Civics & Citizenship · Year 6

Active learning ideas

Government's Main Jobs: Making Decisions

Active learning helps students grasp how government decisions shape daily life by moving beyond abstract definitions to concrete roles. Students need to act out debates, trace processes, and classify services to see how different government parts contribute in distinct ways.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS6K01

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Concept Mapping
• 35 min · Small Groups

Role-Play: Law-Making Debate

Divide class into parliament members, executive reps, and citizens. Present a scenario like a new school uniform rule. Groups debate, vote on the law, then act out implementation steps. Debrief on roles with a shared class chart.

Differentiate the primary functions of government, such as law-making and service provision.

Facilitation Tip

During the Role-Play: Law-Making Debate, assign clear speaker roles and provide a simplified bill topic students care about, like school uniform changes, to keep discussion focused and relatable.

What to look for

Present students with three scenarios: a new law being proposed, a new school being built, and a decision about park maintenance. Ask students to label each scenario as 'law-making', 'service provision', or 'decision-making' and briefly explain their choice.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Concept Mapping
• 25 min · Pairs

Flowchart Construction: Decision Path

Pairs receive cards with decision steps from idea to service delivery. They sequence cards into a flowchart, adding examples like building a playground. Pairs present to class for feedback and refinements.

Explain how government decisions impact daily life for citizens.

Facilitation Tip

For Flowchart Construction: Decision Path, give students sticky notes to build steps so they can rearrange ideas and revise their sequence as new understanding emerges.

What to look for

Ask students to write down one government decision they have noticed impacting their own lives this week. Then, have them identify which part of government (e.g., federal, state, local) might have made that decision and why.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Concept Mapping
• 30 min · Small Groups

Service Sort Stations: Government Jobs

Set up stations with photos of services like rubbish collection or traffic lights. Small groups sort into law-making, running services, or decisions piles, then justify choices. Rotate stations and vote on class master list.

Construct a simple diagram illustrating the flow of decision-making in government.

Facilitation Tip

At Service Sort Stations: Government Jobs, use real photographs of services like libraries or footpaths to help students ground abstract roles in visible community assets.

What to look for

Facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'Imagine the government needs to decide whether to build a new library or upgrade the local sports oval. What are some things they would need to consider, and how might this decision affect different people in our community?'

• Understand
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Activity 04

• Concept Mapping
• 20 min · Pairs

Impact Mapping: Daily Life Links

Whole class brainstorms government decisions on a board. Students in pairs draw mind maps connecting one decision to their routines, like bus services to school attendance. Share and connect maps into a class web.

Differentiate the primary functions of government, such as law-making and service provision.

Facilitation Tip

During Impact Mapping: Daily Life Links, provide local examples students recognize, such as traffic lights or recycling rules, to make the connection between decisions and everyday experiences immediate.

What to look for

Present students with three scenarios: a new law being proposed, a new school being built, and a decision about park maintenance. Ask students to label each scenario as 'law-making', 'service provision', or 'decision-making' and briefly explain their choice.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers approach this topic by first making the abstract concrete—using familiar local examples to introduce government functions. Avoid starting with complex structures like bicameral systems; instead, build understanding through repeated exposure to the three core roles. Research shows that students grasp systems better when they see how parts connect to their own lives, so anchor each activity in a visible, local context.

By the end of these activities, students will confidently distinguish between law-making, service provision, and community decisions. They will explain why these roles matter and connect them to real-world examples they encounter regularly.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role-Play: Law-Making Debate, watch for students who assume one student can make the final decision alone.

  Remind students that the debate must follow steps: proposal, discussion, amendment, and vote. Point to the flowchart from Flowchart Construction to reinforce that parliament works through multiple stages before any law passes.

• During Service Sort Stations: Government Jobs, watch for students who classify services like roads or parks as private company work.

  Have students refer to the service photographs and funding posters in the station to identify tax funding and government responsibility. Use the group consensus process to challenge incorrect labels with evidence.

• During Flowchart Construction: Decision Path, watch for students who think the Prime Minister makes laws instantly.

  Provide the role-play transcript from the debate as a counterexample. Ask students to compare the transcript’s steps with their flowchart to see how many stages laws actually require before action.

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Methods used in this brief

• Concept Mapping