HASS · Year 5

Active learning ideas

The Constitutional Conventions

Active learning is crucial for understanding the Constitutional Conventions because it moves beyond rote memorization of facts. By engaging in simulated debates and negotiations, students directly experience the challenges and complexities faced by the delegates, fostering a deeper appreciation for the process of nation-building.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS5K05
• AC9HASS5K06

• 45–75 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 60 min · Small Groups

Role-Play: Convention Debate

Assign students roles of delegates from different colonies. Provide them with key issues to debate, such as representation or states' rights, mirroring the actual convention discussions. Students present arguments and attempt to reach a consensus.

Explain the purpose and function of the Constitutional Conventions.

Facilitation Tip

During the Role-Play: Convention Debate, ensure students representing different colonies stay in character and advocate for their colony's specific interests, mirroring the historical negotiations.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 45 min · Individual

Compromise Timeline

Students research significant compromises made during the conventions, such as the 'great compromise' on representation. They create a visual timeline illustrating these compromises and explaining their importance in moving towards federation.

Analyze the compromises and debates involved in drafting the Constitution.

Facilitation Tip

When facilitating the Compromise Timeline, prompt students to consider the 'why' behind each compromise and its long-term impact on the federal structure.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Simulation Game
• 75 min · Small Groups

Constitution Creation Simulation

Divide the class into 'colony' groups. Each group proposes key clauses for a new constitution. Groups then come together to negotiate and agree on a simplified constitution, highlighting the challenges of compromise.

Construct a simplified overview of the key decisions made at the conventions.

Facilitation Tip

In the Constitution Creation Simulation, encourage groups to justify their proposed clauses, connecting them back to the needs and concerns of their assigned colony.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers can approach this topic by emphasizing the human element of history. Instead of presenting the Constitution as a finished product, focus on the dynamic process of its creation, highlighting the differing viewpoints and the skill involved in forging consensus. This experiential approach counters the passive reception of historical narratives.

Successful learning means students can articulate the diverse perspectives of the colonies and the significant compromises that led to the Australian Constitution. They should demonstrate an understanding that the Constitution was a product of intense debate, negotiation, and a willingness to find common ground.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Role-Play: Convention Debate, students might assume a single, obvious path forward, failing to grasp the depth of disagreement.

  Redirect students by asking them to articulate the specific objections their colony delegate would have to proposals favored by other colonies, drawing on their assigned colony's historical context.

• In the Constitution Creation Simulation, students may struggle to see why agreement was difficult, potentially oversimplifying the process.

  Ask groups to identify specific clauses that were particularly contentious during the actual conventions and explain why their proposed clauses for that issue reflect different colonial priorities.

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Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game