Civics | Teacher Plan for Year 8 Unit 'Justice'

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Port Lincoln High School, SA
Teacher Plan for Year 8 Unit 'Justice'

Teacher Plan for Year 8 Unit 'Justice'

Week	Lesson	Teacher and student activities
Week 1	English 45	Students begin reading Parvana. Teacher reads first two chapters. Students construct a title page.
	English 90	Teacher reads Chapters 3 and 4 of Parvana. Students complete a map of Afghanistan.
	English 90	Teacher reads Chapter 5. Students construct a family collage showing the alive and deceased members of Parvana's family.
	TASKS	Construction of a Parvana title page. Completion of map of Afghanistan showing key places described in the novel. Family collage.

	SOSE 45	Introduction to key concepts: rules, laws and customs. Students take notes from the board and brainstorm five examples of each.
	SOSE 90	Island activity (Discovering Democracy Lower Secondary Units, p 40).
	SOSE 90	Identify laws in daily life. Why do we need laws? (legally wrong; morally wrong)
	TASKS	Completion of notes: laws/rules/customs. Table of five examples of laws/rules/customs. Class notes on why we need laws. Pictorial representation of punishments. Brainstormed list of legal/moral wrongs and punishments.

Week 2	English 45	Teacher to read Chapters 6 and 7 of Parvana. Complete the Word Find.
	English 90	Teacher to read Chapters 8 and 9 of Parvana. Students to complete the worksheet and make notes of conditions of life under the Taliban.
	English 90	Teacher to read Chapters 10 and 11. Introduction of 'Letter from Parvana' major task. These two chapters are particularly powerful (grave digging) and will require opportunity for the class to discuss their thoughts. Parvana Homework Sheet (nouns/verbs).
	TASKS	Parvana Word Find. Parvana Chapters 8 and 9 Worksheet. Class notes – Life under the Taliban. Parvana Homework Sheet.

	SOSE 45	The Earliest Laws notes and worksheet. Choose two early punishments and illustrate them. Choose two modern punishments and illustrate them. Describe how punishments have changed/stayed the same.
	SOSE 90	Hammurabi's Code (Lower Secondary Units, p 43).
	SOSE 90	Different types of government (Lower Secondary Units, pp 11–13; 'Who Should Rule?', Australian Readers Discovering Democracy Lower Secondary Collection, pp 7–9).
	TASKS	The Earliest Laws crossword. Punishment illustrations and written discussion. Hammurabi's Code, Ten Commandments and Roman law activities (Lower Secondary Units, pp 43–5). Class notes: Different types of rule.

Week 3	English 45	Teacher to read Chapters 12 and 13 of Parvana. Students draft their letter.
	English 90	Teacher to read Chapters 14 and 15 of Parvana. Students complete their letter.
	English 90	Oral presentation of Parvana letters.
	TASKS	Major task: Letter from Parvana. Oral presentation of students' letters.

	SOSE 45	What are the sources of Australian law? (Lower Secondary Units, pp 46–50, Activity 1).
	SOSE 90	What are the sources of Australian law? (Lower Secondary Units, pp 46–50, Activities 2 and 3).
	SOSE 90	How do we make laws today? (Lower Secondary Units, pp 52–5, Activity 1).
	TASKS	Activities 1 and 2 from Lower Secondary Units.

Week 4	English 45	View Mulan.
	English 90	View Mulan.
	English 90	Retell the story of Mulan: class notes.
	TASKS	Class notes.

	SOSE 45	How do we make laws today? (Lower Secondary Units, p 53, Activity 2).
	SOSE 90	How do we make laws today? (Lower Secondary Units, p 54, Activity 3 and Research activity).
	SOSE 90	How do we make laws today? (Lower Secondary Units, p 54, Research activity).
	TASKS	Research activity on page 54 of the Lower Secondary Units.

Week 5	English 45	Activity related to Mulan.
	English 90	Activity related to Mulan. Suggestion: class discussion on the treatment of females 'That women should be allowed to fight in wars'.
	English 90	Activity related to Mulan.
	TASKS	Activity related to Mulan.

	SOSE 45	Students to read the short story 'Schooly Mac' by Oodgeroo Noonuccal in Heinemann English Links One and answer the questions.
	SOSE 90	'Schooly Mac' questions and discussion of discrimination. View Rabbit-Proof Fence.
	SOSE 90	View Rabbit-Proof Fence. Class discussion of the historical facts of the Stolen Generation issue.
	TASKS	Rabbit-Proof Fence Worksheet (homework).

Week 6	English 45	Read The Burnt Stick: silent reading in the lesson.
	English 90	Reflection on the first 20 pages: The Burnt Stick Worksheet 1. Homework: Complete reading the novel.
	English 90	The Burnt Stick Worksheet 2.
	TASKS	The Burnt Stick Worksheet 1. The Burnt Stick Worksheet 2.

	SOSE 45	Types of laws: brainstorm and handout.
	SOSE 90	A3 poster: In pairs students design an A3 poster from newspaper stories which look at specific types of laws which were broken (eg traffic law/law of torts).
	SOSE 90	Completion of poster and presentation to the class.
	TASKS	A3 poster 'Types of laws'.

Week 7	English 45	The Burnt Stick Worksheet 3.
	English 90	The Burnt Stick Worksheet 3.
	English 90	The Burnt Stick Worksheet 3.
	TASKS	The Burnt Stick Worksheet 3.

	SOSE 45	Discuss the arguments used for taking the children away and the effect this issue has had on Aboriginal people and their culture.
	SOSE 90	Stolen Generation: A3 brainstorm.
	SOSE 90	In small groups students read sections of The Ngarrindjeri People to learn about aspects of this group's traditional lifestyle and culture. Students then report their findings to the whole class.
	TASKS	Stolen Generation: A3 brainstorm. Report to class about Ngarrindjeri lifestyle and culture.

Week 8	English 45	Review of 'justice' in English: three major issues of focus: Parvana: inequalities facing women living in countries governed by unreasonable regimes. Mulan: role that being of a particular gender has in casting obstacles and stereotypes. Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Burnt Stick: inequalities facing Aboriginal people.
	English 90	Major assessment task that involves a choice between one of the three major issues and a 500-word piece/project/commentary produced.
	English 90	Major assessment task that involves a choice between one of the three major issues and a 500-word piece/project/commentary produced.
	TASKS	Major assessment task that involves a choice between one of the three major issues and a 500-word piece/project/commentary produced.

	SOSE 45	Origins of Aboriginal law in the Dreaming (Lower Secondary Units, p 50; The Ngarrindjeri People pp 54–6). Worksheet on Aboriginal Law: The Dreaming.
	SOSE 90	Read a variety of Dreaming stories, preferably ones of local significance. Students to analyse them to elicit the rules for living contained in them. Ngurunderi worksheet.
	SOSE 90	Guest speaker: member of the local Aboriginal community. Focus of discussion: the way the law is passed on who enforces the law the role of family – unique family structure punishments.
	TASKS	Questions from Aboriginal Law: The Dreaming worksheet. Ngurunderi worksheet. Journal reflecting on guest speaker's discussion.

Week 9	SOSE 45	Students to choose one Dreaming story and represent it in another way (ie artwork, performance, poetry).
	SOSE 90	Dreaming story work.
	SOSE 90	Guest speaker from the Aboriginal Court or if not possible students to view Aboriginal Court video. Explore how the mainstream Australian legal system is beginning to accommodate the needs of Aboriginal people.
	TASKS	Activity 3: The place of customary law (Lower Secondary Units, pp 51–2).