Teacher Information

Valuing our democratic society is the focus of the Year 8 Crime Stoppers teaching and learning program. Students explore and gain an understanding of Australian society – who we are and what we value.

Students are given opportunities to delve into Australia’s national identity, governing structure, social and democratic values, laws, crimes and the role of police and Crime Stoppers in society. They are also encouraged to make the connection between themselves and the role they have in protecting our society.

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

The Year 8 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 25 resource sheets are included such as important values survey, law in the media, graphing crime statistics, graffiti board game planning sheet and contrasting governing styles of the world.

The following lesson plans have been created:

  • Lesson 1: Crime Stoppers and our community (optional)  
    • What does Crime Stoppers mean to you?
    • Community and Crime Stoppers – positive actions and our community
    • Linking Crime Stoppers with explicit values of Respect, Responsibility, Freedom, Integrity and Care and compassion
    • Why would you or wouldn’t you use Crime Stoppers?
    • What makes a good citizen? How does this link to Crime Stoppers?
    • When and how to report information to Crime Stoppers
  • Lesson 2: The Australian Nation: Who are we and what do we value?
    • What are the core values for all Australians?
    • How are ideas about Australia’s national identity created and sustained?
    • How has the Australian landscape been used to establish certain ideas about national characteristics?
    • How might individuals relate to a national identity and its significance to their sense of belonging in the Australian community?
    • What events in the past have shaped our nation?
    • What does the ANZAC tradition mean today? What does the ANZAC tradition mean to you and your family?
    • Core democratic values written by the Australian Citizenship Council
  • Lesson 3: Our social values and concerns
    • What are social values and what do they mean to us?
    • What social values and concerns are important to our community?
    • Important values survey
    • Comparing social values with previous generations
    • Comparing social values around the world
    • The effect of social media on value
  • Lesson 4: What’s so good about democracy?
    • What is a democracy?
    • Why do we have one in Australia?
    •  What are democratic values?
    •  Values such as freedom, responsibility, justice, respect for the land, leadership qualities, personal values and qualities, and tolerance, inclusion and diversity. Link to the Crime Stoppers campaigns such as Empowerment which encourages responsibility and justice.
    • What freedom means to me. How freedoms change as we get older.
  • Lesson 5: Identifying and valuing our democratic freedom
    • Australia’s governing structure
    • Voting – Who is allowed to vote? When did Indigenous Australians get the right to vote?
    • How Australia is ruled – the roles of the Governor General, Senate and House of Representatives
    • Difference between a right and a freedom
    • Compare and contrast Australia’s governing style to that of another country
    • The benefits of living in a democratic Australia and the link to Crime Stoppers protecting what we value.
  • Lesson 6: Shared values
    • What is a value?
    • Which value do you feel most strongly about?
    • What happens when our values are compromised?
  • Lesson 7: Laws, who needs them?
    • What is the difference between a rule and a law?
    • Types of law – criminal and civil
    • Identification of types of law
    • How a law is made in Australia
    • Customary law in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
    • What are some rules we have within the school? Do we need them?
    • What laws do we use everyday? (eg road laws)
  • Lesson 8: Types of crime
    • How the police are connected to Crime Stoppers?
    • The role of a police officer in society
    • Brainstorm as many crimes as possible
    • When should you/shouldn’t you call Crime Stoppers?
    •  Review of laws
    •  Learn how to categorise crimes
    •  View the Western Australian Police website and graph relevant crime statistics
    •  Why do different crimes occur at different times of the year?
    • Crime in the news – student discuss the types of crimes that are prevalent in the media
    • Analysis of a media article
  • Lesson 9: Graffiti – Art or vandalism?
    • What is graffiti?
    • Compare and contrast – urban art or vandalism?
    • Crime Stoppers current graffiti campaign
    • Explore the Goodbye Graffiti website
    • What are the laws relating to graffiti in WA?
    • What is being done to reduce graffiti vandalism and why?
    • What are the intended and unintended consequences of graffiti?
    • Class debate – Is graffiti new age art?
  • Lesson 10: Positive action: Crime stoppers campaigns. Program reflection and review
    • Select one of the Crime Stoppers campaigns. Research and collect data on the campaign. When, where, how, why it started. Include statistics regarding the prevalence of the issue. How do these issues affect the community? Compare to other countries. How do your results compare with these? What is similar? What is different? How would you explain those?
    • After understanding crimes, values and laws, select one that is important to you and write a newspaper article based on this. The use of Crimes Stoppers and the benefits that resulted through its use must be included.

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