Making Decisions Together: VotingActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning works for this topic because voting is a participatory process that students must experience to truly grasp. When they cast ballots, count votes, and see outcomes, abstract democratic ideas become concrete and meaningful. Role-plays and hands-on tasks build empathy and confidence, showing students that their voices carry weight in decisions that affect them.
Learning Objectives
- 1Compare the process of voting in Australian democracy with decision-making methods used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities before European settlement.
- 2Explain the purpose of a secret ballot in ensuring fairness and preventing coercion during elections.
- 3Identify instances where classroom or community decisions could be made using a voting process.
- 4Demonstrate how to cast a secret ballot in a mock voting scenario.
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Whole Class: Secret Ballot Election
Present three class decision options, such as recess games. Give each student a paper ballot to mark secretly, fold, and place in a box. Tally votes together and graph results, discussing why secrecy encouraged honest choices.
Prepare & details
How do people in a group decide what is fair and what to do together?
Facilitation Tip: Before the Secret Ballot Election, model how to fold a ballot and emphasize that no one should see or influence another student’s vote, even casually.
Setup: Flexible space for group stations
Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker
Small Groups: ATSI Consensus Role-Play
Assign roles from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community meeting. Groups discuss a shared problem, like planning a gathering, aiming for full agreement through talking sticks or turns. Share strategies with the class afterward.
Prepare & details
What are some ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities made decisions together before European settlement?
Facilitation Tip: For the ATSI Consensus Role-Play, provide a clear scenario and assign roles (e.g., elder, youth, community member) to ensure students stay focused on listening and negotiating rather than debating personalities.
Setup: Flexible space for group stations
Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker
Pairs: Voting Comparison Chart
Partners list pros and cons of secret ballot versus show-of-hands voting. Draw examples from class and ATSI methods. Present one key difference to the group.
Prepare & details
Why is it important for everyone to have a say in decisions that affect them?
Facilitation Tip: During the Voting Comparison Chart activity, ask students to use specific examples from the Secret Ballot Election to justify their choices on the chart.
Setup: Flexible space for group stations
Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker
Individual: Design Your Ballot
Students create a secret ballot template for a school issue. Include clear options and privacy features. Vote using them in a mini-poll and reflect on effectiveness.
Prepare & details
How do people in a group decide what is fair and what to do together?
Facilitation Tip: When students Design Your Ballot, remind them to include clear options and instructions, as this reinforces the importance of clarity in fair voting systems.
Setup: Flexible space for group stations
Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker
Teaching This Topic
Teachers approach this topic by first establishing trust and safety in the classroom, so students feel confident their opinions matter. Use familiar contexts, like class activities or community scenarios, to make voting relatable. Avoid rushing to abstract explanations; instead, let missteps in group decisions become teachable moments about fairness and representation. Research shows that hands-on practice with immediate feedback helps young learners internalize democratic principles more effectively than lectures alone.
What to Expect
Successful learning looks like students explaining why the secret ballot protects fairness, participating respectfully in group decisions, and connecting voting processes to real-world contexts. They should articulate that every vote matters and demonstrate this through their actions during activities.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring the Secret Ballot Election, watch for students who show their ballot or influence others' votes, thinking this makes the decision more trustworthy.
What to Teach Instead
Pause the activity and ask, 'What happens if someone sees your vote? How might that make others feel?' Guide students to realize that privacy keeps decisions fair and honest, not secretive.
Common MisconceptionDuring the ATSI Consensus Role-Play, watch for students who assume consensus means everyone agrees completely, rather than finding a solution that everyone can accept.
What to Teach Instead
Remind students that consensus isn’t about perfect agreement but about listening and compromising. Ask groups to share how they adapted their ideas to reach a decision.
Common MisconceptionDuring the Voting Comparison Chart activity, watch for students who dismiss the secret ballot as unnecessary, arguing that trust in peers makes it irrelevant.
What to Teach Instead
Have students recall a time they felt pressured to agree with a group. Use this to highlight how the secret ballot protects individual opinions, even when trust exists.
Assessment Ideas
After the Secret Ballot Election, provide students with a slip of paper. Ask them to write two reasons why the secret ballot is important in Australia and draw a symbol that represents fairness in decision-making.
After the ATSI Consensus Role-Play, pose the question: 'Imagine our class needs to decide on a new game for playtime. How could we make sure everyone's idea is heard and the decision is fair?' Guide students to discuss voting and explain the benefits of the secret ballot.
During the Secret Ballot Election, observe students as they cast their votes. Ask individual students: 'Why are you putting your vote in the box without showing anyone?' and 'How does this help make the decision fair?'
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Ask students to research a local council decision and write a short paragraph explaining how voting could be used to involve community members in the process.
- Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters for the Voting Comparison Chart, such as 'In the secret ballot, ______ is fair because ______.' to guide students who need structure.
- Deeper exploration: Invite a guest speaker, such as a local council representative, to discuss how voting is used in real community decisions and how young voices can be included.
Key Vocabulary
| Secret Ballot | A voting method where a voter's choice is anonymous. This protects voters from pressure or intimidation when they cast their vote. |
| Fairness | Treating everyone equally and justly. In voting, fairness means each person's vote counts the same and the process is open to all. |
| Decision Making | The process of choosing a course of action from several alternatives. Groups use different methods to decide what to do. |
| Consensus | A general agreement reached by a group. Some communities make decisions by discussing until everyone agrees or can accept the outcome. |
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