Totara Inquiry Topic Plan

It’s Our Voice

Duration Term 1 Level 3

Enduring Learning Citizenship is everyone’s business

Key Idea As a member of a community we all have the right to be involved in the decision making process.

Relating to others, using language symbols and texts, thinking, participating and contributing,
Key Competencies
managing self.

Curriculum area Curriculum Objective

• Investigate sources of information, processes and strategies with developing confidence to

English identify, form and express ideas.
•
• Identify and demonstrate ways of maintaining and enhancing relationships between
Health & P.E.
individuals and within groups.

Social Studies
• Understand that people have social, cultural, and economic roles, rights, and
responsibilities.
• The Student Council should represent all children at NCS.
• The International Bill of Human Rights has influenced and changed how communities
work.
Lines of Inquiry • Organisations are structured in different ways.
• Children have the right to have their opinions heard.
• Communities need people to make decisions.
Specific Learning Intentions Success Criteria
#
We are learning to… We will know we are successful when we …
Recognize that children the right to have their opinions heard Can suggest a way to organize our school council so that
1
about matters that effect them. it represents all the NCS children.
Recognize that children have a responsibility to be
2 considerate of others feelings and beliefs when sharing their Can contribute our opinions without upsetting others.
opinions about things that effect them.
Understand Article 12 Children have the right
to say what they think should happen when
Can explain what Article 12 means and how this relates
3 adults are making decisions that affect them,
to our student council.
and to have their opinions taken
into account.
Can explain what democratic representation is and how
4 Understand how people are represented in democratic ways.
it works.
Use a dictionary and thesaurus to find definitions and
5 Identify definitions and synonyms of keywords.
synonyms of words.
Use the 7 servants and keywords to pose inquiry
6 Pose suitable inquiry questions
questions.
Write an explanation that:
• Explores causes & effects
• Uses technical vocabulary
7 Write explanations
• Uses present tense
• Is written in a formal style
• Avoids author opinion
Contribute ideas and listen to others when they are
8 Work cooperatively with others
contributing ideas.
Take equal responsibility for speaking when our group is
9 Contribute to a group presentation
presenting our ideas to the class.
 Task: As a group create a proposal for how our student council should be structured
Inquiry Rich and elected so that it represents all children at NCS. From the proposals presented the
Task children at NCS will be involved in a democratic process to decide on our new student
council structure and election process.
Relevant
Learning Week
Possible Learning Progressions
Intentio #
n
Setting the scene:
• Discussion & debating around contentious issues.
• Develop vocabulary knowledge using vocabulary exploration activities
(definitions, synonyms etc)
• K/WV/F chart
• Pose, edit and evaluate questions around one or more of the lines of inquiry
lines of inquiry
1. The Student Council should represent all children at NCS.
2. The International Bill of Human Rights has influenced and changed how
communities work.
3. Organizations are structured differently
4. Children have a right to have their opinions respected.
5. Communities need people to make decisions.
Acquire
• Selecting & evaluating information sources
• Summarizing information
• Investigate democratic & non-democratic societies
• Researching questions developed in class.
Use
• Write an explanation of how they think our student council should be organized.
• Children will work in a group create a proposal for the rich task.
• Consider All Factors decision making matrix.
Communicate
• 1-2 proposals will be prepared/selected by each class & will be presented at a
whole school assembly.
• Whole school will be involved in voting on the preferred options
Evaluate
• Self-evaluation
Relevant learning
Intention
Assessment tasks

• Peer assessment of group proposals