AC9HS5K06 Year 5 Humanities and Social Sciences

This Content Descriptor from Year 5 Humanities and Social Sciences provides the specific knowledge and skills students should learn. Use it to plan lessons, create learning sequences, and design assessments that align with the Australian Curriculum v9.

the key values and features of Australia’s democracy, including elections, and the roles and responsibilities of elected representatives

Elaborations

• 1 discussing the meaning of democracy, the importance of the key values of Australian democracy (for example, freedom of election and being elected; freedom of assembly and political participation; freedom of speech, expression and religious belief; rule of law; other basic human rights) and how students apply democratic values in familiar contexts, such as how religious tolerance might be achieved in a free democratic society
• 2 discussing the Australian citizenship pledge and the official statement of Australian values published by the federal government and what can be learnt about key values and Australian democracy from this material
• 3 exploring the secret ballot, compulsory voting and preferential voting as key features of Australia’s democracy
• 4 recognising the role of the Australian Electoral Commission in administering elections that are open, free and fair
• 5 discussing key features of Australia’s voting system, such as who has the right to vote and stand for election in Australia, including when women and First Nations Australians were first allowed to vote
• 6 considering the responsibilities of electors, including enrolling to vote, being informed and voting responsibly
• 7 identifying the characteristics that would make for a “good” representative at the local, state/territory or national level

Related Achievement Standards