Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

20 minutes

Part A: What Are Values?

10 minutes

Part B: Examples Of Australian Values

25 minutes

Part C: Being ‘Un-Australian’

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Students understand...

what a value is and identify Australian values
that different social and cultural groups reflect a range of social values
what is meant by the term ‘un-Australian’ and why people use this term
that experiences shape people’s values.

Students can...

define what values are in an Australian social context
identify values that are common within Australian social and cultural groups.
provide examples of values held by different groups, including at home, school, local community, institutions and government
make connections between common values and being ‘un-Australian’
justify their opinion about Australian values and being ‘un-Australian’.

Part A: What are values?

Step 1

Explain to students that the focus of this lesson is to develop their understanding of the values that are reflected in Australian society and how people are described as ‘un-Australian’ when they challenge these values. Before exploring the idea of Australian society having common values, it is important that students understand what a social value is.

Step 2

Provide each student with a copy of the Student Worksheet and invite them to think about the following question:

What is a social value?

Allow students 1-2 minutes to think about their ideas and write them on the Student Worksheet in the first column of the Think-Pair-Share table.

Step 3

Once students have had an opportunity to think and record their responses to the question, encourage them to pair up with another student and discuss the similarities and differences in their responses to the question.

Ask students to list key ideas from their pair discussions in the second column of the Think-Pair-Share table and encourage them to create their own definition together.

Step 4

Bring the class back together and create a class brainstorm on the board based on the ideas and responses to the Think-Pair-Share prompt.

Step 5

Explain to students that the Oxford Online dictionary defines a value as:

“Principles or standards of behaviour; one’s judgment of what is important in life.”

Highlight that this definition has a focus on the individual, and that as a society we can have values that are common. These principles or standards are important and worthwhile for all. Read the following definition to further explain the role of values in society (also available on the Student Worksheet):

“Important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable. Values have major influence on a person's behaviour and attitude and serve as broad guidelines in all situations. Some common business values are fairness, innovation and community involvement.” (Business Dictionary)

Ask students to recall what the school values are. Use the school values as examples to help explain the importance and role of values in the school community.

Step 6

In small groups, invite students to list as many values as they can that they think are important in Australian society. Encourage all group members to write the group responses in the space provided on their Student Worksheet.

Encourage groups to share their responses with the class and write the suggested Australian values on the board where they can be used as a thinking prompt for other tasks in the lesson.

Some suggested Australian values could include:

freedom, respect, inclusion, civility, responsibility, compassion, equality, a ‘fair go’, mateship, diversity, courage, tolerance, supporting the ‘underdog’.

Note: See the Teacher’s Notes for more information about ‘Australian Values’.

Step 7

Show this clip from The Final Quarter:

Australian of the Year (https://vimeo.com/350234853/7ac647cec1)

Step 8

Read this article with the students from the Australian Human Rights Commission about Adam Goodes’ award:

AFL legend Adam Goodes wins Australian of the Year

Optional: If students need more information, you might also like to go through the Adam Goodes Profile with them.

Step 9

Invite discussion from students about what values they think Adam Goodes might have demonstrated in order to be recognised as ‘Australian of the Year’.

Part B: Examples Of Australian Values

Step 1.

Provide each small group with an A3-sized printout of the Values in Society Worksheet or, alternatively, provide groups with a piece of butcher’s paper and write the following headings on the board:

Home
School
Local community
Institutions/organisations
Governments

Step 2

Using the suggested Australian values brainstorm as a guide (Part A, Step 6), invite students to think of examples of when they see these values played out in different parts of society. Encourage students to find at least one example under each of the headings.

Examples could include:

Home – Respect – Listen to my parents when they ask me to help around the house and do what they ask.
School – Inclusion – Ensure no one is left out of group activities.
Local community – Equality/‘fair go’ – Give everyone the same amount of court time in a game of basketball.
Institutions/organisations – Inclusion/Compassion/Tolerance – Welcome all people into the organisation, no matter what their gender, ability, religious belief, circumstance, etc.
Government – Freedom – Allow people to vote for who they want to represent them.

Step 3

Invite each group to present their examples to the class and encourage other groups to add relevant and interesting examples to their responses.

Use these presentations as an opportunity to explore the similarities and differences in interpretation of the suggested values and the idea that values are not set, rather a reflection of society at the time.

Part C: Being 'Un-Australian'

Step 1

Once all groups have presented and discussed their examples of Australian values in society, pose the following questions to the class:

Do you think that if someone doesn’t follow these social values - these ‘Australian values’ - that they would then be ‘un-Australian’?
What attitudes and behaviours do you think are ‘un-Australian’?

Facilitate a brief class discussion and use student responses to gauge what students believe to be ‘un-Australian’. This discussion is not designed to define what ‘un-Australian’ means, rather an opportunity for students to explore the concept and what it could mean.

Step 2

Explain to students that there is no universal definition of what it means to be ‘un-Australian’, rather it is an expression used to describe someone who is not reflecting the speaker’s perception of Australian values.

Step 3

The following television advertisement was released by Meat & Livestock Australia to encourage viewers to eat lamb on January 26th in 2005.

Play the following video and encourage students to think about the values that are present in the words:

Don’t Be Un-Australian - Eat Lamb (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGZEBjzkZMg)

Step 4

Invite students to share their reactions to the video and what they think the speaker is suggesting Australian people value.

Some responses could include: having BBQs and drinking beer with mates, wearing thongs, being manly and tough, eating meat, dismissing multiculturalism, fighting for the country, being employed.

Explain to students that this video is intending to show the funny side of the word ‘un-Australian’, however, suggesting someone is ‘un-Australian’ in real life can be hurtful, disrespectful and can cause harm.

If your students aren’t able to pick up on the satirical tone of this video, you might like to use this resource to explore the concept of satire: https://www.examples.com/education/satire-examples.html

Step 5

Introduce the following clip from The Final Quarter by explaining that AFL footballer Adam Goodes’ values and behaviours were regularly questioned by the media and public when he called out racist behaviour and attitudes. If students are not aware of the ongoing booing of Adam Goodes refer to the Teacher Notes for useful resources.

Step 6

Play this clip from The Final Quarter:

Rob Bonnet Interview to Ita Buttrose (https://vimeo.com/348313307/bb9e09d54e)

Step 7

After viewing the clip in its entirety, explain to students that they will now watch the clip again and discuss key statements and ideas that the clip raises.

When showing the clip again, use the following pause points and suggested questions to help facilitate a class discussion.

0.26 - What is ‘tall poppy syndrome’? Why do you think this is an Australian thing?
Possible answer: Tall poppy syndrome is where people put down someone who is successful.
0.54 - “...the history of our country is built on so much lies and racial policies and things that have suppressed my people and lots of minorities in this country.” What do you think Adam Goodes means when he refers to lies and racial policies?
Possible answer: The term ‘terra nullius’ was used to imply there were no inhabitants on this land when the English claimed it.
1.14 - “See through the things they have been taught growing up … education is a big thing.” What do you think Adam means by this statement?
Possible answer: Some of the things that Australians have been taught in school about Aboriginal history have been incorrect or one-sided.
1.33 - Why do you think Neil Mitchell suggested Adam Goodes should step down from his position as Australian of the Year?
Possible answer: Neil Mitchell might have thought Adam Goodes talking negatively about the country and Australian society was un-Australian and inappropriate in his role as Australian of the Year.

Step 8

After watching the clip and discussing key ideas from the discussions, invite students to form small groups of three or four and draw their attention to the table on the Student Worksheet.

In these groups, ask students to list in the first column the values that they believe Adam Goodes is demonstrating in the clip, and in the second column the values that they believe he is not demonstrating. It is important that students use examples from the clip to support their ideas. You may need to play the clip again while students work on this activity.

Step 9

Once students have discussed and identified values, invite students to participate in a Stand on the Line activity.

Place the Strongly Agree and Strongly Disagree posters at either end of the classroom and invite students to move to a position on the line that best indicates their opinion on each of the following statements:

It is un-Australian to call people out for their racist comments, attitudes and behaviours.
It is un-Australian to make racist comments or behave in a racist manner.
It is un-Australian to talk about the negative aspects of our country’s history.
It is un-Australian to ignore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.
It is un-Australian to call someone else un-Australian.

Note: Take note of the patterns you see forming and which students stand where. This will give you an indication of where students are at regarding their understanding of Australian values and racism. However, be careful not to assume the reasons why students are standing at certain points. Students will sometimes have their own nuanced reasons for their opinions, or could be trying to impress their friends. Where safe to do so, you might ask for volunteers to share why they are standing at a particular point.

Step 10

Invite students to return to their seats and discuss what they noticed in the patterns they saw in the class’s response to the /iquestions. Make sure they know not to point out individuals during this conversation.

Step 11

Project the following statement on the board (also available on the Student Worksheet). Explain that Waleed Aly’s statement is his interpretation of how Australians often react when minorities stand up for what they believe in, for what they think is right/fair.

Read the statement as a class and encourage students to make notes and highlight key words/terms.

“Australia is generally a very tolerant society until its minorities demonstrate that they don’t know their place. And at that moment, the minute that someone in a minority position acts as though they are not a mere supplicant, then we lose our minds. And we say ‘no, no, you gotta get back in your box here’. The backlash is huge and it is them who are creating division and destroying our culture. And that is ultimately what we boo. We boo our discomfort.” (Offsiders clip)

Step 12

Facilitate a class discussion using the following questions to explore what Waleed Aly is suggesting about Australian values and being un-Australian.

Do you agree with Waleed Aly when he suggests that Australia is a “tolerant society”? Why/why not?
What do you think he means when he says “a mere supplicant”?
What do you think the overarching message is from Waleed Aly?
Which parts of his statement do you agree with? Why?
Which parts do you disagree with? Why?

Reflection

Invite students to reflect by selecting three or more values that have been discussed in the lesson which they think are the most important to have for a cohesive society. Ask students to write down these values in the space provided on the Student Worksheet and encourage them to justify their choices.

Differentiated Learning

Extension - In Part A, create a survey as a class to find out what different people think about Australian society’s values. Possible survey questions could include:

Gender:
Age bracket:
Which of these values do you associate with being an Australian value?
- freedom, respect, inclusion, civility, responsibility, compassion, equality, a ‘fair go’, tolerance (Source: Australian Curriculum)
Give examples of when you think these values are visible or present in Australian society.

The data collected from the surveys could then be used in the lesson, The Final Quarter - Promoting Shared Values - Civ & Cit - Year 7.

Provisions for Learning Support -

When forming groups, ensure students are placed in mixed ability groups so that students with stronger literacy skills can support others
In Part A, provide students with the suggested example responses to guide student thinking.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

The Final Quarter - Identifying Values

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Learning intentions:

Students understand...

Success Criteria:

Students can...

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