Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Part A: Exploring Democracy

20 minutes

Part B: Building Empathy: Understanding Exclusion

80 minutes

Part C: Democratic Dissent: The Struggle for Universal Suffrage

10 minutes

Reflection

Part A: Exploring democracy

Step 1

Begin by explaining to students that throughout this lesson they will explore what they already know about democracy, then find out more about some people who had to fight to be included in the democratic processes of voting in Australia.

Step 2

Screen this short overview clip (it may be the second time that students have seen it - let the class know that it will help to refocus their thinking on the topic).

What is Democracy? (https://youtu.be/8Eu6G5YrBt4)

Step 3

Invite students to complete the first part of the 3-2-1 Bridge visible thinking routine on the Student Worksheet. This routine asks students to note three thoughts, two ideas, and one question about a topic, then later connect these to new thinking about the topic after they have found out more. Once complete, ask students to turn to the person next to them and share what they have written down.

Part B: Building empathy: understanding exclusion

Step 1

Explain to students that this section of the lesson is a make-believe scenario - It does not reflect decisions that are occurring.

In this scenario, there have been discussions about changing the time that school starts in the morning. Inform students that the following options have been shortlisted:

Keep the same time.
7 am - this means that school will finish at 1:30pm.
10 am - this means that school will finish at 4:30pm.
12 noon - this means that school will finish at 6:30pm.

Step 2

Explain that for this exercise, only half of the class will be allowed to vote. Select half the students and ask them to move to sit on one side of the room, while the remaining students should move to sit on the other side.

Read through each option and ask voting students to raise their hand for their preference. Tally the numbers on the board so that the class can see the results of the vote.

Step 3

Ask students who did not vote how they felt about being excluded and why they felt that way. Invite volunteers to share what they think more generally about people being excluded from voting (and being heard). Possible responses may include:

It is unfair to not consider everyone’s perspective when making important decisions that affect many people
Everyone is entitled to share their opinion
People won’t support decisions that are made without taking their opinion into consideration
Some people may make themselves heard, even if it isn’t through a vote

Step 4

Ask students to form pairs and list some ways - besides voting - that they could share their views or influence a change to the decision about the change to the school starting time.

Explain that there are many ways that people who are unhappy with decisions made in democratic societies can make themselves heard. They include:

Petitions
Protests
Direct contact with the local Member of Parliament
Awareness raising though social media campaigns
Opinion pieces/letters to the editor in the media
Distribution of information to other members of the public

These methods are all forms of democratic dissent, and involve influencing government decisions outside of official elections.

Part C: Democratic dissent: the struggle for universal suffrage

Step 1

Explain to students that this part of the lesson will involve finding out more about examples of democratic dissent.

Write the word ‘Suffrage’ on the whiteboard and ask students if they have heard of it before. If they have, ask students to explain what they understand it to mean.

After hearing students’ suggestions, inform the class that suffrage means the right to vote in public and political elections, and that the term is sometimes used for any right to vote. Write this on the whiteboard for students to read.

Write the word ‘Universal’ in front of ‘Suffrage’, and ask students if they have heard of the term Universal Suffrage and what they understand it to mean.

Explain and write on the whiteboard that universal suffrage means that voting rights are extended to all adult citizens.

Refer to the vote held on the decision to change the school starting time, and explain that even though it was a make-believe scenario, in the past, the reality is that some people in Australia did not have the right to vote - even now, some Australians aren't permitted to vote.

Step 2

In this part of the lesson, students will conduct research to find out more about two groups, some individuals within these groups and their struggle for universal suffrage.

Students will share what they find out with their peers in a 5 minute presentation.

The class will focus on investigating how democratic dissent was exercised through the struggle for suffrage by women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Ask students to indicate if there is a group they would prefer to find out more about and to form groups of 3-4 according to their preference. There should be a similar number of groups researching each.

Step 3

Ask students to refer to the following instructions on the Student Worksheet:

Work with your group to explore democratic dissent and the struggle for suffrage by groups in Australia.

You could use these points to guide your research and presentation:

Describe the start of the movement
Describe how the movement ended (if it has ended)
Describe how they engaged in democratic dissent:
- some of the ways that the group made themselves heard
- some of the participants/key leaders and what they did
- some of the key events that occurred during the struggle for the vote
Describe the opposition faced by the group
Find two primary sources (such as a news article, an image, a flier) to share with the class and explain why they are significant
Find a quote to share

Alternatively, you could use the 5W’s to pose your own research questions:

Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?

Decide as a group how to present what you find as a 5 minute presentation to the class, and plan the information, images and other inclusions you will need. Some options include:

Create a digital presentation using PowerPoint, Prezi, Adobe Presenter or Adobe Spark
Create a short informative video using MovieMaker, iMovie or Kizoa
Create a non-digital presentation such as a poster or a speech

Before groups begin, consider the amount of time they will require for the task. Inform the class of when they should aim to complete their research by and how long they will have to create a presentation of their findings. Students could research independently using the Internet. If they require a starting point or more guidance, they could use these factsheets: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and the Right to Vote factsheet, Women and the Right to Vote factsheet. Students could also use the following websites as a starting point for their research:

Trove, National Library of Australia (https://trove.nla.gov.au/)
Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University (https://adb.anu.edu.au/)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' right to vote:

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, “My Voice for My Country: Changing images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voter participation” (https://aiatsis.gov.au/exhibitions/my-voice-my-country)
Australian Electoral Commission: “Electoral Milestones for Indigenous Australians” (https://www.aec.gov.au/indigenous/milestones.htm)

Women’s right to vote:

National Museum Australia: "Women’s suffrage” (https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/womens-suffrage)
Parliament of Australia "The 120th anniversary of women's suffrage in Australia" (https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_
Library/Research/FlagPost/2022/June/Womens_suffrage)

Ensure that students choose a presentation mode that they have the equipment and software to create.

Step 4

Once students have begun working on their presentations, circulate around the groups, assisting where necessary and reminding students of time remaining. Remind students of the questions they set out to answer. Encourage students to proofread their presentations.

Step 5

Bring the class back together and organise groups to present for their classmates. Encourage students to take notes on the Student Worksheet while they’re listening to other groups.

Step 6

Recognise the efforts made by students once all groups have presented. Then, in a class discussion to summarise the lesson, ask the class to note the similarities between women's struggles and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Write students’ suggestions on the whiteboard for the class to see.

Highlight with students that at the time of their struggle, the groups fighting for suffrage were not listened to by people in government in the same way that people who could vote were. Because they weren’t able to influence decision makers through a vote, each group engaged in democratic dissent to fight for suffrage.

Ask students to note down their thoughts on the following questions - they can do so on the Student Worksheet:

Is there a link between the struggle for the right to vote and democratic dissent? If so, what is it?
Is it fair and/or reasonable to engage in democratic dissent?
Is democratic dissent an effective way to influence decision-makers?
Does democratic dissent create change? If so, how?

Time permitting, invite students to share their responses with the person sitting next to them.

Reflection

Ask students to complete the second part of the '3-2-1 Bridge' Visible Thinking Routine on the Student Worksh e et, ensuring that they write a ‘bridge’ paragraph that explains how their understanding of democracy has changed.

Differentiated Learning

Extension

Encourage more able students to write specific research questions that dive deeper into the topic. They could focus specifically on one person’s actions and the influence those actions had.

Provisional learning support

Encourage students to work in mixed-ability groups. Work with students on a strategy for online research, and encourage students to think carefully about the search terms they use.

Story of Our Rights and Freedoms - Democratic Dissent

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