Class+Parliament+Rules

Students are selected at random to become part of the Advance Australia Alliance (AAA), the Go Australia Party (GAP) or to act as an Independent. The students in the AAA and the GAP then elect a leader and a deputy leader. In both the AAA and the GAP students discuss ideas and decide on a manifesto (e.g. 10 to 15 ideas how their party could improve Australian society). The parties are also given a budget and they must negotiate with the Independents on how much their party is prepared to spend within each portfolio (Independents should keep their negotiations secret from either party). The manifesto is then presented to the rest of the class by the leadership team of both parties and the promised funds are revealed in a spreadsheet. The Independents vote for one party based on the strength of each manifesto and the ability of each party to display their ability to allocate funds fairly to various portfolios. The leader of the party that wins the election becomes the Prime Minister and the rest of his party become Ministers responsible for different portfolios. The leader of the losing party becomes the Leader of the Opposition and the rest of his party become Shadow Ministers responsible for different portfolios. The Independents remain as they are but may vote with either the government or the opposition. The teacher is the Speaker of the House. The Government ministers sit to the right of the Speaker, the Opposition shadow minister sit to the left of the Speaker and the Independents sit between the parties ( in a U shape). All rules of the House of Representatives shall be observed – i.e. the Speaker nominates a student who must stand to speak to the House. Whilst that student is speaking, no other student may speak until the Speaker gives permission. Time limits for questions/response shall be enforced. Students formulate ideas and make oral presentations of proposed laws in the form of a draft bill. Other members of the class parliament have the opportunity to question and support or speak against the bill under consideration. The student who proposed the bill may elect to respond to all questions or he may opt to allow a like-minded peer to answer on his behalf. At the end of the session, a vote is taken based on the quality of the discussion/debate and the bill is either passed or is defeated. In the event of a tie, the Speaker has the casting vote. After a nominated period (perhaps 4 to 5 weeks) allow the boys to start forming their own parties (but not called after real parties e.g. Labor, Liberal etc.) Preferential voting may be used to determine which party forms subsequent governments Motions of no confidence may be allowed by the teacher if the government is not performing well. Formative assessments shall be made on the participation level of each student and the quality of his bills, responses or questions. Videoing sessions of class parliament and then reviewing them may be a useful tool to aid in developing each student’s ability to improve Talking and Listening skills.
 * Class Parliament - Federal Government Role Play Game   **