Civics And Citizenship Education
Parents,
In our classroom, we are starting a unit on civics and citizenship. We will be focusing on democracy and why we need laws to function as a society.
Curriculum Links:
(ACARA, 2019)
Why learn about democracy?
There has been a recent democratic understanding decline (Mortimore, 2010) Therefore it is important that students learn about democracy and the world. Democracy not only affects the air we breathe, the water we drink, the taxes we pay; it also affects education. Democracy is a very important decision and part of your child's life and future. (Ray, 2019)
how?
The unit will get students to design their own island, students will be asked to include things such as
There has been a recent democratic understanding decline (Mortimore, 2010) Therefore it is important that students learn about democracy and the world. Democracy not only affects the air we breathe, the water we drink, the taxes we pay; it also affects education. Democracy is a very important decision and part of your child's life and future. (Ray, 2019)
how?
The unit will get students to design their own island, students will be asked to include things such as
- food
- housing
- Jobs
- laws
- community
By incorporating many different elements, the task allows the use of curriculum integration.
This will then put students in control of their learning, allowing engagement in topics that interest them. Offering students choices about their learning can increase motivation in the task. (Anderson, 2016)
Cross-Curriculum Priorities
"enhance and offer opportunities to add depth and richness to student learning" (Acara, 2019). The sustainability priority is addressed through students making their models out of sustainable resources.
(3BL Media, n.d)
General Capabilities
The main focus question students will answer is:
how are going to make sure that things are are fair and equal for everyone?
By students answering this question they will dive deeper into their understanding of democracy which will allow students to link democracy to their own lives, Students will look into the levels of government and the ways in which laws are made in their country to assist students with their own projects.
Assessment:
At the end of this unit of work, students will be required to hand in a portfolio which includes all of their different elements of their island and their physical model in which they have created using sustainable resources.
Your children will have questions and it is important to help them find the answers rather than provide them with the answers. Jennifer Zosh's studied children and the way in which they understood information and found that if a child understood why and were not just told they had a deeper understanding (Zosh, 2013). This activity has so much opportunity for deep learning, it's important to support your child through this and ensure they are not overwhelmed.
(Toya, 2014)
References:
Australian Curriculum And Assesment Reporting Authority (2019) General Capabilities. Retrieved from. https://australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/curriculum-connections/portfolios/food-and-wellbeing/general-capabilities/
Australian curriculum And Assesment Reporting Authority (2019) Structure. Retrieved from. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/structure/
Australian Curriculum And Assesment Reporting Authority( 2019) Cross Curriculum Priorities. Retrieved from. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/
Carr, P (2006) Democracy In The Classroom. Retrieved from. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265553884_Democracy_in_the_Classroom
Mortimore,P (2010) Children need to learn how to participate in a democracy. Retrieved from.https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/sep/07/citizenship-in-the-classroom
Nowiki, J (2019) Intergrated Curriculum. Retrieved from. http://www.users.miamioh.edu/shermalw/edp603_group3-f00.html
Ray, A (2019) The Importance Of Teaching Democracy. Retrieved from. http://www.parents-choice.org/article.cfm?art_id=168&the_page=reading_list
Zosh, J (2013) children learn better when they figure things out for themselves. Retrieved from https://news.psu.edu/story/265620/2013/02/21/society-and-culture/children-learn-better-when-they-figure-things-out
References:
Australian Curriculum And Assesment Reporting Authority (2019) General Capabilities. Retrieved from. https://australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/curriculum-connections/portfolios/food-and-wellbeing/general-capabilities/
Australian curriculum And Assesment Reporting Authority (2019) Structure. Retrieved from. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/structure/
Australian Curriculum And Assesment Reporting Authority( 2019) Cross Curriculum Priorities. Retrieved from. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/
Carr, P (2006) Democracy In The Classroom. Retrieved from. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265553884_Democracy_in_the_Classroom
Mortimore,P (2010) Children need to learn how to participate in a democracy. Retrieved from.https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/sep/07/citizenship-in-the-classroom
Nowiki, J (2019) Intergrated Curriculum. Retrieved from. http://www.users.miamioh.edu/shermalw/edp603_group3-f00.html
Ray, A (2019) The Importance Of Teaching Democracy. Retrieved from. http://www.parents-choice.org/article.cfm?art_id=168&the_page=reading_list
Zosh, J (2013) children learn better when they figure things out for themselves. Retrieved from https://news.psu.edu/story/265620/2013/02/21/society-and-culture/children-learn-better-when-they-figure-things-out
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteI really like your blog and I can see you have put a lot of effort towards it. I think you have met the majority of the criteria however I found the picture of the volcano a bit confusing as I don't really see how that links to Democracy. I understand your idea around the task that you want students to make their own island with rules and democracy etc but I think this needs to be a little clearer and the picture of the volcano makes it confusing because thats not what they are making.
I think maybe also make the heading in upper case for the first letter of each word for example "Week 2 Civics and Citizenship Education"
Otherwise a really good job I love the colours its very engaging.
Emily Down.
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeletePlenty of really interesting teaching ideas and academic justifications for the learning outcomes. Here is a suggestion that may help you to clarify how you present your material to have a clearer Civics through-line: because you intend to teach Civics through a Cross Curriculum Sustainability approach, think about embedding the terms law and democracy a few more times through your blog to keep these as the focus.
Paige
p.s One font is a good idea