Men and Women in Political Life

At a glance

• Student introduction
• Focus question 1: What is 'political activity'?
• Focus question 2: What can we learn from people who have worked in parliament?
• Focus question 3: What can we learn from people who have worked outside parliament?

Focus question 1: What is 'political activity'?

Content	Activities (Assessment tasks are in bold italics.)	Preparation
Glossary	Collation of newspaper articles; classification of articles; classification of people in newspapers; defining terms	Have a range of newspapers, poster paper and glue available to students
Analysing political situations	Using a prepared format for analysis
Monuments and memorials to politically active Australians	Research into the way politically active Australians are remembered	Have Stories of Democracy and Parliament at Work CD ROMs and other sources available Provide access to the Internet

Teaching and learning activities

Focus question 2: What can we learn from people who have worked in parliament?

Content	Activities (Assessment tasks are in bold italics.)	Preparation
The lives of Chifley and Menzies	Note-taking (using a prepared format) and comparison
A day in the life of a contemporary Australian prime minister Qualities and attributes required for the position of Prime Minister	Selecting appropriate adjectives and phrases from a given list Analysis of life experiences and qualities for the job Writing a job description
The lives of Goldstein and Cowan Milestones in the achievement of women's political rights in Australia	Analysis of objectives and strategies (using a prepared format); discussion comparing outcomes with objectives
Comparison of the current leaders of the Liberal Party of Australia and the Australian Labor Party with Chifley and Menzies	Research activity	Have Parliament at Work CD ROM available Provide access to the Internet
Representation of women in current Australian parliaments	Research into the numbers of women parliamentarians; discussion of the equity of the current situation	Have Parliament@Work website and other sources available
	Assessment task: Television-style interview simulation	Stories of Democracy CD ROM interactive could be undertaken at this point

Teaching and learning activities

Focus question 3: What can we learn from people who have worked outside parliament?

Content	Activities (Assessment tasks are in bold italics.)	Preparation
The life of Spence	Simulation of political meetings; discussion
A day in the life of a contemporary union organiser Qualities and attributes required for the position of union organiser	Selecting appropriate adjectives and phrases from a given list Analysis of life experiences and qualities for job Writing a job description
The life of Street	Analysis and development of argument; letter-writing
The lives of Gibbs and Nicholls	Construction of timeline; writing of reflective dialogue Assessment task: Television-style interview simulation	Stories of Democracy CD ROM interactive could be undertaken at this point Provide a video camera if available
	Unit assessment task 1: Production of crossword puzzle based on students' personal glossaries Unit assessment task 2: Note-taking from video; letter of advice about the requirements of involvement in political activity	Provide access to Discovering Democracy Secondary Video

Teaching and learning activities