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What on Earth is the Washminster System?

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Put your HASS lesson on the spin cycle to engage them with Australia’s Washminster system.

Washminster! It’s such a silly word that will make teaching and learning about Australia’s system of government fun and memorable. The Year 6 HASS curriculum can be a little dry but there are ways to make it interesting. Exploring the inspiration and origins of Australia’s Constitution and system of government is an important topic. By understanding how our political system is designed students are in a better position to understand our democratic values and practices, the value of our Constitution and the relationship between Federal, State and Local governments. It also lays a foundation for the Civics and Citizenship strand of the Australian curriculum.

What does the Curriculum say?

The Australian Curriculum requires that Year 6 students learn about Australia’s political history and the key figures, events and ideas that led to Australia’s Federation and Constitution. (ACHASSK134) The elaborations list ‘key elements of Australia’s law making and government systems that students should be able to identify and explain their origins. These elements include the separation of powers, houses of parliament, the law making process and the Westminster system. It used to include the US (or Washington) system and its influence on the development of Federation. I’m not sure why it’s been omitted but believe it’s still important as there are definite elements of Australia’s political structure that were influenced by the US system, for example the function of the Senate to provide representation for all states within a Federal system.

Year-6-HASS-Australia-washminster-system-of-government

Do I really need to teach my students about the Washminster system?

Yep! 100%!

Plato, although rather blunt, is right. I firmly believe that if people are going to make judgements and statements about politicians, parties, voting or any aspect of Australia’s political system they should have a basic understanding of how our system operates and why it operates that way. A lot of the information students and adults receive about politics is from the media and there is always an element of bias or sensationalism that requires a discerning eye and ear. By teaching students the fundamentals of Australia’s system of Government they’ll be better equipped to make their own informed decisions when they become adults and can vote, they’ll be able to think critically and be discerning when it comes to the vast amounts of information they’ll be faced with every day. Teaching your students about the Washminster system is just one way you can build this deeper understanding.

But how on earth do I teach it?

  • Trying to explain our blended system of government can be difficult so we’ve put together 5 helpful ideas to help you get started. 

1. Make it Simple

Remember your Grade 6 HASS students don’t need a university level understanding of our system of Government. Stick to the curriculum and its elaborations. There’s no need for students to have an understanding of the US Bill of Rights or the inner workings the British parliament. Stick to the basics – The key Elements taken from each system and the reasons for their selection.

2. Make it Short

There’s no need to spend huge amounts of time on this concept. One, maybe two, lessons will do. Yes, it’s a very very important concept but there’s no need to overdo it.  

3. Make it Relatable

This is so important! For your students to truly grasp the concept of the Washminster system they need to understand how it relates to real life. Discussion and What If questions are a great way to do this. Ask the students:  

  • Why didn’t the colonies want to create a system of government exactly like the British system they already knew?

  • What might life be like if the States didn’t have equal representation in the government?

  • What could happen if one State had more say than the others?

  • Do you think it’s necessary for 2 houses of parliament to approve a Bill before it becomes law? Explain your answer

If you need more ideas for discussion prompts we’ve got a huge collection in our VIT Free Resource Library covering each of the HASS topics for Grades 5 and 6.

4. Make it Measurable

Make sure you check for understanding at the end of your lesson (or lessons) on the Washminster system. This doesn’t have to be formal but you should check in with each student and ask them to explain their understanding of our system of government, the elements taken from the US and English systems and the reasons for their inclusion.  If there are any areas you think need clarification or revisiting do it now, either as a whole group or individually. 

5. Make it Engaging

This one can be hard, especially if you’re pressed for time. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:

  • Divide your classroom into ‘states’ and draft and debate a new bill in the Student Senate that will affect all students. Try it without each state having equal representation and see what happens. Then try it with each state having equal votes and discuss how it was different. 
  • Ask your students to create a mini news segment on Australia’s Washminster System of government. OR ask them to create informative advertisements to teach other people about how Australia’s system of government is structured and why. 

You don’t have to spend a huge amount of time on the Washminster system. We’ve created a resource that will help you cover this essential topic in 1 or 2 lessons. Our Washminster FlipBook will help your students understand how elements of the UK and US systems were blended together to create a system that suited Australia. It will also help them understand how this blend supports our democratic rights and how the Constitution protects them. It’s a quirky approach to a serious and potentially dull topic but we’re sure your class will love it and they’ll remember the resource with the people trapped in the washing machine.

As we mentioned above our FREE Australian Government What if Cards are a great way to start discussions, check understanding and hook students into a new topic. Best of all they’re FREE for our email subscribers. Sign up below if you’d like access to our FREE Resource Library.

Have you tried our Washminster System flipbook or another great teaching strategy for this topic? We’d love to know! Feel free to leave a comment below or tag us in your social media.

Happy Teaching
Amy

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Resource Focus: Celebrating Australian Women

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Do you include Australian women in your HASS lessons? Not sure who or what to include?

Can you name 5 famous Australian women who aren’t sports stars, singers or actresses and who were all born before World War II? Struggling to get 5? I’m not surprised. We rarely hear women in Australian history and their influence on issues such as politics, social welfare and economic development. Year 5 and 6 HASS provides the perfect opportunity to highlight the influence these strong determined women had on colonial and post-Federation Australia.

What does the Curriculum say?

Year 5 HASS

Content descriptor ACHASSK107 requires students to explore what life was like for different people living in colonial Australia. They can investigate a huge range of factors such as diet, living and working conditions, clothing, business, housing and family life. The role and impact of women in these factors can be explored including working and family life, challenges for women who arrived as convicts compared to those who arrived as wives of the military charged with establishing the new colony. The impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women can also be explored.

Content descriptor ACHASSK110 allows students to investigate the role of an individual or group of people in shaping a colony. Women are included on the list of suggested topics such as explorers, farmers, artists etc who are all very interesting and fun to learn about but it’s important to dedicate time to at least two women in your teaching and learning plan.

Year 6 HASS

Content descriptor ACHASSK135 focuses on the experiences of democracy and citizenship after Federation. This is the ideal time to include the brave and determined women who campaigned tirelessly for the right to vote. Your students will be surprised, even horrified, at the challenge these women faced to gain what is now considered a basic right. I’ve found this topic always generates excellent debate and engages all students.
Content descriptor ACHASSK137 is an excellent opportunity for students to investigate the individuals and groups who have played an important role in the development of Australian society since Federation. Once again there are many women who can be included in lessons focusing on this descriptor.

What Australian Women Can I Include In My Lessons and Why?

While the curriculum provides lots of opportunity to introduce students to significant Australian women it can be difficult to know exactly who to include and even harder to find resources that are age appropriate, curriculum aligned and fun. We’ve created a great range of resources dedicated to famous Australian Women that align with the curriculum for Year 5 and 6 HASS.

Year 5

Caroline Chisholm

Caroline Chisholm lived a life serving others. She was dedicated to helping the European settlers on arrival in Australia. She particularly helped unaccompanied women and families whom she helped to find work and somewhere safe to live. Why not include her in your Colonial Australia History unit?

Mary MacKillop
Mary MacKillop’s dedication to helping the poor through charity and education played an important role in the development of colonial Australia. Her determination and commitment to others was the catalyst for her journey to becoming Australia’s first saint. In this resource, Mary MacKillop visits Miss Townsend’s class to share her story.

Truganini
Truganini is known as Australia’s last Tasmanian Aboriginal person and she was a brave and determined woman who suffered great hardship. Her life in Colonial Australia was very tough and this resource pack features four activities to introduce your students to Truganini and her experiences.

Georgiana McCrae
On arrival in Australia, Georgiana faced a harsh existence in very basic conditions, but she was determined to bring a sense of class and social order to the new colony despite it being dominated by men. One way she did this was by painting the landscape and people.

Grade 6

Catherine Helen Spence
Introduce your students to Catherine Helen Spence. Not only was she a teacher and journalist she also fought tirelessly as part of the women’s suffrage movement. This hands-on resource will help your students understand her role in shaping Australia’s democracy.

Mary MacKillop
Mary MacKillop’s dedication to helping the poor through charity and education played an important role in the development of colonial Australia. Her determination and commitment to others was the catalyst for her journey to becoming Australia’s first saint. In this resource, Mary MacKillop visits Miss Townsend’s class to share her story.

Vida Goldstein
Vida Goldstein fought tirelessly as part of the women’s suffrage movement and proudly ran for election in the 1903 Federal election which was the first time women were allowed to stand for election. She believed that women’s suffrage was about more than the right to vote, it was about their right to be included as a member of society. To be seen and heard. To be valued as citizens. Vida Goldstein was one of a community of strong and determined women who travelled far and wide to collect nearly 31,000 signatures on a petition for the Women’s Suffragist Movement – in only six weeks – that was presented to the Victorian Government as proof of the need for change. She pushed back against the limited view of democracy and fought hard for equal property rights, raising the age of marital consent, rights for women to access contraception more easily.

Edith Cowan
Edith Cowan’s was a serious and driven lady and a key figure in the women’s suffrage movement in Australia. She challenged the status of Australia’s democracy and refused to follow convention. Edith Cowan believed that to bring about reform she needed to run for parliament and ran a successful campaign in 1921. With such determination, it’s clear that Edith Cowan should feature in your unit on Women’s Suffrage.

Mary Lee
Mary Lee is a key figure in the women’s suffrage movement in Australia. After moving to Australia from Ireland she became a political activist, social reformer and advocate to bring about change for women in many ways. Mary Lee worked hard to improve the conditions for Australian women by establishing the Working Women’s Trade Union serving on local councils and various committees to advocate for women’s rights and needs. She pushed back against the limited view of democracy held in colonial times wherever she could to see women’s equality acknowledged.

You can even include Australian women in your lessons focused n Anzac Day or Remembrance Day.

Nancy Wake
Your students will be enthralled with the danger and intrigue of Australian War Hero Nancy Wake and her work with the French and British Special Operations Unit. Nancy played a key role in coordinating the rescue and escape of Jewish people and Allied troops from Nazi-occupied France, earning the nickname White Mouse from the Germans.

Vivien Bullwinkel
Introduce your students to Vivian Bullwinkel, an Australian Army nurse who showed great courage, compassion and bravery as a prisoner of war in World War Two. The six interactive notebook activities in this pack will help students develop their knowledge and understanding of the experiences of Australians who served in conflict.

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We’d love to hear about the Australian Women you include in your HASS lessons. Feel free to suggest other Australian women you’d like a resource made for to support your teaching. Let us know in the comments or send us an email here.

Happy Teaching!
Amy

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Student accountability – using learning intentions to engage your students.

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Discover how learning intentions and success criteria can make a difference in your classroom.

Do you use learning intentions and success criteria in your planning? Perhaps you set them with your students at the start of the day or beginning of a lesson. Or maybe you add them to you unit/lesson plans to ensure your lessons and activities stay focused on what you’re trying achieve?
However, their used they really are a great tool. If you haven’t used them before never fear! Let’s dive a bit deeper into what learning intentions are and why and how you should be using them.
Learning intentions, also called objectives, explicitly state what the students are expected to know, do and understand by the end of a lesson or unit. For example, a learning intention from a history lesson might be “At the end of the lesson students will be able to identify natural, human and capital resources.”
Success Criteria are the ways teachers will measure student whether students have met the learning intention. Examples of success criteria for our example learning intention might be.
Students can sort economic resources into the correct categories of natural, human and capital resources.
Students can identify examples of natural, human and capital resources within the school context.

According to AITSL, the use of learning intentions and success criteria in the classroom can benefit both students and teachers. Setting clear expectations and measures for teaching and learning helps to:

  • Guide teachers in their planning and teaching by providing a checkpoint for activities and resources.
  • Support teachers and students in providing quality feedback that is in-line with the curriculum content and objectives.
  • Assist with assessing and reporting student progress.
  • Support teachers in evaluating their choice of teaching and learning activities, and identifying any areas needing revision.
  • Give students a gauge to measure their progress and identify areas for improvement.
  • Remove ambiguity and confusion about the curriculum content and objectives.

To help you use learning intentions in your classroom we’ve created a set of free learning intention and success criteria templates. These templates have been designed so you can enter your own learning intentions and success criteria to display on the board at the beginning of a unit or lesson. They could also be completed by students on a computer or iPad. These templates are available in our Free Resource Library. To gain access become a V.I.T member and be subscribing here.

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We’d love to hear your thoughts on using learning intentions in the classroom. Do you share them with your students? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Happy Teaching
Amy

Make Your Unit On Colonial Australia One To Remember!

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Bring Australia’s Colonial history to life in your classroom.

I loved learning about colonial Australia at school. My strongest memory of a unit we did was Australian Explorers with Mrs Gunn in Year 3. It was awesome! I also remember learning about the First Fleet in 1988. I was Grade 5 and it was the Bicentennial Year which was a big deal. Today the curriculum requires that students learn greater range of content that explores the experiences of the European settlers, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Peoples their interactions and the development of the colonies. Let’s take a closer look at what’s required for Year 5 HASS Australian History topic.

What does the Curriculum say?

According to the History Achievement Standard by the end of Year 5 students can:

  • Describe how people and events/developments can bring about change.
  • Identify relationship of cause and effect of these changes on particular communities while identifying aspects that have stayed the same.
  • They can describe the experiences of different people in the past including European Settlers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

While studying the curriculum content students will develop the following skills:

  • Sequencing information about people and events into chronological order on timelines.
  • Developing inquiry questions about the topics.
  • Classify and use a range of sources to locate, collect and organise information related to their topic of inquiry.
  • Analyse sources to determine the origin and purpose and determine different points of view.
  • Organise, prepare and present written work, especially narrative recounts and descriptions using appropriate vocabulary and ideas.

What should I include in my curriculum plan?

There are a number of topics that can be included in your planning for Colonial History. Some of these include:
The first settlers and their experiences on arrival in Australia – looking at different groups of people such as the convicts, soldiers, women and children and free settlers.
The Explorers – This topic ties in nicely with the developments that bring about change. The explorers played an important role in helping the colonial settlers move beyond the colony to establish new farming land to ensure food security, to find water and accessibility for communication. Remember to include how the movement and discoveries of the explorers impacted the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Gold Rush – This topic is always great fun and there’s no question that the gold rush of the 1850s was a catalyst for great change in the development of colonial Australia. I also like that learning about the Eureka Stockade is excellent prep for Year 6 when students learn about Federation.
Famous Colonial Australians – There are many European and Aboriginal and Torres Strait people who can engage students and give them great insight into life in colonial Australia. Caroline Chisholm, Truganini, Ned Kelly, Ben Hall, Mary MacKillop, Jandamarra and David Unaipon are just a few examples.

Planning and Teaching the Eureka Stockade

To help you plan the ultimate unit on colonial Australia we’ve created a huge range of resources and activities that are hands-on, interactive and aligned with the Australian Curriculum. Each activity pack includes a detailed lesson plan, printables and answer keys (where applicable). All you need to do is print and teach
If you’re looking for a complete planning and teaching package our Colonial Australia HASS unit includes an entire term of lessons along with a detailed unit plan, assessment activities, room displays, curriculum aligned assessment tracking sheet and differentiation guide. It’s an entire term of work that’s ready to go!

To get you inspired we’ve created our FREE Colonial Australia What If Card Set. These cards are perfect for prompting discussion in class, checking for prior knowledge or checking understanding during your unit. Sign up to our FREE Resource Library to download them.

We’d love to hear from you about your experience teaching Australia’s colonial history. Feel free to leave a comment.

Happy Teaching!
Amy

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5 Strategies to Build a Culture of Success, Respect and Accountability in your Classroom

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Dig Deeper – Creating a Values-Based Class Constitution

Build a Culture of Success, Respect and Accountability in your classroom.

All teachers strive to create a learning environment that inspires learning and provides a space where students can feel safe and supported. That’s a given. We also try to make our learning environment ‘student centred’ but that’s such a broad term that you’re never really sure if you’ve nailed it. I’m a firm believer that establishing student led learning environments is a teacher driven exercise. Your students need your guidance to develop the skills and maturity to take responsibility for their own learning or to use another buzz word ‘student agency’. Creating a Class Constitution is an excellent way to inspire your students to set rules and guidelines that go far beyond “don’t push in at the canteen”. It’s also an excellent way to integrate their personal development with their learning by integrating topics. Let’s take a closer look – here’s how you can create a culture of success, respect and accountability in your classroom with a Class Constitution.

1. Don’t set rules - set standards.

Rules Schmules! They all know the rules so apart from a quick discussion to check they know them don’t go over them in great detail. Please, I beg you.
Setting standards is an entirely different thing. Standards are those behaviours and characteristics that we want to develop in our students such as grit, empathy, self-control and altruism. These are probably new terms to students but it’s important to help them focus on the standards of behaviour and conduct that are essential to making their classroom and time at school successful. It’s time for them to “up their game” when it comes to how they interact in the class and the wider community. Success at school isn’t limited to academic success, success encompasses every area of their schooling life including their social and emotional development. Setting standards instead of rules broadens the scope of their development and this can be powerful.

grade-6-hass-australian-and-class-constitution

2. Don’t be predictable!

Ask an upper primary student about what happens in the first week of school and you’ll probably get several similar responses accompanied by eye-rolls:

  • Ugh. We’ll have to write a story about our holidays.
  • She’ll make us write a set of rules for the class that no one will follow and she’ll forget about for the rest of the year.
  • We’ll talk about the school values and how we can all uphold them
  • Blah blah blah

Have I hit a nerve? I’ve heard this from my own student’s mouths, and it wasn’t a great feeling.

All of those activities have a purpose – you get a sense of their writing ability, home life etc from the recount, you get to discuss expectations and rules by making a rule poster together and you need to highlight the school values because they’re great words and it’s a requirement.

Creating a values-based Class Constitution is an excellent way to dig deeper into their beliefs and attitudes to their peers, school and the wider community. You’ll find out far more about them based on their discussion and answers to the drafting process. Remember, we’re not using the school values here (unless they happen to match by coincidence) we’re looking for what the students value most as a class. And you won’t be writing simple rule statements, your students will be creating statements that encompass their values for example instead of a simple rule like “Don’t push-in” a value driven statements would go beyond this because it encompasses that value of fairness and might read something like, “Be considerate of your classmates by treating them fairly and considering the needs of others before your own.”

3. R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find out what it means to me… Well your students actually.

Upper primary students are old enough to go beyond the usual first week activities. They’re looking for recognition and respect for their position as the older kids in the school. Taking the time to draft a class constitution is an excellent way to show you recognise their maturity and you will provide them with activities that celebrate this. It will also help you find out what they’re looking for from you so it’s a win/win.

4. Accountability is Key!

Being accountable simply means taking responsibility for your actions and behaviours. Upper primary students are not too young to understand this concept and the upper grades are the perfect time to teach these skills in preparation for high school. It is also important they realise their accountability, or lack of, affects those around them at school and at home. No man is an island after all. Within your class your students are accountable to each other and to you. Writing a Class Constitution helps them to recognise this value. They might call it teamwork and that’s great, as long as they understand their behaviour either lifts or lowers those around them.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Setting standards, not rules, is an excellent way to engage your students and to support and encourage self-reflection on a deeper level. As an added bonus you can also link it to the Australian Curriculum:

Grade 5

Students in grade 5 are required to learn about democracy and Australia’s democratic values (ACHASSK115) as well as the ways people with shared beliefs and values work together to achieve a civic goal (ACHASSK118)

Grade 6

Students in grade 6 are required to learn about Australia’s Federation and the origins and development of the Constitution (ACHASSK134) and explore the rights, responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizens. (ACHASSK147)

If you’re looking for help to guide your class through creating a class constitution, we’ve created a resource that includes a workbook, 4 detailed lesson plans and a poster template. All you need to do is print and teach! Click on the image to have a closer look. The poster template is included in our Free Resource Library. 

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Have you created a Class Constitution? We’d love to hear from you or see examples. Feel free to leave a comment or tag us on social media.

Happy Teaching!
Amy

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