Fair Communities

Overview

Lesson 1 of 8 in Government and Democracy Aotearoa. Students explore how communities use rules and decisions to support fairness, safety and participation through visual modelling, sorting, role-play and drawing.

Learning intentions

• WALT explain how rules and decisions help a community.
• WALT use fairness language to discuss a community situation.
• WALT participate in making and explaining a group decision.
• WALT share an idea using words, gestures, drawing or acting.

Success criteria

• I can identify a community and a rule.
• I can show whether something is fair or unfair.
• I can give or act out one reason for a decision.
• I can use a sentence frame or drawing to share an idea.

Curriculum links

• Civics and Society: communities, rules, fairness, decision-making and participation.
• Understand how people make decisions and organise themselves in groups and communities.
• Explore how participation and agreed rules can support wellbeing and belonging.
• Key competencies: relating to others, participating and contributing, and using language, symbols and texts.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–7 minutes – Welcome and retrieval

Display photos of a school, sports team and Aotearoa community in the introduction and photo slides. Invite each of the six students to point to, act out or name one familiar community word. Introduce the gestures: community—circle arms; rule—stop hand; fair—balanced hands; decision—point to a choice.

2. 7–15 minutes – Teach vocabulary and model a decision

Use the vocabulary and decision-path slides to introduce community, rule, fair, unfair, decision, agree and explain. Briefly introduce government, citizen and participation as connection words. Students work in three pairs: Partner A echoes or claps the word; Partner B points to the matching visual, then swap roles. Think aloud: “We need to choose a class game. What is the decision? Which rule helps everyone join?” Model the frame, “I think this is fair because…”. Invite one response from each pair.

3. 15–25 minutes – Match and sort

Set up three pairs. Give each pair picture cards and simple rule cards. Partners take turns as reader/chooser and matcher/explainer, then swap after each card. They match rules to pictures and place examples in the FAIR or UNFAIR hoops. Use examples such as taking turns, excluding someone, sharing equipment and changing a rule without telling people. Ask each student at least one question: “What is the rule?” or “Is it fair or unfair?” Accept pointing, gestures, home-language discussion and one-word answers before extending responses.

4. 25–38 minutes – Community problem role-play

Form two groups of three. Give each group one visual community problem, such as one ball and many players, a noisy shared space or deciding which game to play. In each group, assign reader/picture chooser, actor, and speaker/reporter; students swap roles for a second rehearsal or scenario. Each group acts out the problem, discusses one fair rule or decision using a round-robin so every student contributes, and rehearses: “We decide to ___.” Circulate, prompt turn-taking and listen for reasons.

5. 38–48 minutes – Structured group talk

Each triad performs or explains its decision to the other triad. The listening students respond one at a time with a fair or unfair gesture and one question or answer: “What is the decision?” or “Why is it fair?” Rotate spokespersons so each student has a speaking, responding or demonstrating role. Encourage Stage 1 learners to add because: “It is fair because everyone gets a turn.”

6. 48–55 minutes – Individual response

Distribute the fair rule drawing and sentence worksheet. Each student works independently to draw or write one fair rule for a community and complete “The rule is ___” and, where ready, “It is fair because ___.” Students may label the drawing, copy a word from the bilingual word/picture bank, dictate to an adult or record an oral response. Confer briefly with students one at a time while others complete their responses.

7. 55–60 minutes – Individual exit check

Revisit the plenary and exit-check slides. Check each student individually, in turn, by asking them to point to FAIR, say or draw one rule, and complete “A decision is ___.” Provide a quiet pair station with a visual prompt for students waiting. Collect worksheet responses and record for each of the six students whether they recognise the target vocabulary, identify fairness and communicate an idea.

Resources

• the introduction, teaching, activity and plenary slide deck
• six copies of the fair rule drawing and sentence worksheet
• Photos of a school, sports team and Aotearoa community
• Two small sets of picture cards and simple rule cards, one per triad or pair as needed
• Two hoops or two clearly labelled spaces for FAIR and UNFAIR
• Two or three visual community problem cards
• Bilingual word/picture bank and visual sentence frames
• Six pencils or drawing tools, plus sticky notes for pair responses
• High-contrast, large-print cards
• Optional toy microphone for the rotating speaker/reporter

Assessment

• Use a six-student checklist to record each student’s vocabulary recognition, fair/unfair sorting, participation in a pair or triad, and use of a sentence frame.
• During pair sorting, check each student individually at least once by asking them to identify the rule and classify it as fair or unfair.
• During the triad role-play and report-back, note each student’s assigned contribution—reader/chooser, actor, speaker/reporter, responder or demonstrator—and whether they give, act out or identify a reason.
• Collect each student’s rule drawing and exit response as evidence of understanding and communication.
• Complete the exit check one student at a time: record whether each student points to FAIR, communicates one rule and completes or meaningfully responds to “A decision is ___.”

Differentiation

• Foundation learners: offer two-choice visuals, copied labels, home-language discussion, a home-language buddy, teacher-read cards and oral, gesture or pointing responses.
• Stage 1 learners: prompt use of because, require a complete written sentence where appropriate, and ask them to compare two possible rules.
• EAL support: rehearse vocabulary with gestures, echo-reading and choral repetition; keep sentence frames visible and accept drawing, acting and one-word answers before extending language.
• Dyslexia-friendly: use teacher-read cards, large sans-serif print, high contrast, minimal text, uncluttered layouts and audio or partner reading.