Making Your Voices Heard: Local Government Teaching and Learning Unit

Year 4 

AC9HS4K08 – the roles of local government and how members of the community use and contribute to local services 

AC9HS4S05 – draw conclusions based on analysis of information 

AC9HS4S06 – propose actions or responses to an issue or challenge that consider possible effects of actions 

AC9HS4S07 – present descriptions and explanations, using ideas from sources and relevant subject-specific terms 

Year 5

AC9HS5K06 – the key values and features of Australia’s democracy, including elections, and the roles and responsibilities of elected representatives 

AC9HS5K07 – how citizens (members of communities) with shared beliefs and values work together to achieve a civic goal 

AC9HS5S05 – develop evidence-based conclusions 

AC9HS5S06 – propose actions or responses to issues or challenges and use criteria to assess the possible effects 

AC9HS5S07 – present descriptions and explanations, drawing ideas, findings and viewpoints from sources, and using relevant terms and conventions 

Year 6

AC9HS6K07 – the roles and responsibilities of the 3 levels of government in Australia 

AC9HS6S05 – develop evidence-based conclusions 

AC9HS6S06 – propose actions or responses to issues or challenges and use criteria to assess the possible effects 

AC9HS6S07 – present descriptions and explanations, drawing ideas, findings and viewpoints from sources, and using relevant terms and conventions 

Local Government Teaching and Learning Unit PDF

How Can Young People Get Involved in Local Government? video

How to get involved poster

Year 4 – Assessment task sheet and rubric – Word Doc

Year 4 – Assessment task sheet and rubric – PDF

Year 5 – Assessment task sheet and rubric – Word Doc

Year 5 – Assessment task sheet and rubric – PDF

Year 6 – Assessment task sheet and rubric – Word Doc

Year 6 – Assessment task sheet and rubric – PDF

Universal Design for Learning principles

Begin this lesson with a whole class reflection on the unit of work thus far.

• What has been the biggest area of learning?
• How do the students feel about getting involved in local government?

Watch the How Can Young People Get Involved in Local Government? video and discuss any questions that students have. Alternatively, you can use the How to get involved poster to prompt this conversation.

Get informed
Take time to get informed about the council area your school is in. As a class or in small groups find out and discuss the following:

• Where is our local council chamber, what is our local council called and what suburb areas does it include?
• Who are the local elected members? What are they focused on?
• What agenda items or motions on notice are being discussed in the next council meeting?

Make your voice heard
Students can now take the time to apply all they have learned to get active in local government. As this work will act as their assessment piece, discuss the marking rubric and expectations together as a class. We recommend this be a choice-based assessment, informed by the Universal Design for Learning principles. For example, students could undertake one of the following:

• Write a formal letter or email to an elected member identifying an initiative, issue or idea for their local community.
• Research one of the upcoming agenda items and plan and write a deputation addressing their opinions on the issue.
• Create a resource, such as a short video, teaching other young people about local government and how to get involved.

Collect the students’ work before coming together to reflect on the overall learning experience as a class. Prompt students to reflect on their ability to create change in their community by getting involved in local government.

There are many ways that you can continue your learning in class time. These could include:

• continuing to hold regular class council meetings
• taking an excursion to tour your local council
• inviting a council member to visit your class.

As well as this, you could encourage interested students to get involved in the council outside of class time. They might be interested in the following:

• attending a council meeting with their family
• getting involved in local community events
• finding out about their local Youth Advisory Panel and, if one exists, applying to join it.