Lesson focus

  • Respect
  • Responsibility
  • Understanding, tolerance and inclusion
  • Care and compassion
  • Freedom

expectations and goals

  • Students to explore the notion of ‘Australian shared values’
  • Students to develop a deeper understanding of their own values

learning experience

Classroom Ideas

  1. Ask students to define and clarify the term ‘values’.
     My definition Partner definition Validated definition
     student to write student to write student to write
  2. As a class, brainstorm a list of values.
  3. Divide the class into groups of two or three students. Provide students with access to the different sets of values below and ask them to review each one:
    1. Nine Values for Australian Schooling (Resource 14 below)
    2. Western Australian Values of Schooling 
    3. Core values in the Western Australian Curriculum Framework values 
    4. Ask each group to discuss the values and choose the one that they feel most strongly about. Provide students with access to the Values X-chart (Resource 15 below) and ask them to complete.
  4. Ask each group to choose a value and think of an example of when that value might be compromised. Provide the groups with access to the When my value is compromised Y chart (Resource 16 below) and ask them to complete.
  5. Ask the groups to use ICT to investigate citizens demonstrating their values (eg letters to express sympathy, empathising with someone, caring for others, standing up for the rights of others). Have each group choose one media example and identify the value that they can relate to.Ask them to write a summary of the media example.Invite the students to explain what they will do – what action they will take in response to the media example.

focus questions

  1. What is a value?
  2. Which value do you feel most strongly about?
  3. What happens when our values are compromised?
  4. When you see a value that is important to you being compromised how does it make you feel?
  5. Why do you think you felt like that?
  6. Who could you talk to/with?

Assessment tasks

Students to:

  1. Construct a poem or song/ditty which best describes values to them

Download resources and tools

Printable lesson plan [Download Year 8, Lesson 6 plan]

Resource 14: Nine Values for Australian Schooling [Download Resource 14]

Resource 15: Values X-chart  [Download Resource 15]

Resource 16: When my values are compromised Y-chart [Download Resource 16]