DISCOVERING DEMOCRACY UNIT

QUEENSLAND AND VICTORIAN SOSE OUTCOMES

LINKS TO CURRENT TOPICS/PROGRAMS AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

1 What is ‘political activity’?

People in the news

A political situation at school

A political situation in a factory

Celebrating politically active Australians

2 What can we learn from people who have worked in parliament?

Chifley and Menzies

A day in the life of a recent prime minister

Achievements and personal qualities, skills and knowledge

Job description for a prime minister

Women’s fight to enter parliament

Leaders of today and yesterday

Women in parliament today

Biographies of four Australians who stood for parliament

This unit requires students to understand ‘political’ and ‘non-political’ activity; and working inside and outside of parliament. The unit begins with students using newspapers and school situations to investigate the nature of political activity. It is then suggested we ‘celebrate politically active Australians’ and information on some ‘famous’ Australians follows. Students are provided with information on ‘A Day in the life of….’ a prime minister, a union organiser, an activist for women’s rights, an activist for Aboriginal rights. Students are involved in note-taking, reflection, letter writing, writing job descriptions and other types of comprehension based work.

QSOSE Gold Star Activity Award!

The CD ROM material with short segments on ‘famous people’, and game to match information.

TCC6.1

Students evaluate evidence from the past to demonstrate how such accounts reflect the culture in which they were constructed.

TCC6.3

Students collaboratively identify the values underlying contributions by diverse individuals and groups in Australian or Asian

environments.

TCC BY6.1

Students evaluate evidence of the ways in which their personal history and the history of others have been constructed. (May need to add to DD activities to do this).

TCC5.3

Students collaborate to locate and systematically record information about the contributions of people in diverse past settings.

Economy and Society

1. Identify key features of Australia’s political system at local, state and federal levels
2. Describe the role of key individuals and groups within the legislative and executive branches including the head of state, the prime minister, premiers, the ministry, backbenchers and political parties.

Famous business people who contribute/d to the Australian way of life.

Letter writing.

Job descriptions.

Leadership/ strategic management.

• Stories of Democracy CD ROM. Biographies of people sorted according to ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ parliament. Students play the game to match photographs to text.
• Parliament at Work CD ROM – biographical information
• Discovering Democracy Secondary video – interviews with two people – one working outside parliament, and one working within parliament.