Humanities and social sciences / Year 6 / Knowledge and Understanding / Geography

Curriculum content descriptions

Differences in the economic, demographic and social characteristics of countries across the world (ACHASSK139)

Elaborations
  • researching the population size and density of a selection of countries around the world
  • investigating the relationship between per capita income, health (as measured by life expectancy) and energy consumption in a selection of countries around the world, including at least one country from the Asia region
  • comparing people’s lives in places with different levels of income
General capabilities
  • Numeracy Numeracy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • Intercultural understanding Intercultural understanding
ScOT terms

Populations (Society),  Countries

Interactive

Dollar street

This is an interactive resource about the different standards of living of people at different levels of wealth. It shows a street containing photo-panoramas from households at different income levels in Mozambique, South Africa and Uganda. The user can choose the level of income ranging from $1-2 per day to over $100 per ...

Online

Life expectancy PowerPoint

This teacher resource is a PowerPoint presentation designed to address common student misunderstandings about life expectancy. It emphasises that life expectancy is an average, that most people live for much longer or shorter than their life expectancy and that, when life expectancy is low, it is mostly because of a very ...

Video

Voice of fishers: Panama

This is a video about the rights and fishing practices of the Kuna people of the Comarca, an autonomous region of Kuna Yala, which is a 226-km long strip of Panama's Caribbean coast. Opening with a map of the area, the video consists mostly of interviews with Kuna people who tell how their fishing rights were secured; distinguish ...

Text

Voting in Australia

The representatives elected to federal Parliament make decisions that affect many aspects of Australian life including tax, marriage, the environment, trade and immigration. This 28 page PDF document explains the history of Australia’s electoral system and how it works, Australia’s system of government and the role citizens ...

Text

Electoral pocketbook: an electoral education resource

The 2016 Electoral Pocketbook is a compact and comprehensive guide to the 2016 federal election, the largest election the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has ever delivered. The Pocketbook serves as a useful electoral education resource for teachers as it contains historical information about Australia’s electoral ...

Online

Voting in the classroom

This is a learning module that develops practical skills in teaching electoral education as part of the Civics and Citizenship Curriculum. The module includes background information and a step by step guide to running an election. Aligned to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, the module provides one hour ...

Text

Race, rights & rivalries

This resource explores the history of Broome and the rich multicultural community that supported its pearling industry. The site features a virtual museum providing a range of primary source material including photographs, newspaper extracts, historical documents, video and audio recordings. The site explores the history ...

Text

Ministers and shadow ministers

This fact sheet investigates the work of ministers (members of the Australian Government with special responsibilities) and shadow ministers (members of the opposition who closely examine the work of the government).

Text

Australian Constitution online

Browse the complete text of the Australian Constitution with this easy-to use website. It includes a detailed overview by the Australian Government Solicitor and a 2:26 min video snapshot about the Constitution and its role in the governance of the Australian nation.

Video

Get involved

Explore the ways ordinary Australians can get involved in the work of Parliament with this short video (6:25 min). Find out how you can get informed about the work of the Parliament, the role of petitioning and ways to participate in parliamentary inquiries.

Text

Government

This fact sheet explores the role and functions of the Australian Government, including who is in the government, how it is formed, minority government and the principle of responsible government.

Text

Making a law in the Australian Parliament

This fact sheet explains the law-making process in the Australian Parliament. It also describes where ideas for laws come from and the history of law-making in the Parliament.

Text

Separation of powers

The principle of the separation of powers distributes the power to govern between the Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary. This fact sheet examines the role of each group and the related principle of responsible government.

Interactive

Federal, state, local

Do your students know what each level of government is responsible for? This interactive game tests their knowledge of the three levels of government in Australia.

Interactive

Federation

Federation is the process by which six partly self-governing British colonies decided to form a new nation. Australia was created by peaceful means as an Act of the British Parliament—the result of much consideration and debate. This webpage provides a series of resources examining the path to federation. The page includes ...

Interactive

Political parties

Many political parties have members elected to the Australian Parliament. In this fact sheet, learn more about how they are organised, coalitions of parties, party meetings and the history of political parties in Australia.

Interactive

Quizzes

Test your students with these quizzes about the Australian Parliament. Topics include the three levels of government, separation of powers and the Australian Constitution.

Text

Fact sheet: the roles and responsibilities of the three levels of government

This fact sheet introduces the three levels of government in Australia: the federal—Australian—Parliament, state and territory parliaments, and local councils. It includes the roles and responsibilities of each level. It also includes the embedded video 'Snapshorts - Three levels of government.

Text

Australian Constitution in focus

The Australian Constitution is the legal framework for how Australia is governed. This article explores in detail the history of the Constitution, its key features and the High Court’s role in interpreting it. The page describes processes for amending the Constitution including through referendum as well as two case studies ...

Online

Make a law: House of Representatives

Discover how bills—proposed laws—are introduced, debated and voted on in the House of Representatives by turning your class into a Parliament and doing it yourself! This lesson plan outlines the steps to run a role play in the classroom and includes a video illustrating the process, teacher notes, class preparation and ...