Year 3
This sequence of learning covers the knowledge and understanding content descriptions for the Civics and Citizenship subject of the Year 3 HASS learning area in the Australian Curriculum V9.0.
| Topic | Focus | Duration | AC V9.0 |
| 1. Fair rules | Why rules need to be fair with a shared understanding | 45 min | AC9HS3K06 |
| 2. What are rules? | Define rules and identify differences due to context | 55 min | AC9HS3K06 |
| 3. People in the community | Research prominent community members | 1 h | AC9HS3K07 |
| 4. Improving our community | Develop and act to improve your community | 1h 20min | AC9HS3K07 |
Topic 1: Fair rules (45 min)
Curriculum alignment
AC9HS3K06
Drawing activity (25 min)
Before the lesson, decide if all students will complete the Draw an Alien or Draw a house worksheet.
Start by revising what rules are and why we have them. Explain that in this activity, students will complete a drawing and receive points at the end. Students should follow these 3 instructions:
- they must complete their drawing alone
- they can use any colours they like
- they have 10 minutes to complete their drawing.
The rest is up to students to decide. They can decide how many eyes their alien will have or how many windows their house will have and so on. If they are stuck, they can use the pictures in the borders on their sheet for inspiration.
Once drawings are finished, explain students will now score their drawings with each person starting with 20 points. Make sure students have a pen or pencil, paper and their drawing. Students will add or subtract points as you read out the additional scoring rules. Once finished, ask students to tally their results and share with the whole class.
Scoring table |
|
Alien |
House |
|
All students start with 20 points.
If you have red socks on:
If you have a name starting with B, F, or G:
|
All students start with 20 points.
If you have red socks on:
If you have a name starting with B, F or G:
|
Reflecting on rules (20 min)
As a class discuss the activity and the scoring process. Ask students to write a journal reflection using the prompts below:
- To draw your picture, what rules did you follow?
After the activity you were asked to mark your drawing based on rules that you didn’t know about. Consider:
- how did you feel when you realised the rules weren’t clear?
- everyone was given the same instructions, but was it fair?
Topic 2: What are rules? (55 min)
Curriculum alignment
AC9HS3K06
Getting started (10 min)
Start by sharing the following definition:
Rules are instructions for a place or situation, such as school, home or a sports team. Rules are based on ideas about what is right and what is wrong. They can be made by people who have authority, such as teachers, parents and coaches. Sometimes they are made with the input of the whole group.
As a class discuss what rules have in common, for example:
- to keep us safe
- to help us know what to do.
Different rules for different places (15 min)
Explain that students will next think about why there are different rules for different places. Split students into small groups and assign each group a location in a school, based on the options in School rules worksheet. Distribute the relevant worksheets and some sticky notes. Tell students to brainstorm rules for that location on their worksheet and to write the reason why each rule is in place on Post-It notes. You may wish to create your own worksheets covering areas in your school and with room for students to write down their brainstorm ideas.
After they have brainstormed, bring the class together and share the rules each small group discussed. Select someone from each group to bring their sticky notes to the front and place them on a wall. As a whole class, sort these into similar groups, for example safety, fairness, or respect. Discuss some of the consequences of rules not being followed.
Rules in your community (30 min)
Ask students to think about parts of their lives where rules must be followed, for example sport, home, place of worship, games. On the Rules worksheet, ask students to write 3 rules that apply in that location, who makes those rules, why those rules are in place and what would happen if they didn’t exist.
Afterwards, ask students to interview 2 other students about rules they follow and why they think these rules are important. Bring students back together and share some of these rules and reflections. Students could discuss:
- rules that they found in common
- rules which they like or dislike
- rules which they dislike but acknowledge are important.
Going further: Topic 2 and 3 reflection
To assist your understanding of student learning of the curriculum outcome AC9HS3K06, you may decide to use the Reflecting on rules worksheet. Ask students to circle the emoticon that best reflects how they feel about each statement. Students can also explain their reasons in the ‘why’ column.
As a whole group, review your classroom rules and discuss:
- why do we have these rules?
- are there any rules we want to add, remove or change?
- what would be the fairest way to change a rule?
Topic 3: People in the community (1 h)
Curriculum alignment
AC9HS3K07
Getting started (5 min)
Share the following definition of community:
A community is a group of people who have something in common. This may be living or working in the same area, a shared history or beliefs or interests.
Choose between conducting a class research task or inviting a guest speaker to your classroom.
Active citizen research task (55 min)
As a class, students select and research an Australian who has had a positive impact on their community, using the websites below:
- Recipients of Australian of the Year award
- Australian Honours (awarded by the Governor-General)
- Volunteer of the year
- Westfield Local Heroes.
Ask students to think about why they think this person chooses to be an active citizen in their community. Students can use the Community research task worksheet to help them with their research.
You may choose to have students present this research in a range of formats such as a poster, a newspaper article, a PowerPoint presentation, a short video or interview. Students can also present their research to the class and display it in the classroom.
Invite a guest speaker (55 min)
Invite a local guest speaker to speak to the class about their work in the community. Consider school and community members (for example teachers and parents) who volunteer in local organisations such as:
- a local firefighter
- a community member or volunteer (religious organisations, Scouts, charity group, sporting teams)
- a local member of parliament
- a local elder.
Ask the guest speaker to discuss what they do, why they participate in their organisation and how their actions positively impact their community. Work with students to prepare questions for the guest speaker. Students can use the Community research task worksheet to take notes on the guest speaker.
Topic 4: Improving our community (1h 20min)
Curriculum alignment
AC9HS3K07
Community scenarios (20 min)
Divide the students into small groups and give each group a copy of Community scenarios worksheet. Ask groups to discuss:
- what is the issue?
- who could they talk to about this issue?
- how could this issue be solved?
Students can share these with the class at the end of the activity.
My community (30 min)
Distribute the Community brainstorm worksheet and ask students to write down any communities they or their family belong to.
To begin, all students could list your school, grade, class and "Australia" as communities they belong to. Other examples include sports teams or environment clubs. You can model this for your students before they begin.
Once finished, ask students to share some of their communities and why they like being a part of them. Write these up on the board as the students share them and discuss any similarities or differences in reasons for joining or participating in a community group. Discuss with the class some of the reasons, for example:
- to help others
- to improve the community I am a part of
- it is enjoyable to be in a group with others who like the same things that I like.
After this discussion, ask students to think about their school community and if there is anything in their class or school they could improve. Distribute the Contributing to my community worksheet for students to complete.
Community projects (30 min)
Read Curious Garden by Peter Brown (5 min) or Hey Wall by Susan Verde (4min 56s) to the class. Discuss how the community worked together to do something for their shared space. In the Curious Garden a community garden was created and in Hey Wall a community artwork or art space was created. Discuss what impact this activity had on individuals and the group. Reflect again on the class definition of community and confirm or amend as necessary.
Going Further: Community proposal
The school community is a group to which every student belongs. As a class, brainstorm places on the school grounds that would benefit from a garden or an artwork. In small groups or pairs, students use the Community proposal worksheet to help them shape ideas for a project.
The worksheet asks students to think about various aspects of their proposal and gives an opportunity to produce a sample drawing or garden plan. Students can then use this with the Community proposal: writing a letter scaffold to help create a proposal to send to the principal or other relevant representative for consideration.
As a whole group select 1 or 2 ideas to complete as a class, then send your letters and proposal. Have students carry out their project and when it is complete, have an event to celebrate! Reflect as a class on how the project has improved your school community.