Teaching Sequence

20 minutes – Part A: What if we don’t get a say?
25 minutes – Part B: Making changes to the Australian Constitution
10 minutes - Part C: The Constitutional Referendum process
5 minutes – Reflection

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

PART A: What If We Don’t Get a Say?

Step 1.

Arrange the classroom so that students are seated in a horseshoe formation facing the front of the classroom (or where a screen and projector have been set up). No tables are required. Project the 'Referendum' presentation – it will guide the class discussion.

Inform students that the learning intention for the lesson is to find out more about how changes are made to the Australian Constitution and why the process is important, especially in relation to rights and freedoms. Start by projecting the slide with the following hypothetical to the class:

School staff and council have met, and it has been decided that school will start at 7:30 am. The decision is final. You do not get a say. As students at the school, you will now be required to be at school 15 minutes before this so that you are ready to start at 7:30 am. The school day will be finished at 1:00 pm unless you have overdue work, and then you will be expected to stay until it is done. This will be great for the school because teachers will have more time to meet and plan classes, so lessons will be of a higher quality.

Step 2.

The next slide on the presentation invites students to complete the ‘Think-Pair-Share’ visible thinking routine to process their thoughts on the scenario. There is space on the Student Worksheet for students to note the points raised.

THINK: Encourage students to spend a minute independently, noting down their thoughts about the scenario in the space on the Student Worksheet.

PAIR: Once everyone has had a chance to record some ideas individually, invite students to share what they have written down with a partner or in a small group.

SHARE: Invite students to share their thoughts in a class discussion. Encourage the class to consider each other’s perspectives as unique and equally valid.

Students may raise the issue of fairness - this is a great theme to engage with throughout the discussion. Once students have had a chance to contribute their perspective, click to the next slide, and ask the following question to prompt reflection (also on the Student Worksheet):

How did it feel when a decision that affected you so significantly did not take your views into consideration?

Then, ask the following question to encourage students to apply their reflection more broadly (also on the Student Worksheet):

Why it is important for people to have a say about decisions that impact their lives?

These questions are also on the Student Worksheet for students to respond to independently.

Step 3.

Ask students to indicate their view on this statement (also on the next slide):

Changes should be made to the Australian Constitution without consultation of Australian voters so that the process is simple.

Students could indicate their viewpoint as follows:

Support = thumbs up
Don’t support = thumbs down
Indifferent = thumbs sideways

Invite students with different viewpoints to volunteer to share their thoughts with the class. Reinforce with the class that each other’s perspectives are unique and equally valid.

Inform students that Australian people are entitled to have a say regarding changes to the Australian Constitution (in the same way they should be consulted if changes were to be made to school hours). This right is outlined in the UDHR. Click through the next two slides of the presentation, which feature the following text:

Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that:

“Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.”

There is a process so Australian people can say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to proposed constitutional changes.

PART B: Making Changes to the Australian Constitution

Step 1.

Begin this part of the lesson by inviting students to raise their hand if they have heard of a ‘referendum’. If willing, ask volunteers to provide their definitions.

Display the next three slides, which inform students that the Australian Electoral Commission defines a referendum as ‘a vote of the Australian people on measures proposed or passed by the Australian Parliament.’
In other words:

The Parliament proposes a change (usually to the Australian Constitution).
Australian voters get a chance to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the proposed change by voting.

There are different types of referendums that can be held. The most common is a constitutional referendum - a vote to change the Australian Constitution. This means that any proposed change to the Australian Constitution must be put to the vote of all Australian voters in a referendum.

Step 2.

The next slide explains that Chapter 8 of the Australian Constitution details the process for making changes to the Constitution and that Chapter 8 has been changed, too! (There was a constitutional referendum process in 1977 to change the Constitution to include the territories.)

Step 3.

The last slide on the presentation features the ‘Double Majority’ AEC Poster. Students can access the poster online or you could print and distribute the poster to your class. Invite students to pair up with the person next to them and share three things that they notice about the poster.

If required, write the following on the whiteboard to guide student discussion:

Double majority: a majority (more than half) of voters from all states and territories vote ‘Yes’ AND a majority (more than half) of voters in at least four of the six states vote ‘Yes’.
State
Territory
Yes
No

Once students have spent some time discussing three things they notice, invite them to join with another pair and share the observations they made about the poster. Before moving on, reinforce the criteria to meet a double majority.

Part C: The Constitutional Referendum Process

Step 1.

Divide the class into groups of three or four, ask them to sit in small circles and give each group a set of the Group Referendum Process Cards, already cut out and mixed up. Explain to the class that there are eight steps to holding a referendum and that each of the cards describes one of the steps.

Step 2.

Invite each group to spend five minutes arranging the cards in the order that they believe a constitutional referendum occurs.

Step 3.

Invite groups to display their arranged cards on a tabletop. Encourage students to circulate around the room to view other groups' attempts, and discuss any changes that could be made.

Step 4.

Read through The Australian Constitution in focus article (from the Parliamentary Education Office) with students and encourage students to ask clarifying questions. Encourage students to change the order of the eight steps if required.

Step 5.

Use the referendum process cards to lead a class discussion of the process. Leave the cards on the wall in a visible position to provide a visual reminder of the steps for a constitutional referendum.

Reflection

Encourage students to reflect on the lesson by completing the following sentence stem:

“The most interesting thing I learned in today’s lesson was…because…”

Differentiated Learning

Extension

Guide students to the section of the Student Worksheet that lists the following questions and challenge them to work independently or in pairs to find information relating to each. You could offer a reward for students who persist with the challenge, or to those who are supportive of the people they are working with.

In Australia, how many referendums for changes to the Constitution have occurred?
When was the first referendum to change the Australian Constitution held?
When was the last successful change to the Australian Constitution made through a referendum?
How many of the changes that were proposed on this day were successful?

Provisions for Learning Support

Print the lesson presentation before beginning the lesson and distribute to students who might require it.
Ensure that students are grouped with peers of diverse abilities.

Story of Our Rights and Freedoms - Changing the Australian Constitution

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