DISCOVERING DEMOCRACY UNIT

QUEENSLAND AND VICTORIAN SOSE OUTCOMES

LINKS TO CURRENT TOPICS/PROGRAMS AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Preparing for an opinion poll
• Conducting the poll

1. What role do political parties have in parliament and government?

• Class discussion
• Who forms the government?
• Who does what in government?
• Defining and explaining
• Loyalty to party or electorate?
• Is the party in government an elected dictatorship?
• How diverse are the voices in parliament?

2. Who do Australia’s political parties represent?

• Australia’s political parties
• ‘Left’ and ‘right’
• cartoons and speeches
• the middle ground

3. How do parties select policies and campaign for government?

• Review of research findings
• Influencing voters
• Liberal and Labor policies
• Opinion poll analysis
• Collating the findings
• Opinion poll report
• An Australian youth party
• Youth party display

TCC 5.5: Students identify values inherent in historical sources to reveal who benefits or is disadvantaged by particular heritages

TCC 6.1: Students evaluate evidence from the past to demonstrate how such accounts reflect the culture in which they were constructed

TCC 6.3: Students collaboratively identify the values underlying contributions by diverse individuals and groups in Australian or Asian environments

C&I 5.3: Students share their sense of belonging to a group to analyse cultural aspects that construct their identities

C&I 5.5: Students express how dominant and marginalised identities are constructed by influences including the media

C&I 6.4: Students describe specific instances of cultural change resulting from government legislation or policies that have impacted on other cultural groups

SRP 5.1: Students evaluate the relationship between government, economic or ecological systems

SRP 6.4: Students communicate informed interpretations to suggest reforms to an economic, political or legal system

SRP 6.5: Students apply understandings of social justice and democratic process to suggest ways of improving access to economic, political and legal power

Economy and society

1. Examine the origin of Australia’s legal system and how Australian laws are made

• Investigate how and why laws are made and changed in Australia, including the role of the Constitution, parliaments and the courts
• Describe key judicial and enforcement structures at federal, state and local levels
• Explain how law-making processes allow for participation by active and informed citizens

Government

Media

Stories of Democracy CD ROM. ‘Balloons’ link the text to key words which then link to more text. Mostly photograph, reading and linking text. No game.

Parliament at Work CD ROM. ‘Pass the Bill’ section and database.