Teacher Information

This Year 7 Crime Stoppers teaching and learning program has particular relevance to the exploration of values and self understanding. Students explore and gain an understanding of their values and the values that they admire in others.

Students apply knowledge in a skills based teaching and learning environment to enhance and refine their understanding and appreciation of active citizenship. The premise is an inquiry-based program.

The notion of belonging to a community which is valued and protected is paramount. Students are given opportunities to identify how they and Crime Stoppers can play a positive role in protecting society.

The Year 7 Crime Stoppers teaching and learning program contains 10 lesson plans and all associated resource sheets. Each lesson plan contains: teaching and learning experiences, resource sheets, assessment items, focus questions and expectations and goals. Over 20 resource sheets are included such as story board, ballot box, newspaper article, light bulb moment and values house.

The following lesson plans have been created:

  • Lesson 1: Introduction to Crime Stoppers (optional)
    • Brainstorm prior knowledge of Crime Stoppers
    • Concept of Crime Stoppers
    • Purpose of anonymity
    • Explore the history and purpose of Crime Stoppers. Why do we need a service like this in our society?
    •  Explore Crime Stoppers website
    • Discuss a variety of terms that may be used in this program (eg anonymous, laws, citizen, crime)
    • Use of Crime Stoppers vocabulary in context to demonstrate purpose, understanding and critical awareness
  • Lesson 2: Why do we need laws?
    • Polarising and topical issues
    • Discuss an issue that causes conflict and disharmony
    • Collaborative and cooperative learning task
    • Presenting the problem to the group. Finding a solution for that issue. Selecting a law. Developing a law.
    • Collaborative and cooperative peer review
    • What is a law? What are some issues we have at school? Locally? Do we have laws to combat these?
    • Laws, rules and customs
    • How does this link to Crime Stoppers? – minimising risk and enhancing safety
    • Swan Gazette – Why does our society need laws?
    • What is anarchy?
  • Lesson 3: How do laws protect us?
    • Introduce the concept of strange laws. Explore laws and consider why certain strange laws are created.
    • How does Crime Stoppers support protected laws? How does this enhance your safety?
    • Protection of people is important – protecting people, law, democracy and the world. Protecting what we value.
  • Lesson 4: Types of crime
    • Brainstorm and research types of crimes
    • Categorising types of crimes
    • Ways that society/community attempts to reduce the incidence of crime
    • Emerging trends of crime types and historical crime types
    • Class discussion: Why do people decide to become involved by reporting crime? Why don’t they?
    •  Levels and consequences of crime
    •  Crime scenario story board
  • Lesson 5: What are values?
    • What is a value, and how does it affect us?
    • Discuss the Nine Values for Australian Schooling. What connection do I have to these values?
    • Affirming my values
    • Social values and practices
    • How does Crime Stoppers respect and incorporate these values into their program?
    • Could any different values be linked to Crime Stoppers?
  • Lesson 6: What makes a good citizen?
    • Discuss and explore the concept of a citizen and what a ‘good’ citizen really is
    • Class consensus of a good citizen
    • Requirements to become an Australian citizen
    • Creation of the School citizen’s pledge
    • Forecast what our society would be like if we did not have clear views of what a good citizen is
    • Does Crime Stoppers encourage good citizenship and being an active citizen?
    • How can citizens individually or collectively influence Crime Stoppers?
    • What values do I uphold personally? Am I a good citizen at school, home and the community?
    • Which one of my values links to one of the Crime Stoppers campaigns?
  • Lesson 7: What values do we admire in others?
    • What values do we admire in others?
    • What are Australia’s shared values?
    • Revisit the Nine Values for Australian Schooling, Western Australian Values of Schooling and/or Western Australian Curriculum Framework values
    • Students to select an Australian citizen and research and discuss a value that they admire in that person. How does that person demonstrate and uphold that value?
    • Letter to the editor
    • Action plan
  • Lesson 8: How are rights protected? Rights of children
    • Explore what is meant by the term ‘rights’.
    • Discuss and develop an understanding about why rights are important and consider what might happen if these rights were removed.
    • Explore the notion of ‘rights for children’ and compare to the UN and Unicef’s Rights.
    • Create your ‘Rights of a child”
  • Lesson 9: Social justice
    • Importance of fair and accurate laws for citizens
    • Notion of carefully constructed laws in order to protect the rights of children
    • How do the social values and concerns that people have affect their thoughts and actions?
    • Crime Stoppers and the Police are both influenced by values and concerns.
    • What social values and concerns are important in your community?
    • Research and collect information from your community about an important issue.
  • Lesson 10: Program reflection and review
    • A reflective summary of learning (eg journal writing, presentation, create an awareness poster, ICT presentation, topic test) of what you have learnt over the program.
    • What does Crime Stoppers mean to you and your own values?

The teaching and learning experiences are aligned to the Australian Curriculum including the General Capabilities, and the Western Australian Syllabus.

Background

Overview

Crime Stoppers WA Ltd recognises that education is the key to creating change and enhancing community harmony.

Teaching staff from the Department of Education and Crime Stoppers WA Ltd have been working together to develop a series of three curriculum resources designed for students in the Early Adolescence phase of schooling.

The aim is to educate young people on good citizenship as part of their social and civic responsibility, and raise awareness of the important role that every person, including themselves, can play as a citizen in reducing crime.

Kinross College and Southern River College trialled initial materials in 2009 and remained extremely committed to the development of the final program.

This exciting new resource has been designed to explicitly show the curriculum connections to the Australian Curriculum and the Western Australian Syllabus. The curriculum design caters for flexible delivery and focuses on developing and enhancing skills through an inquiry-based approach.

Throughout this program students are provided with opportunities to understand and embrace the qualities of being good citizens, while also being empowered to develop a sense of pride in themselves, their school, their environment and their society.

Acknowledgments

Crime Stoppers would like to thank the following teachers and schools for their valuable input into
this resource:

Teachers

Matthew George, Emma Goggin*, Felicity Ivison, Luke Job, Gordon Middleton, Jo Murray, Kirsten Nangle, Nicola Newbegin, Glenn O’Rourke, Everal Pearse, Denise Schultz, Jo Tabb, Keith Turner and Selwyn William.

* denotes major contribution

Schools

Kinross College and Southern River College