Dear Teachers,

Welcome back to Term 3 to everyone in our wonderful MoAD Learning Community! While it has been very chilly in Canberra we have been enjoying having school groups back in our permanent exhibition, and are thrilled to have launched our new primary Civics and Citizenship program, People Power and Making Change. 

In this edition we feature our partnership with Seriously Social. These resources will help you bring important issues into your classroom and will get your secondary students thinking about the world around them and inspired to make positive change. We also outline the pedagogical decisions that shaped the creation of People Power and Making Change and give you a sample of some of the fantastic new Civics in Pictures resources we have created for you. 

Were you and your students part of the 12,000 participants who joined us last year for the DART Virtual Excursion to Canberra? It was such a blast that we have added plenty more opportunities to learn and connect with you via DART for 2022, including the very exciting Camp Canberra Virtual Experience with author Krys Saclier. Read on for program dates and how to register your students for free. 

Wishing you all a fabulous term. If we can help you and your students in any way, please be in touch. 

MoAD Learning

Seriously Social resources for Secondary Students

Our partnership with the fabulous educators at Seriously Social is something we are really proud of. We know how important it is for secondary students to be supported in learning about contemporary issues, especially when delving into topics where students may be exposed to misinformation, or aren't sure how to find out more.

These Seriously Social social sciences modules are thought-provoking and evidence-based. They each contain a podcast episode, a short video and a provocation worksheet to help you support your students' learning. We adore them all equally of course, but the Racism module, perfect for Civics and Citizenship and History, is a thoughtful, and at times uncomfortable, investigation, and is a definite favourite for us. 

It has been privilege to collaborate on these resources, which we hope will support you in fostering inquiry and critical thinking in your classroom, and help your secondary students continue to develop as informed, engaged citizens. 

Social Sciences Week is also this term, September 5 - 16! Let us know what you do to celebrate in your classrooms! 

People Power and Making Change 

Students participating in People Power and Making Change from the House of Representatives

If you have visited us for a Learning program you will know that one of our favourite things is hearing from young people. As a team, we wondered how we could incorporate more student voice into each school group's experience in our onsite programs and how we could we make clear connections between the learning they were doing about the past, with the active citizenship we want our museum to inspire.

This year we have been incredibly fortunate to work with Inquiry educator and consultant Kath Murdoch. We have shaped our team's professional development program from a lens of Inquiry and have used this inquiry mindset to adapt our primary Civics and Citizenship program.

The changes we have made to our program for People Power and Making Change are designed to encourage curiosity and help students build connections between the content they are learning in the classroom and the observations they are making about the objects and stories in our museum. We wanted to honour the wonderings and knowledge that each student brings with them as they enter our beautiful heritage building, so our museum educators ask lots of open-ended questions like, 'what do you notice?' and, 'what does that tell you?' Students are given the space to share what they notice, wonder, and feel, which leads to greater ownership of the learning that happens in our spaces. We also strive to make the students' thinking visible, by using strategies like 'turn and talk' and adopting thinking routines from Ron Ritchhart.

In the exhibition spaces students engage with content around making change within a democracy. The discussions we facilitate encourage students to connect their civics and citizenship learning with their own ideas for change. And of course, we have been blown away by the ideas that year five and six students from across the country have shared with us. Students have argued for improvements within their own school communities, such as becoming more sustainable, discussed national issues, such as gender equality in Parliament, and determined the small steps they could take to tackle global issues, such as pollution and the war in Ukraine, all while nestled comfortably in historic leather seats! 

We would like to thank our partner school, Bonython Primary School, for participating in our pilot program, and for all of our visiting schools who have learnt with us how we can have our voices heard and make a difference.

Students Democracy: DNA, one of the exhibitions we explore in People Power and Making Change.

If you are keen to foster more student voice in your classrooms head to our Student Voice and Leadership resources page for ideas and ready-to-go activities. 

Civics in Pictures

We Are Australians

Written by Duncan Smith and Nicole Godwin, with paintings by Jandamarra Cadd, We Are Australians explores what it means to be a citizen.

In this series of activities students explore the natural environment and build connections to land, culture and with each other. 

Camp Canberra

Camp Canberra written by Krys Saclier and illustrated by Cathy Wilcox follows the students of Mount Mayhem Primary School as they travel from the National Gallery to Questacon, through engaging collage illustrations.

We have created a series of activities for this fabulous book, including sensational Pre/Post Visit activities to accompany a trip to Canberra. These activities work beautifully alongside Camp Canberra, and could also be used with your MoAD Learning digital excursion, or even a virtual trip to Canberra, such as the 2022 DART Virtual Week in Canberra. 

Camp Canberra Virtual Experience!

We are so excited to be hosting the author of Camp Canberra, Krys Saclier, along with our good friends at the Parliamentary Education Office and the National Portrait Gallery for this very special live event. We will explore Canberra together and engage in a Q&A discussion. Don't miss out on joining us next week - we can't wait to see you there!

Wednesday July 27, 10am AEST

Register for free at DART Learning

Krys Saclier and her book 'Camp Canberra'

Professional Development 

2022 MoAD Digital TeachMEET

If you are teaching HASS, Civics and Citizenship, History or Media Literacy this session is for you. Join us via Zoom for this great opportunity to be inspired by your colleagues and build your professional learning network. Both primary and secondary teachers are welcome. 

Cost: Free

2022 Session date:

Term 3 - Thursday 15th September 4-5pm (AEST)

 Contact us: digitalexcursions@moadoph.gov.au

Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Skills - Political Cartooning

How many ways could your students engage with this cartoon 'Pride of Place' by Chris Downes?  Political cartoons make great hooks or creative writing stimuli, and are an accessible way to develop students' critical thinking and analytical skills. 

Join us for three hours of TQI-accredited professional learning in our updated course for 2022. We unpack some of our Behind the Lines 2021 favourites and introduce you to a range of activities and resources to support your teaching. 

Cost: $35.00 for the three hour session (run over two sessions)

2022 Session Dates: 

• Term 3 – Thursday 11 August and Thursday 18 August – 4.00-5.30pm (AEST)
• Term 4 - Tuesday 8 November and Tuesday 15 November - 4.00-5.30pm (AEDT)

Book here

Contact us: digitalexcursions@moadoph.gov.au

Empowering Authentic Student Voice and Agency

This one hour teacher professional development session is a fantastic way to get started incorporating student voice in your classroom, or to further develop your skills in empowering your students to be informed and engaged citizens. This is a really practical session, jam-packed with resources, activities and inquiry ideas to take back to the classroom. 

Cost: Free.

2022 Session Dates:

• Term 3 - Tuesday 26th July 4-5pm (AEST) Book here
• Term 4 - Thursday 20th October 4-5pm (AEDT) Book here

Contact us: digitalexcursions@moadoph.gov.au

Connect With Us!

Follow us on Twitter @moadlearning

Join the Facebook group Australian Civics Educators' Network