Week 2: Civics and Citizenship

This term is very exciting in 4R, as we delve into our Civics and Citizenship Education (CCE) unit. Under the History and Social Sciences curriculum, we will explore laws and rules.To introduce this topic, students will complete a STEM activity in groups. The groups will have uneven amounts of students and receive different, more or less materials. This will initiate a discussion of whether the task was fair and why rules and laws are needed. Beginning the lesson with an engaging activity activates student interest and encourages their thinking and curiosity about the topic (Williams, 2016).

A key learning experience will be interviewing the principal and a local community member, who has migrated from overseas, about the variances in rules for different schools. This will enable students to recognise the diversity between groups as they actively participate in questioning and discussions with our guest speakers (Department of Education Queensland, 2018).

Another key feature is our trip to Parliament House. Students will be fortunate enough to experience first-hand where our laws are proposed. Experiential learning is extremely beneficial as students are able to connect their learning to the local community and context in an authentic way (Djonko-Moore & Joseph, 2016). I warmly invite you to attend our excursion, as Marsh, Clarke and Pittaway (2014) affirm that parental involvement supports students in reaching their full potential.

Video 1: Exploring communities rules and laws (Cerebellum Corporation, 2016).

This learning experience will prepare students for their assessment task which requires them to consider a school rule such as being sun-safe by wearing hats, or develop a rule that they believe should be implemented. An important part of CCE requires the focus of the task to be on issues that are relevant to students’ lives (Reynolds, 2012). Students will investigate their issue and develop a persuasive piece of work using a mode of their choice. Their task is to persuade the members of our school community why they must follow their rule, and the importance of following rules and laws and being active citizens in the wider community. The task takes on an inquiry-approach as students identify a problem, investigate and take further action through persuasion (Gilbert & Hoepper, 2017). 

I encourage you to discuss any current events that relate to the passing of laws or diversity of rules in different communities, as out-of-school learning situations are essential in supporting the teaching and learning that happens in the classroom (Marsh, Clarke & Pittaway, 2014).

Students will participate in this unit as it provides opportunities to develop the fundamental knowledge and skills to participate in an increasingly challenging society which is a goal of the Melbourne Declaration (see figure 1). 

Figure 1: Melbourne Declaration (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, 2008).

CCE develops active citizenship, which enables students to question, understand and contribute to issues on a local and global scale (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2017a). As students participate in CCE they will be guided by a series of key questions and develop a range of knowledge and skills (see table 1). 

Key Questions  •     What is the difference between rules and laws? •      How are laws made in Australia? •      Are rules and laws the same for everyone in the world? •      Why are they different for different groups? •      Why are they important?

Knowledge: •     The difference between rules and laws •      Rules and laws vary between different communities •      Recognise the importance of rules and laws and demonstrate in their presentation •      The complex process of law-making by Parliament

Skills:         •    Pose questions about society and the school community •    Identify issues and further actions •     Distinguish cultural diversity between groups •     Explain their opinions and views on issues that affect themselves and society

Table 1: Key questions, knowledge and skills.

Please see figures 2 and 3 for links to the curriculum. 

 Figure 2: Year 4 content descriptor (ACARA, 2016a).

Figure 3: Year 4 content descriptor (ACARA, 2016b).

Word count: 499

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016a, December  16). The Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences (Version 8.3). (Humanities and Social Sciences, all year levels, all curriculum elements, all curriculum dimensions). Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/download/f10

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016b, December 16). The Australian Curriculum: English (Version 8.3). (English, all year levels, all curriculum elements, all curriculum dimensions). Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/download/f10

Cerebellum Corporation. (2016, March 8). Exploring communities rules and laws [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIcGIwgPg-g

Department of Education Queensland. (2018). Advancing partnerships: parent and community engagement framework. Retrieved from http://education.qld.gov.au/schools/parent-community-engagement-framework/resources/pdf/parent-community-engagement-framework.pdf

Djonko-Moore, C. M., & Joseph, N. M. (2016). Out of the classroom and into the city: The use of field trips as an experiential learning tool in teacher education. Sage Open, 1-13. doi:10.1177/2158244016649648

Marsh, C., Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh’s becoming a teacher (6th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson.

Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). (2008). Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians. Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf

Gilbert, R., & Hoepper, B. (2017). Teaching humanities and social sciences: History, geography, economics and citizenship (6th ed.). Southbank, VIC: Cengage Learning.

Reynolds, R. (2012). Teaching history, geography & SOSE in the primary school (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.

Williams, S. (2016). Lesson planning 2: Starters and plenaries and why they are so important to the learning process. Retrieved from http://www.sharonwilliamseducational.co.uk/blog/lesson-planning-2-starters-and-plenaries-and-why-they-are-so-important-to-the-learning-process