Why You Should Share Kamala and Maya's Big Idea in Your Classroom

One of my favourite books of 2020 was Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea by Meena Harris and Ana Ramírez González. This lovely picture book tells a fictionalised story about Kamala Harris and her sister Maya and a project they undertook as children. And - as a story which focuses on civics and community - it’s perfect for the classroom. Here’s some reasons why you should share it in your classroom and some ways you might like to explore it with your students.

1. Being aware of issues in our community

It’s hard to make improvements in our community if we don’t know about or understand the issues. At the beginning of Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea, the two girls have a very big idea to create a playground outside. They’ve spotted something which can be improved and have ideas about how to improve it.

Students can have great ideas about their community and the things they’d like to see improved when we give them the opportunity to learn more about different issues and the space to suggest a future they’d like to see. Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea is a great prompting text for students to reflect on their own community and different things they notice or would like to improve.

Activity Idea: Ask students to reflect on what their ideal neighbourhood or school would be like. While some ideas are sure to be a little outlandish, students will also have thoughts on real improvements which can be made.

2. Working with others to solve problems

In the book, Kamala and Maya don’t achieve their goal on their own. They work with other kids in the building, get help from their parents and neighbours in the building to raise interest. They build things together, raise money together and even get donations of old things from local businesses.

Big problems and big goals can be hard to solve on our own, but when people work together those big things can be broken into smaller pieces. This is a great way for students to talk about organising groups of people, about how to make decisions in these groups and how to respect the ideas of others when planning something. 

Activity Idea: Work as a group to choose a charity to raise money for. Brainstorm ways to raise the money and think about how the group can work together to make a big job easier.

3. Being persistent and trying different ways to solve problems

Getting their playground isn’t easy and Kamala and Maya have to be persistent and deal with setbacks. They have to convince the landlord that the courtyard can be fixed up, then how to source materials for their playground. Then they need to change their focus on raising money to buy an old slide for the playground. They don’t give up, but they’re also happy to change how they approach things when they need to.

This is such a great message for students to hear and to reflect on. Oftentimes it feels easier to give up when things get really hard. But by thinking about whether you need to change how you’re doing something or by just doing something again, you get another step closer to achieving your goals.

Activity Idea: Ask your students to brainstorm phrases they can say to themselves when they need to be persistent. You can use these phrases as a display in the classroom, or students can create reminder cards with their favourites. 

4. Creating community spaces

Kamala and Maya’s goal in the book was to create a happy community space. This is a great opportunity for students to reflect on what makes a great community space and what community spaces exist in their community.

You might like to look beyond playgrounds as well and look at other community spaces which cater to different groups of people. You may include libraries, community centres, communal gardens, nature reserves and walks. Students can reflect on why community spaces are important to people and the benefits of them and what community spaces they would like to see.

Activity Idea: Go on a neighbourhood journey to some local community spaces. Students might like to take photos, draw maps and write notes about the different things they see in these spaces.

Want to take a closer look at Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea? Read more about the book companion here

Related posts to read:

• Exploring The Girl With a Mind For Math in the Classroom

• 5 Reasons to Explore The House that Cleaned Itself in the Classroom

• Challenging Students to Find Connections Between Picture Books

• Asking Students to Create their Own Picture Book Questions

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4 Activities for Exploring Democratic Decision Making in the Classroom

Democratic decision making is one of the early concepts students come across as they learn about civics and citizenship. It’s an important concept - one which is used in government and community organisations and even to make playground decisions - so here’s some different and fun ways you can bring it alive in your classroom.

What is Democratic Decision Making?

Democratic decision making happens when a group of people work together to ensure everyone has a say on the decisions being made. This means everyone gets an equal change to share their opinions and ideas and any votes are held in a fair manner. Democratic decision making may be written into a set of rules or may just happen when decisions are being made.

Exploring Democratic Decision Making in the Classroom

1. What Game Will We Play?

This is a great introductory activity to try when you know you are able to take students outside for a game. 

Bring this activity to the students by letting them know that they’re going to have some free time to play a game outside - but only if they can decide which game the class will play in a fair way. At this point, some classes may be fine to engage in discussion and negotiations and to work out the fairest (and most democratic) way to make a decision. Other classes may need scaffolding around what fair looks like, or help brainstorming ways they can make a fair decision.

When students have chosen the game, ask them to explain why they made a fair decision. Then you can take them out to play!

Follow up activity: Revisit the activity and the steps they took to make a fair decision. You may like to ask students to think of any other strategies they could have used. Ask students to create ‘Fair Decision’ posters to help other students to make decisions together.

2. Compare Fair and Unfair Ways of Voting

Most students engaging with civics will have had some experience of voting - either as part of classroom activities or for data collection in maths. If students haven’t experienced voting, or they’re unsure of the concept, you may like to organise a quick vote to demonstrate.

Present students with a range of scenarios showing fair and unfair ways of holding a vote. Unfair votes could include only some people being allowed to vote; certain people having to complete tasks before they can vote (like running around the oval 10 times or standing on one leg to vote); or some people getting more than one vote. Fair voting scenarios might include everyone getting one vote; voting questions being clear and easy to understand or votes being secret. Ask students to organise the different scenarios into fair and unfair ways of voting and ask them to explain their decisions - this could be a great small group or whole class activity. 

When students have organised the scenarios, they may like to discuss why voting should be fair - what the benefits of a fair vote are.

Follow up activity: Ask students to write rules for a fair vote. When students have written rules, they might like to try out some - either within the class, with another class in the year level or with a buddy class.

3. Invite a Guest Speaker to Talk About Democratic Decision Making

Inviting guest speakers into the classroom is a great way to engage with a topic. Many people in community organisations engage in democratic decision making and can explain the different ways they do that to the class.

If your school has a parents association - a P and C or P and F, this may be a great place to start. The President of the P and C would be able to explain how they became president and the way that decisions are made when they’re at a meeting. Similarly, members of community groups such as the Lions or Rotary may be able to discuss the decision making processes at their meetings. 

Alternatively, you might like to invite one of the local elected representatives - especially if you can work with different classes within the school so they can talk on a range of topics. Elected representatives are elected on a vote and participate regularly in voting. They also have different methods to make sure all the representatives have a say as well as the people who they represent.

Follow up activity: Ask students to investigate ways of running a meeting and to develop their own rules for running a meeting. 

4. Encourage Students to Have a Say

When my daughter was in kindergarten, her class was very concerned about litter in the local park. Their teacher helped them to express their concerns in drawings and paintings and they worked together to write a letter to the local council. A local councillor then came to visit them and to talk about little and what the council and individuals could do to help. This was a fabulous exercise in even the youngest students getting to have a say about an issue which concerned them.

Ask your students what they are concerned about and discuss who they could talk to about it. Brainstorm and reflect on the best ways to have a say - whether it’s attending a local meeting or writing a letter to a local representative (or even the Principal if it’s a school concern). Let students know that having a say doesn’t always mean something will be done about it, but it does let people who hold positions of power know that it is something which is important within their community.

Follow up activity: Investigate different notable people around the world who have had a say about things which are important to them.

Have you explored democratic decision making with your students? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Related posts to read:

• Elections in the Classroom - 7 Tips for Real Learning with Minimum Controversy

• Get Students Involved to Make a Better World

• Five Times Young People Got Involved and Took Action!

• Four Ways Students Can Find More Information And Get Involved

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Why You Should Teach Civics and Citizenship

We have limited time in the school day and limited time in the school year. We are told to prioritise reading, writing and mathematics, along with science and technology if we want students to succeed in the ‘real’ world. And teachers are often told to teach an endless array of other subjects to fix the problems of the world we have now.

So why is it important to teach civics and citizenship to our students? How will an understanding of how government and government institutions work fit into their lives after they leave school? And why is civics education vital in the ‘real’ world?

Teaching civics and citizenship is important because our students need to know how things work

When we talk about teaching how government works, it can be easy to think we’re only referring to the work of big, central or federal governments - the things which happen at Parliament House in Canberra or the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. But understanding how civic institutions work applies to so many more levels, from local community organisations through to those big central institutions.

Choosing leaders, making decisions on laws and regulations, setting goals as a community, a state or a country, enforcing laws, engaging in actions which challenge the decisions made, being involved in community, gaining citizenship - these are all elements which make up government. And they all work in different ways.

When students know how decisions are made or how leaders are chosen, it makes it easier for them to trust or engage in civic institutions and processes. They are able to bring a higher level of background knowledge to reading or discussions about government issues and will take away a better understanding of the impacts of government decisions on their own lives and the lives of other people in their community.

Increased civic understanding means that students have a better understanding of how someone becomes a leader - and helps them reflect on whether there can be better ways of choosing leaders. It means they understand how laws are passed, how laws might be enforced in a community and why laws might need to be changed or updated. It allows them to explore their role as a citizen of a country and how people can participate as members of a community. 

It shows them how civics are present in so many parts of their life - and the lives of people around them.

Takeaways:

• Learning how government works increases trust or engagement in civic institutions and processes

• Learning how government works allows for better informed reading and discussion

• Learning how government works allows students to understand the past and think about their role in the future

Teaching civics and citizenship is important because students should know they can have a role in their government

So often teachers are asked ‘when am I going to need this when I leave school?’ Good civics education allows students to see where government is part of their life everyday . . . and how they can be part of civic institutions and processes.

From the smaller regulations around where you can park cars or walk your dog, to systems like roads and public transport, to big decisions about taxes we pay or how to respond to a natural disaster, governments are constantly making decisions which impact people. By learning more about how these decisions are made, students learn how they can be part of the decision making process - either now or in the future.

Voting is an important part of this and civics education is definitely vital for understanding voting systems better. But voting is not the only way for people to be involved in decision-making processes. Students can learn about communicating with elected decision makers, through letters, emails or phone calls. They can learn about protest movements and leaders and the impacts they have made, both in the past and in the present. And they can learn about how they can engage in local community groups and the decisions which can be made at a local community level.

Learning the ways you can be connected and participate at local - or higher - levels allows students to create better community engagement. This is something they can take with them long after they finish school.

Takeaways:

• Students should understand how the decisions of governments impact so many parts of their lives

• Students should understand that they can engage with decision makers in a range of different ways

• Students should understand that they can participate in community groups and local decisions

Teaching civics and citizenship is important because students should reflect on what it means to be a citizen

Civics and citizenship in the classroom is about so much more than facts about how laws are made or how many elected representatives there are. Citizenship is being a participant in a community or country and there are so many aspects of this for students to explore.

Becoming a citizen of a country, the responsibilities of citizenship and the promises new citizens make are all essential things to learn and understand. Many of these subjects involve what a country stands for - what its core values are. This allows students to reflect on what the values of their country should be and whether they - as citizens or residents of the country - can reflect those values.

The many different ways citizens can be involved in democratic decision making is another element of citizenship in democratic countries. In some countries, such as Australia, this participation is a responsibility of citizenship - with almost all citizens over the age of 18 required to vote in different elections. In other countries, voting and other means of participation in decision making are rights. Learning about what rights they have as citizens allows students to understand when their rights or the rights of others are challenged and what they can do about it.

Citizenship might also mean being involved in local communities - including the communities we create inside our schools. It could mean participating in school clubs or activities, engaging in volunteer work or opportunities or simply understanding the different ways people can play a role in the community they live and work in.

Takeaways:

• Learning about citizenship allows students to explore the core values of a country

• Learning about citizenship allows students to examine the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen

• Learning about citizenship allows students to reflect on how people can participate in their local communities

Teaching civics and citizenship is important because it helps students understand history better

So much of history revolves around what decisions were made and what were the consequences of those decisions. Sometimes we look at who made the decisions or why they made the decisions, but we don’t always look at the structures which informed their decisions.

When we teach government to our students, we help them get a better understanding of those structures. Students can look at how different political systems developed different leaders (and lead to different conflicts) in ancient civilisations. They can learn how the Magna Carta influenced other political movements and the belief that no one was above the rule of law. They can better understand political systems which were being protested by so many people working to get the right to vote.

By learning that there’s often a deeper background or issues to learn about, students begin to understand that history is complex, that sometimes we need to look at it closer to understand the different perspectives. Students also can examine the different ways that people have worked together in the past and explore how they can apply that knowledge to civic experiences now and into the future.

Takeaways:

• When they learn about government, including civic processes and institution, students gain a better understanding of history 

• When they learn about government, students gain a better understanding of the complexity of history and the different systems which can influence decision making

• When they learn about government, students gain a better understanding of how they can apply organisational systems of the past into present or future situations

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Related posts to read:

• What are Political Parties, Why Do They Matter and How Can We Teach Them?

• 7 Things You May Not Know About Government in Australia

• Australian Election Myths (And Teaching Ideas for a Better Understanding of Elections)

• 6 Great Books to Integrate With Australian Social Studies

• Different Types of Government (And How We Can Teach Them)

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5 Things to Teach About Democracy in the Classroom

Democracy is such an important topic to teach in the classroom - but what should we be covering when we teach democracy? Here’s five things which will help students gain a better understanding of democracy - and where we find it in the world around us.

1. What is Democracy?

Before students can gain a deeper understanding of democracy, they need to understand what it is. They might like to start with breaking the word down - democracy is a Greek word meaning rule or strength by the people.

In our modern world, we understand democracy is a type of government where citizens get an equal say in how things are run - usually through voting.

This is a good opportunity to explore what voting looks like. Students may have accompanied adults as they vote and they can talk about what they see. You can also share photos of voting around the world - whether it’s Australians voting at an Antarctic station, a primary caucus in Iowa or voting in space!

Students can also talk about other places they see voting - whether it’s voting in the classroom or voting for a reality television show. 

2. Where Does Democracy Come From?

If you’re digging deeper into democracy, it’s good to know where it comes from - and how modern democracy is different. 

Democracy started in ancient Athens around 508-507 BCE. It was a change from ‘aristocracy’ - rule by the elite - with the idea that ‘the people’ of Athens should have a say in how the city state was run. The ‘people’ - those who got to vote and were involved in decision making - was quite restricted though - women, slaves and non-citizens were all excluded.

Students might like to reflect on how the development of democracy would have changed the life of Athenians who were able to vote. They might also like to research some of the features of democracy in Athens like ostracism and the red rope!

3. Common Features of Democracy

What features usually accompany democracy? From elections, to majority vote to the right to protest against the government, there are a range of features which people usually associate with democracy. These can change from country to country - not every country has free speech, for example - but the philosophy of everyone having the right to participate in decision making is usually behind these features.

Students might like to create a list of the features of democracy they know about and discuss why those features exist. They might also like to examine what can make democracy fairer and look at how some countries have worked to create fairer systems. To extend this, students might like to argue to a change to their own democratic system - from how the senate is created, to how votes are cast, to a change in who is allowed to vote.

4. Types of Democracy

There are two main kinds of democracy - representative democracy and direct democracy. In direct democracy, voters vote for all the decisions. In a representative democracy, voters vote for representatives who serve to make laws and decisions.

Many countries have a mixture of direct and representative democracy. In many countries, almost all laws are created by representatives. However, when the law is particularly big, or there’s a lot of conflict about passing it, laws might be referred to the public to be voted on. This is called a referendum.

Students might like to look at the benefits and drawbacks of both kinds of democracy and write a persuasive argument about which one they believe is better. They can also research notable referendum and talk about the different arguments people might put forward when they convince people to vote for laws.

5. Where Do We See Democracy?

It can be tempting for people to dismiss democracy as not important, but it’s essential for students to see the impacts of democracy all around us. From politicians belonging to different political parties, to newspapers being allowed to disagree with the government, to people being allowed to sign online petitions to ask the government to change something, democracy influences our lives more than we might realise.

Students can talk about the places they see democracy - or the influences of democracy - in their life and talk about how things might be different if only some people were allowed to vote. They can discuss how voting rights have changed over time and whether there are still changes required. They can also look at how different countries celebrate democracy - from democracy sausages in Australia, to I voted stickers, to election night parties.

How do you explore democracy in your classroom? Let me know in the comments below.

Related posts to read:

• What are Political Parties, Why Do They Matter and How Can We Teach Them?

• 7 Things You May Not Know About Government in Australia

• Australian Election Myths (And Teaching Ideas for a Better Understanding of Elections)

• 6 Great Books to Integrate With Australian Social Studies

• Different Types of Government (And How We Can Teach Them)

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Why We Need to Teach Australian Elections - and Resources to Help You

With all the noise around politicians, elections, campaigns and promises, it can be tempting to tune it all out. However, in the classroom it is our job to teach about elections to ensure we have informed voters in the future.

Voting is Part of the Curriculum

The Civics and Citizenship strand of HASS in the Australian Curriculum includes a number of outcomes connected to elections and voting. From learning about the role of voting in a democracy to learning how voting works in Australia, students are expected to gain a wide understanding of voting and elections through their lessons in the classroom.

It Helps to Prepare Informed Citizens

Australia has compulsory voting which means most of your students will be required to vote one day. As well as understanding the way campaigning works and the responsibilities of voters and elected officials, students need to understand the mechanics of how voting works and how votes are counted. The more informed students are about voting, the more likely they are to be informed voters as adults.

Blog Posts, Websites and Resources to Help You Teach Elections

Blog Posts

Elections in the Classroom - 7 Tips for Real Learning with Minimum Controversy
Teachers should always take care to teach government and elections without bias, but this is particularly important around election time - the last thing you want is to appear on the front page of a newspaper because a student or parent took objection to your views. This blog post offers a range of ways you can teach elections in an interesting and factual manner without inviting controversy

7 Things You May Not Know About Government in Australia
This post is a collection of facts about government in Australia and is a great starting point for students exploring Australian government and Australian elections.

Australian Election Myths (And Teaching Ideas for a Better Understanding of Elections)
Unfortunately there is a growing collection of myths about voting in Australia - it’s so bad that the Australian Electoral Commission is having to run advertising to warn people about misinformation. This post explores a number of commonly held myths and provides teaching ideas and further links for teachers and students to explore.

Why We Should Explore Compulsory Voting in Our Classrooms
Many people know that we have compulsory voting in Australia, but do they know about the history of compulsory voting and the senator who introduced it? This post contains some of that history as well as other teaching ideas to explore in the classroom. This is perfect for students exploring the features of Australian democracy.

What are Political Parties, Why Do They Matter and How Can We Teach Them?
When we look at election campaigns, we are usually dealing with political parties. This post offers information about political parties and how you can teach more about them in the classroom.

What are Election Policies? (And how can we teach students about them?)
As well as political parties, many students will come across election policies and campaign promises from candidates. This blog post takes a closer look at policies and how we can better understand them.

Websites

• The Australian Election Commission is great to visit for general and specific information about elections. They also have two teaching resources - Democracy Rules and Get Voting which you can use in the classroom.
  

• The Parliamentary Education Office also has resources around voting. It can be a little difficult to navigate all the available resources on this site - make sure to click on fact sheets for additional information.
  

• The Museum of Australian Democracy has an interactive timeline which can be used by students looking at where voting sits within the bigger picture of Australian democracy
  

• BTN has a video about the History of Voting in Australia as well as teaching resources. A range of related videos are also linked to and are worth checking out.

Resources

The Elections in Australia resources are the most comprehensive look at Australian elections. These resources include a mini unit which looks at different elements of voting and elections in Australia, posters, word wall cards and research tasks.

You can also use the Run Your Own Preferential Election resources to get a better understanding of preferential voting in Australia and how preferential votes are counted. Word Wall cards are also available for this topic.

There is a duo of resources for Year 6 students looking at the responsibilities of voters and the responsibilities of elected representatives. This is an excellent way to look at what is expected of voters and the people we elect to lead us.

Australian Electoral Process and Running an Australian Election takes Year 5 students through the elements of Australian elections including secret ballot and compulsory voting.

If I Was Prime Minister is a fabulous book by Beck and Robin Feiner. There are two available book studies for this book: one for Year 2, 3 and 4 students and another for Year 5 and 6 students.

Finally, students can explore their own feelings about compulsory voting with a persuasive writing task asking students to take a position for or against it.

Related posts to read:

• What are Political Parties, Why Do They Matter and How Can We Teach Them?

• 7 Things You May Not Know About Government in Australia

• Australian Election Myths (And Teaching Ideas for a Better Understanding of Elections)

• 6 Great Books to Integrate With Australian Social Studies

• Different Types of Government (And How We Can Teach Them)

Looking for more?

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What are Election Policies? (And how can we teach students about them?)

In the first part of this blog post, I explored what political parties are, why they are important and how we can explore the differences between different parties and their values.

In this post I’m going to take a closer look at election policies - or what different political parties are promising - as well as some ideas for exploring election policies in the classroom.

What are Party Policies?

Every political party creates a set of policies - goals for different areas of government which are shaped by the values of the party. These policies might be very general - we are aiming to promote penguins - or very specific - we are aiming to use government money to build statues of penguins around Australia.The parties who have a better chance of winning seats in an election are more likely to have specific policies - because the voters will expect them to turn the policies into laws if they win the election.

During an election campaign, political parties may release, discuss and promote these policies. They might talk about how these policies are different from the other parties, talk about how they are going to pay for these policies or talk about how these policies will create a better country or state.

The party policies combine to make the party platform - the goals the political party will aim to achieve if they win government.

Lesson idea: Students can brainstorm some general policies for their school and then see if they can make them more specific. So ‘air-conditioning the classrooms’ may become ‘work with the P and C to come up with fundraising ideas so we can air-condition at least three of the classrooms next year’. Students can then discuss whether general or specific policies are more helpful for voters.

How are Party Policies Made?

There are a number of ways policies are made. Sometimes party leaders might make up policies as they go. More commonly, though, policies involve political parties identifying issues which people care about or problems which need to be solved, then working through a process to develop a policy which would solve the problem or address the issue.

The process often asks political parties to think about any potential issues which would come up if the policy was turned into laws. For example, a policy to promote penguins might sound great in theory, but additional tourists travelling to visit penguins might put penguin habitats in danger and it would definitely mean more traffic on the roads. Political parties have to work through all these potential problems in their policies to create the best policy possible.

Lesson idea: Provide students with a list of possible school policies and ask them to consider the implications of these policies. They might like to create PMI charts or other ways of exploring the policies.

How Can Regular Citizens Understand Election Policies?

This is possibly the hardest part! Political parties often release a lot of policies before elections. They want to use these to convince voters to vote for them. So many times they are written in a way which is very persuasive and this can sometimes be a bit confusing.

Some political parties might use their policies to be negative about other parties. Other political parties might use their policies to show that they are very serious - which means they include so much detail it can be hard to understand what the policies are. And some policies are just down-right confusing if you don’t understand complex tax systems!

There are a few ways we can get through to the nitty-gritty of policies though:

1. Try to rewrite them in your own words.

Your own words will include less of the persuasive language used before elections. By writing out some of the policies from different parties in your own words you can get a better idea of what those policies are and how they compare with other policies.

Students can easily explore this in the classroom. By rewriting the policies and removing persuasive language, they can explore how persuasive language is used in election campaigns. They can use this knowledge to create their own persuasive statements.

2. Compare policies with the values of the political party

The political party will have a set of values which they follow. Usually policies are created in alignment with the values of the political party. If they don’t seem to align, it’s worth exploring why that is the case. It’s possible that the policy is more complex than it first seems!

Students can work on these comparisons in groups. They can also try to match policies to different political parties, or create their own political parties with different values and decide what kind of policies would suit each set of values.

3. Compare policies with speeches

It’s always good to explore primary source material. In many cases politicians give speeches which look at what they believe and why they believe it’s important. They might also give speeches which give more information about different policies - these are a good way to take a closer look at policies and how they align with what the politicians are saying.

Then how do I work out who has the BEST policies?

Honestly, that really depends on what you think is most important. The best way is to spend a little time reflecting on what is most important to you - jobs, education, penguins?

When you have determined what is most important to you, you should look for whichever political party has policies which best match with what you believe. It’s unlikely that you’ll get an exact match, so you might need to determine which is the closest on the most important and be more flexible with less important beliefs.

Lesson Idea - Students can be provided with different aspects of school life and school decision making (like types of lessons taught, school events, uniform decisions, food in the tuckshop) and determine which one is most important to them. Students can use this information to write the kind of policies they’d like to see at school.

Read Part One of this post - exploring political parties - here

Related posts to read:

• What are Political Parties, Why Do They Matter and How Can We Teach Them?

• 7 Things You May Not Know About Government in Australia

• Australian Election Myths (And Teaching Ideas for a Better Understanding of Elections)

• 6 Great Books to Integrate With Australian Social Studies

• Different Types of Government (And How We Can Teach Them)

Looking for more?

• Follow the Galarious Goods TpT shop

• Follow Galarious Goods on Facebook

• Follow Galarious Goods on Pinterest

• Follow Galarious Goods on Instagram

What are Political Parties, Why Do They Matter and How Can We Teach Them?

A few weeks ago when I crowdsourced some election myths for this post, I was asked an interesting question by a Year 5 student: How do you know the difference between different political parties and what they are promising?

It turned out to be such a good question that I’m going to devote two blog posts to it! Today, I’ll be exploring political parties themselves.

What are political parties?

Political parties are groups of people who believe in a set of values and ideals. They group together with the aim of winning elected positions at federal, state or local elections.

Members of political parties help to shape policies, vote to choose candidates for elections, help campaign for their political party and celebrate (or commiserate) after elections. Many Australians don’t belong to political parties, but might generally support one or another of them.

While the people in political parties share similar values, they don’t all agree all of the time. Party members, including MPs and Senators, might have strong disagreements about different party policies or ideas. However, these disagreements are usually worked out in party meetings and often aren’t argued in public. Australian political parties are known for having this ‘tight discipline’ which means that MPs and Senators from a certain party usually vote for that party in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Sometimes political parties with some similar values work together in a Coalition. Meanwhile, MPs or Senators who don’t belong to a political party are called independents.

Lesson idea: Students can develop their own political party. They should think about what kind of values are important to them, then create an advertisement convincing people to join their party.

Why are political parties important?

Political parties are important because they help groups of people work together to get people elected and to create laws and policy which promote their values. But there are other reasons why political parties are important.

In Australian federal politics, the political party (or coalition) which has the most elected MPs becomes the Government. This means they can choose ministers, develop policies, implement laws and run government departments. They also choose the Prime Minister.

Because the political party chooses the Prime Minister (and not the people of Australia), the ruling political party can change the Prime Minister anytime they want to (as we have seen a lot in recent years). This means any elected member of the ruling political party might become Prime Minister . . . This might be another reason for voters to choose a particular political party.

Lesson idea: Students explore how Prime Ministers are chosen - and discuss what qualities a good Prime Minister should have. Students can turn this discussion into a ‘job application’ to find an excellent Prime Minister.

A Quick History of Australia’s Political Parties

In the early 1900s, Australia had three main political parties. The Protectionist Party wanted tariffs and taxes on imports into Australia to protect Australian products and jobs. The Free Trade Party wanted to get rid of taxes and tariffs to allow everyone to share in the wealth of the country. And the Australian Labor Party represented workers groups (or unions) to make sure that workers had fair pay and safe working conditions.

Over time, many political parties have come and gone in Australia. Some of them held positions of power in the Australian parliament, while others may have had a few elected members (or none) before dissolving. The Australian Labor Party is the only surviving party from the original big three.

Lesson idea: Students explore which Prime Ministers represented which party in the early 1900s. They can look a little closer at what policies they promoted and what kinds of laws were put in place.

Today’s Political Parties

Today there are still three main political parties who form government - but they’re a little different from the 1900s.

The Australian Labor Party still aims to represent workers and unions. They also describe themselves as a social-democratic party, which means they think the government should step in to promote social justice through social or economic means.

The Nationals Party is the second oldest party in Australia, founded in 1920. It aims to represent farmers, as well as people who live outside the big cities in Australia. The Nationals often work to make sure that people outside the cities have the same access to services as the people in the cities. They work in a coalition with the Liberal Party of Australia and share some - though not all - of the same values.

The Liberal Party of Australia was formed in 1944 after a meeting of organisations which opposed the Australian Labor Party. Their goal was to form a party based on individual freedom and personal choice. As part of this, they supported (and continue to support) free business - believing that business is the best way to create national and individual growth and wealth. They work in coalition with the National Party.

There are also a number of minor parties (or smaller parties) in Australia. At the moment, the biggest of those is the Australian Greens, a party which grew out of the environmental movement, but now works to develop policies around the environment and integrity, fairness and decency.

There are a number of other smaller parties who run in elections and have one or two elected members. These often change as their popularity grows or falls.

You can get a better understanding of different parties by exploring their values - what ideas they think are most important.

Lesson: Students can create a diagram showing the different political parties in Australia. They might like to research to discover what the core values of the parties are and if they’ve changed since the parties were first formed. Students can use these diagrams to highlight the differences between different parties.

In part 2, I’m going to take a little look at what political policies are, how to examine them, and how to tell the difference between them. Click here to read more now.

Want to read more? Try . . .

• History of political parties in Australia

• Political Parties

• Political Parties in the House of Representatives

Related posts to read:

• 7 Things You May Not Know About Government in Australia

• Australian Election Myths (And Teaching Ideas for a Better Understanding of Elections)

• 6 Great Books to Integrate With Australian Social Studies

• Different Types of Government (And How We Can Teach Them)

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5 Things You Need to Teach Year 4 Civics and Citizenship

The Year 4 Australian Civics and Citizenship curriculum introduces students to some really important concepts - helping them understand the influence of government, laws and the communities they belong to on their everyday life. But what do teachers need to know to make these lessons more effective?

1. What is Government?

Year 4 students are asked to explore local government and the services of local government. But before students can effectively tackle this subject, they should have some understanding of what government is.

This may seem like a fairly simple concept, but like many simple concepts it can be hard to define clearly for our students.

You may like to start by gauging student understanding. Ask students to write or draw what they think government is or to engage in a think-pair-share while defining government. Students can work collaboratively to create a collage showing what government is or can interview each other about what they think government involves.

Students may also like to add to their understanding of government as they spend more time learning about local government.

2. What does your Local Government Involve?

The local government outcome is a great way for students to take an introductory look at elections and at how government plays a role in everyday life. But there’s a number of things which you can do to make this more successful.

It’s possible that you live in a different local council area to your students or that your students live across two different council areas. This means you may need to do a little research on a different council area and some of the services which the local council offers.

It’s worthwhile getting in contact with your local council as you are planning your lessons. They might have educational materials which you can use in your classroom or they might be able to suggest excursion opportunities or aspects of the council which you may not have thought of. You might also be able to get a guest speaker from the local council - many local councillors engage in school visits and might be happy to speak with your students about the services offered by local government.

Another area of your local government to explore is the local libraries. You may be able to take students there as an excursion, and librarians are often available to show students the many services available through the libraries and through library websites - all services offered by local governments. (They might even have teaching materials available!)

3. The Difference Between Rules and Laws

Another Year 4 Australian Civics and Citizenship outcome asks students to explore the place of laws in their life and how laws differ from rules.

As you approach these lessons, you might like to collect examples of rules which students might encounter. From school rules, to classroom rules, to household rules to shopping centre or play centre rules - although students see these daily, they may not have really examined them.

As they examine them, they can start to understand how rules differ from laws. The difference between rules and laws is another concept which can be simple, but can be complicated. It’s worthwhile spending a little time to write down your ideas on the concept to get them firmly worked out as you plan lessons and learning experiences for your students.

Students can also build a ‘growing’ definition of rules and laws - adding to or refining their understanding as they work through lessons on the topic.

4. Identity - and how it is shaped by different things

The Civics and Citizenship curriculum asks students to explore how their identity is shaped by the groups they are part of. This is a rather complex topic - what is meant by groups? What is meant by identity?

One way you can prepare to teach this topic is to take a moment to reflect on your own identity and how that has been shaped by groups. Some of the groups you belong to may not have much of an influence on your identity - my family background is Scottish, but other than an interest in visiting Scotland one day, it doesn’t have a massive influence on my day to day life. Other groups you belong to might make a daily impact on your life - my immediate family group prioritises dinner time, so we cook dinner and eat together almost every night - this is a group which has a big impact on what I do every day.

Reflecting on your own identity can help you plan a way for your students to explore the groups they belong to and how those shape their own identities. Students may be surprised to discover how many groups they belong to - from groups connected with their heritage, groups connected to their religion, groups connected to their family, friendship groups, school groups and activity groups. You can also explore other groups in your community - especially cultural, religious and activity groups.

5. Symbols and Traditions

As well as exploring groups in the community, Year 4 students are asked to reflect on the symbols and traditions of these groups. This might include ceremonies, activities, anthems, poems, school songs, colours or logos.

You might like to spend some time collecting examples of symbols and traditions before students start exploring these topics. This might include the logos, colours and uniforms of local sports teams; uniforms, mottos and school songs from local schools; traditions of local religious denominations or traditions of military or returned service people groups.

You can present these symbols and traditions to your students, asking them to reflect on why they might be important, why they may have developed, what they say about the groups and how they influence identity.

Looking for comprehensive Year 4 Civics and Citizenship resources? Explore the Year 4 Civics and Citizenship Complete Bundle and the Mini Units, Assessment Tasks and Word Wall and Poster resources which make up the Bundle.

Related posts to read:

• Integrating Civics and Citizenship with Other Subjects

• 6 Great Books to Integrate With Australian Social Studies

• 7 Things You May Not Know About Government in Australia

• Different Types of Government (And How We Can Teach Them)

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Australian Election Myths (And Teaching Ideas for a Better Understanding of Elections)

As elections approach in Australia, people begin to talk about voting. And while this talk is sometimes about policies and personalities (and sometimes about democracy sausages), sometimes misinformation creeps into the conversation.

How does this impact us as teachers? Well, teaching civics is part of the Australian curriculum. And teachers are in a unique position to arm their students with accurate information - the kind of information which will make our students more informed when the time comes for them to vote - and less likely to fall for misinformation when it comes up.

Myth: A blank vote is a vote for the government
Reality: A blank vote is regarded as an informal vote and counts for no candidate

Myth: If you don’t like anyone, you can cross them all out and write that you don’t want them. A new election will be held if a majority of people vote like this
Reality: Crossing out candidates and writing on the paper will make the vote informal and it will count for no candidate . . . but it also won’t trigger a new election.

The myths which lead people to informal voting are probably the most dangerous (and the most likely to be promoted by groups looking to interfere with elections in Australia). An informal vote happens when a ballot paper is not filled in correctly. This might mean that the voter has ticked or crossed instead of numbering, written their name on the ballot, not filled in the ballot at all or hasn’t completed the vote under the requirements of the election.

In the 2016 Federal Election, about 5% of House of Representative votes were informal, with about 1.25% of voters leaving them blank, 1.25% of voters numbering incorrectly and about 1% writing slogans or protests on the ballots. While these votes do not count for any candidate (and do not trigger a new election), these votes are totally legal. Compulsory voting requires voters to have their names checked off and to put their ballot paper in the box - but secret ballot means there are no ways to check - and no punishment - if the voter deliberately submits an informal vote.

So why should we correct this myth? People trying to make a protest vote might not understand that preferential voting is designed so the majority of voters get the candidate they dislike the least. By voting correctly, you have a much better chance of getting the candidate you dislike least. It’s a protest against the ones you dislike the most!

Teaching about informal votes: Informal voting is more likely to happen if there are a lot of candidates running. You can work with your students to discuss why this might be the case - and to create a campaign of strategies to help people vote correctly when there are a lot of candidates. Students can create posters or leaflets with their strategies.

Myth: A donkey vote doesn’t count as a vote
Reality: A donkey vote is a perfectly valid way to vote - and why candidates want their name on the top of the ballot paper!

A donkey vote happens when someone votes ‘down the ballot’ without thinking about it - they number the first box ‘1’, the second box ‘2’ and so on. Because every box is numbered it counts as a valid vote. The first candidate on the paper gets the first preference, the second candidate the second preference (if required) and so on.

People might donkey vote if they don’t care who wins, if they don’t understand how the voting system works or if they’re lodging a protest vote. However, a voter might look like a donkey voter - but honestly be voting the way they want to vote! (Especially when there’s only a couple of candidates)

The electoral commissions in Australia work really, really hard to put the candidates names randomly on the papers. There is a double blind draw (they draw once to decide the order the draw will go in and then draw again to work out where the candidates go on the paper). The person drawing the ballot is - indeed - blindfolded (leading to some interesting and not terribly flattering photos of ballot draws!)

Teaching about donkey votes: Investigate the ballot draw system with your students - you might even be able to find video of a draw online. Ask students to create diagrams to explain the system. Or ask them to create their own better system of creating a ballot draw. Students can also explore why we don’t use other systems for the ballot like alphabetically or in the order candidates are registered.

Myth: How to Vote Cards must be followed
Reality: How to Vote Cards are just guides

Myth: Preferences aren’t Important
Reality: Preferences can matter a lot

Whenever an election approaches, there’s a lot of discussion about How to Vote Cards. These are the cards which volunteers hand out as you walk into the voting booth. Candidates create them to try to convince people to vote for them - then for the people they like the most (or dislike the least).

But, even if you like a particular party or candidate, you can definitely preference your vote (vote 2, 3, 4 etc) any way you like. The how-to-vote cards are just guides. The surprising thing is that a lot of voters have no idea how they will vote until they turn up - so those cards can be influential!

Preferences are important though. Preferential voting can be difficult to understand - and it’s a whole blog post of its own! - but preferences can change the results of elections. It’s a system which allows the majority of voters to elect the people they dislike the least. It’s a little strange, but the preferences allow us to have a greater say about who represents us and which party is - or isn’t - in charge.

Teaching preferential voting in the classroom - You can find a resource with a closer look at preferential voting at the Galarious Goods store and the Australian Electoral Commission also have a video about preferential voting. Students can create diagrams or their own videos which explain preferential voting.

Myth: It’s not worth voting in my seat, the same person always wins
Reality: While some seats are ‘safe seats’ there are still benefits to voting.

It can be a real pain to get all excited to vote, only to see the same person - who you don’t like - get elected each time. It’s enough to make you wonder why you bother to vote when you live in a ‘safe’ seat.

A ‘safe’ seat is a seat which is likely to be won by the current candidate (or the same political party). However, there are examples of safe seats going to other candidates. Sometimes this might be because local people are tired of being a ‘safe’ seat and seek their own candidate (like in Indi in 2013); and sometimes a change in boundaries and population, as well as political changes can be enough to change the seat (like when the Prime Minister, John Howard, lost his own seat in 2007). When this happens, the votes are usually pretty close, so it’s definitely worth voting.

Voting also influences political funding. When a candidate gets more than a certain percentage of first preference votes, they are eligible for election funding. This can be especially helpful to smaller parties.

In almost all state and federal elections (Queensland is an exception), you’re voting for an upper house as well as a local representative. These votes are often closer, and a small number of votes can make a real difference, so these votes can help make changes, even when you’re in a safe seat.

Voting is also one of the responsibilities of being an Australian citizen. It’s a chance to become better informed, to have a say . . . and to get yourself a democracy sausage or two.

Teaching about voting in the classroom: Explore the campaign in Indi for independent representatives. It’s a fascinating story about voters having a say. You can also explore more about the responsibilities of voters with this resource from Galarious Goods.

Have you heard any myths about voting in Australia? Make sure you leave them in the comments below.

Find more information about voting at the Australian Electoral Commission website

A huge thanks to Mel, Heidi, Skyler and Kate for their help in uncovering election myths!

Related posts to read:

• 7 Things You May Not Know About Government in Australia

• Why We Should Explore Compulsory Voting in Our Classrooms

• Different Types of Government (And How We Can Teach Them)

• 4 High-Interest Ways to make Law-Making Lessons Fun

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4 Ways to Use Songs To Make Your Lessons Sing

Some of my earliest memories of school include singing songs and using chants to remember what I was learning. (A is for Apple, A, A, A is still imprinted on my mind!). Songs are a wonderful way to help students understand and remember different learning topics - so where can we find them and how can we used them in the classroom?

Luckily for us, we live in the time of the internet and YouTube! This allows us almost instant access to some amazing educational songs which we can play right to our classes. One of my favourite bands for educational songs is They Might Be Giants. They have a couple of educational albums including Here Comes the ABCs and Here Comes the 123s, but the one I've used the most is Here Comes Science - I have a strange love for their Solid Liquid Gas song!

Schoolhouse Rock is a classic example of educational songs for a reason - even outside of the United States it's likely that you've heard at least some of their songs. These songs were originally created when an advertising executive realised that his son could remember all the lyrics to songs even though he was having trouble remembering multiplication tables. There's lots of songs available covering a range of topics - in English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.

There are also a really wide range of teacher and student created educational songs! Some educators and classes have been incredibly creative with how they've explored a topic and they've been kind enough to share their creations with the internet.

But how can we use educational songs in the classroom?

1. Introduce New Topics and Gain Interest

Songs can be a wonderful way to introduce a new topic to a class. It may be directly connected to the topic you're going to be covering (like the Solid Liquid Gas song when you're about to explore solids, liquids and gases) or it might be indirectly connected (like protest songs when you're covering the Vietnam War and reactions to it). Students can just listen to the song, watch a music video or examine the lyrics. They may note new vocabulary, discuss what they think they're going to learn, or make connections to topics they've already covered or knowledge they already have.

2. Reinforce Facts, Events or Processes

Once students have been introduced to new topics or ideas, songs can assist in reinforcing them. This can be particularly useful for things which need to be memorised, like mathematical facts or formulas or historical dates. It may also offer an alternative way of looking at a topic - something which can be very useful for some students who are having difficulty with the way the material has been covered. 

3. Prompt Questioning and Further Exploration

While songs can definitely tell a story or provide information, their structure and length - and the fact that many are written for entertainment - means that inevitably parts are left out. This is great for us as teachers though, because we can use songs to prompt further questioning and exploration - did George Washington and Alexander Hamilton really have a close working relationship like they did in Hamilton? Why did Constantinople become Istanbul? What is the story told in From Little Things Big Things Grow?

Students can brainstorm these questions while listening to the songs, annotate on the lyrics of the songs or use a display board to add questions to as they learn more about the song and the events or ideas it describes.

Looking for a song about a historical event? This Genius list includes a lot of them - though not all would be appropriate for the classroom, so check them out first.

4. Create Your Own Songs

Can't find a good song for the topic you're covering? Then write your own (or ask your students to write one for you!)

Creating a song for your students, or having your class work together or in small groups to write songs can help to refine the topic you're teaching and really concentrate on what's important. Students need to show a really good understanding of the topic to create effective songs and the process can be a great way of clarifying and assessing what they know. 

Lots of teacher and student created songs begin as parodies of well known songs - this can make life much easier because you're not having to come up with the music or the rhythm of the songs - you're just fitting words into an already created structure. Some students (and teachers!) however, may enjoy the creative freedom of coming up with a brand new song.

This step by step guide is a great place to start if you're considering writing your own educational songs.

Whether you're just listening, taking an in-depth look at educational songs as part of your teaching or planning on becoming the next Schoolhouse Rock, educational songs are a great way of adding interest and memorability to your lessons. It's definitely worth trying to fit them into a lesson where you can.

Related posts to read:

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