Year 4

Topic 1: Rules and laws (55 min)

Curriculum alignment
AC9HS4K07

Getting started (15 min)

Use the Introducing … rules and laws page to help write a shared definition of rules and laws on the whiteboard. As a class, have a look at the Rules brainstorm worksheet to help think of some more rules and laws. For example:

• wearing a seatbelt
• not running in the corridors
• talking quietly in the library
• wearing a bike helmet.

Is it a rule or a law? (40 min)

Distribute the Rules and laws sort worksheet and ask students to cut out the rules, laws and headings into strips. Working in pairs or small groups, ask students to sort the examples into 3 columns: ‘rules’ ‘laws’ and ‘unsure’. 

Once students have finished, sort the examples as a whole class. Project or print the examples. As students share their sorting, move the examples to the correct column. Discuss the examples students are unsure about and allocate them to the ‘rule’ or the ‘law’ column. You can help students by reminding them that:

• while rules and laws are similar, laws are enforced by people such as the police
• any group can make rules, but laws are made by a parliament
• the consequences are different for breaking rules verses laws
• rules might be different for different groups (bedtimes may vary between households) but laws apply to everyone
• there can be an element of choice if rules apply (if you don't like a game's rules, you could choose to play a different game) but there is no choice if laws apply to you.

Once the rules and laws are checked as a class, ask the students to glue the tables into their books and write a definition of rules and laws into their books. They can decorate the page with illustrations of rules and laws.

Topic 2: Reasons for laws (2 h)

Curriculum alignment
AC9HS4K07

Getting started (10 min)

Revisit some of the rules and laws from the previous lesson and ask students to identify consequences for not following these. Discuss with students the difference between rules and laws:

• rules apply to members of groups
• laws apply to everyone.

The consequences of breaking rules or laws is one of the ways we can determine whether something is a rule or a law. For example, you can get in trouble for talking in the library (rule), but you can get a fine if you do not wear your seatbelt (law).

Scenario: Planet Lawless (40 min)

Distribute the Planet Lawless worksheet. Discuss with students the image of citizens of Planet Lawless in various situations – at the park, driving, walking their dogs. Explain to students Planet Lawless is a busy place with lots of activity but it doesn’t have any laws or rules!  Ask students to work in small groups to identify improvements to how things could run on Planet Lawless. Do their ideas for improvement mean the introduction of a new rule or a new law?

Have a class discussion about the rules and laws each group came up with and why they think the rule or law is needed. As groups share their rules and laws, sort them on the whiteboard into 2 columns ‘rules’ or ‘laws’.

Planet Lawless - example rules and laws

A new law? (30 min)

Start by reminding students that laws are for everyone and are enforced by the police and/or courts. Consequences for breaking laws include fines or going to jail. Explain to students that laws can change over time. Some laws that were very significant and relevant in the past may now seem strange or outdated to us.

Display Weird and wonderful laws! What do students think of these laws? Are they useful now? Why might these laws have been made in the past? Discuss as a class why these laws were relevant in the past. It is worth noting laws are dynamic and continue to be reviewed, updated and changed over time.

As a class, brainstorm an idea for a new law to improve life in Australia. To help students, might like to share the following examples

• I am a member of my family community. My grandma finds it very busy at the shops when she goes on Thursday mornings to do her groceries. She is very independent and likes to go to the shops alone. I think it would be a good idea if it was the law that all shops can only serve older people from 10–11am on Thursdays, so she can go when there are less people.
• I have a dog and live in an apartment with no backyard. I think it would be a good idea to make a law that in areas with lots of apartment buildings, there must be a park with a dog area within a 10-minute walk so dogs can exercise safely.

Proposal for a new law (40 min)

Using the thinking above, distribute the Proposal for a new law worksheet to groups, pairs or individual students. As students complete the worksheet, remind them to think carefully about their new law because laws apply to everyone and that there would be a legal consequence for breaking it.

Afterwards, students can share their new law with the group, justifying its need.

Topic 3: My local government (1h 20min)

Curriculum alignment
AC9HS4K08

Getting started (30 min)

Show students the ABC’s Behind The News: Levels of government video (3min 38s). Watch the video again, this time asking students to fill out the Behind the News – three levels of government worksheet. As a class, discuss their answers and why it is important to have local government.

What services are provided by my local government? (50 min)

Distribute the Discover more about my local government worksheet. As a class, visit the website of your local council/shire to help answer the questions on the sheet.

Going further: Guest speaker

Contact a local representative such as a council or shire member and ask them to talk to the students about what they do and how students can get involved in their community.

To prepare for the talk, distribute the Interview questions planner and ask students to write down 3 questions they could ask their local representative. Students could (re)visit the local council website to help them prepare their questions. For example, they might be interested in looking at projects that the local council are working on and asking questions about these.

After the local member visit, ask students to list 3 interesting things they learnt, one issue they would like to know more about and one way they could get involved. This can be done as a class discussion, as a poster, picture, or journal entry.

Topic 4: My communities (45 min)

Curriculum alignment
AC9HS4K09

Getting started (15 min)

Students are asked to stand up when they identify as belonging to the following communities:

• your class (all students and teacher stand)
• local sporting and volunteer clubs for example, Scouts, local Surf life saving club or football team
• your school (all students and teacher stand)
• various local suburbs
• speakers of other languages
• interest groups, for example, Minecraft players, gardeners or bush regenerators, fans of a book or TV series, 4wd enthusiasts
• student suggested communities
• Australia (all students and teacher stand).

Discuss if students noticed that often they were not the only ones standing, however, not everyone always stood up together. Why was that? Did students learn they had a community in common with others?

High-five my communities (20 min)

On a blank piece of paper, ask students to draw an outline of their hand. In the palm, write in your class, grade, school name and Australia. In the fingers, ask students to write in other communities to which they belong or identify. They may use some that were mentioned in the getting started activity but also try to include communities that have not been mentioned. Cut their hand out. This activity can also be done by writing directly onto their own palms and fingers.

Ask students to explore the class comparing communities on their hands. When they find a community in common, students give each other a high-five. Students give each other a high-five for each match they have. As every student belongs to the palm communities, all students will be able to give every other student several high-fives.

You may ask students to tally their matches on the reverse side of their hand.

Reflection (10 min)

Discuss as a class:

• did any student have a match with all fingers?
• how many students high-fived 4 times with the same peer? These are people you have a great deal in common with.
• did any students high-five someone they were not expecting to? Students might discover new commonalities with peers they did not realise they shared a community with.
• were there any communities that they didn't high-five someone with? These are the communities and interests making students unique in their class, however in that community they would high-five everyone (while they would not be able to high-five anyone for the class community).

Establish that these were only a very small sample of the communities and groups that they belong to and that this helps form their identity. That over time, they can join and leave communities. Discuss that there is always more to discover about others and that they could share about themselves.

Hang the hands in the class to display the diversity and commonality of communities in your class.

• Bills and laws
• Three levels of government
• Getting involved
• Years 3+4