

• Display photos of diverse Australians (different ages, cultural backgrounds). Ask: "What do these people have in common?"

Main Activity (40 min):

• Brief discussion: What does being Australian mean? Share ideas like freedom, mateship, diversity.
• Personal Reflection Task:
  • Each student creates a “My Australian Identity” booklet.
  • Inside, they write their name, family background, favourite Australian values, and the rights and responsibilities they aspire to uphold as citizens. Use drawings to personalise it.

Reflection and Consolidation (15 min):

• Discuss: How do shared values like respect and freedom unite all Australians?
• Add the terms "Rights," "Responsibilities," and "Values" to the Democracy Wall.

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Week 5: The Monarchy

Curriculum Link: ACHASSK143 – The role of the monarchy in Australia's system of government

Learning Objectives

• Explain the Queen's and Governor-General’s roles in Australia's democracy.
• Understand historical ties between Australia and the British monarchy.

Lesson Outline

Warm-Up (10 min):

• Show photos of the Queen and the Governor-General. Brief class discussion: "Why are they important to Australia?"

Main Activity (30 min):

• Timeline Creation:
  • Provide students with pre-prepared printed events in Australia's relationship with the monarchy (e.g., Federation, the 1975 dismissal of the Prime Minister).
  • In pairs, students arrange them chronologically and discuss their significance.
• Review milestones as a class and discuss: Should Australia remain a constitutional monarchy?

Reflection and Consolidation (20 min):

• Debate Activity: In small groups, students argue for or against Australia's existing relationship with the monarchy.

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Week 6: Exploring Citizenship in Action

Curriculum Link: ACHASSK147 – Rights and responsibilities of Australian citizens

Learning Objectives

• Explore how citizens contribute to democracy and community life.
• Determine how individual actions make a difference.

Lesson Outline

Warm-Up (10 min):

• Ask: "What makes a good citizen?" Brainstorm behaviours (e.g., volunteering, voting, standing up for fairness).

Main Activity (40 min):

• Community Role-Play:
  • Assign students different roles in a hypothetical town (Mayor, volunteer, school principal, police officer).
  • Present scenarios where good citizenship is needed (e.g., organising a community clean-up, solving a disagreement), and have groups act out roles.

Reflection and Consolidation (10 min):

• Discuss how the role-play reflects real Australian values, and how students can apply these in their daily lives.

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Week 7: Pulling It All Together

Curriculum Links: ACHASSK143, ACHASSK144, ACHASSK146, ACHASSK147

Learning Objectives

• Reflect on learning from the unit.
• Demonstrate understanding of how Australia's democracy works.

Lesson Outline

Warm-Up (10 min):

• Quick recap quiz: Write and answer five fast questions about Australia's democracy.

Main Activity (40 min):

• Interactive Group Poster:
  • In groups of 4-5, create a poster titled "Australia’s Democracy and Us." Include sections on the three levels of government, the law-making process, and citizenship.
  • Encourage creativity with drawings, diagrams, and symbols of democracy.

Reflection and Consolidation (10 min):

• Present posters to the class.
• Class discussion: Why is understanding democracy important for everyone?

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This 7-week program is designed to keep Year 6 students engaged while developing a solid understanding of Australia's democratic systems and what it means to be an active citizen.