Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: What is a community?

20 minutes

Find Out: Exploring the Commonwealth Charter

30 minutes

Take Action: Creating a class charter

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

learn about the Commonwealth community and its principles
develop their own class charter.

Success criteria

Students can:

explain that the Commonwealth is a community of countries
understand the concept of a charter
create a class charter.

Tune In: What is a community?

Step 1

Explain that today’s lesson will involve exploring aspects of what it means to be part of a community, including the benefits and rules put in place to help a community function. Begin by asking students to provide examples of communities they belong to and some of the benefits of being part of those communities.

Possible answers:

school – new opportunities for learning and personal growth
sport – teamwork and staying active
special interest group (eg crafting) – friendship and socialisation
religious group – a sense of belonging

Step 2

Ask students to raise their hands if they believe all communities have rules. Select students of opposing views to share their reasoning. Highlight that the majority of communities have rules or expectations – some of which are clearly outlined and others that are ‘unwritten’. For example, a special interest group might expect members to attend regular meetups without setting any rules around participation.

Step 3

Pair students and ask them to list their school rules - both ones that are clearly outlined and ones that are ‘unwritten’. Discuss as a class the ways in which we learn the unwritten rules.

If time allows, have a class discussion about why communities have rules or even need them.

Find Out: Exploring the Commonwealth Charter

Step 1

Before continuing, establish what students already know about the Commonwealth Games and what it is known for. If they are unfamiliar with what the Games are about, you can show them What are the Commonwealth Games? Visual Explainer.

Explain that for the remainder of the lesson, students will explore rules represented by a charter, using the Commonwealth Charter to investigate how and why one might be created. Ask the class if they can guess what ‘charter’ means when they consider what they’ve just been discussing (ie community and group rules/expectations). You can provide a simplified definition:

Charter: a special document that lists important rules and agreements for a group or organisation to follow.

Step 2

Before introducing the Commonwealth Charter, it’s important for students to have a basic understanding of the Commonwealth and its aims. Using the world map introduce the Commonwealth as a community of countries. Continue to scroll down the page to reveal important information about the Commonwealth and invite students to ask any questions they might have.

Step 3

Outline that a charter in the context of the Commonwealth is a list of important rules and promises that a community of countries agree to follow to make the world a better place.

Using The Commonwealth Charter Factsheet as a guide, introduce students to the 16 principles that make up the Commonwealth Charter. If necessary, allow time to clarify key points along the way and ask questions to check their understanding. (For more detail, you can read the full version here (thecommonwealth.org/charter).

Step 4

Select a handful of principles to emphasise, such as equality, respect and peace. Discuss why these principles might be important to the Commonwealth and whether they should apply to all communities. Follow up students’ responses by asking for any specific examples of communities that these principles apply to or should particularly apply to. Additionally, ask students why it’s important for new members of a community to understand the principles when they join.

Take Action: Creating a class charter

Step 1

As a class, work on writing a charter (or reviewing a similar equivalent your class already has) for the classroom community. This charter should outline rules and principles to help all class members work together harmoniously and feel supported and respected.

Step 2

To encourage collaboration and self-directed learning, brainstorm some categories small groups of students could work on, then combine them to create a drafted version of the charter. The brainstorm could involve 1 or more of the following processes:

The class completes a written or visual brainstorm to represent how they want their classroom to look, sound and feel.
The class begins by identifying shared values using an anonymous voting system.
Students are given time and space to write their ideas on sticky notes, which are combined to identify themes.
Small groups participate in a game of round robin to identify as many ideas as they can within a given time frame.

Step 3

Allow groups 15-20 minutes to generate some principles for their assigned category or section of the charter. Then, invite the class to come together to share their ideas, gain feedback, and make any final edits. Depending on timing and class size, this can be done as a big group or by inviting small groups to pair up and share.

Step 4 (Optional)

Provide the class with additional time (or an extra period) to turn their principles into a visual poster that can be hung in the classroom. They can produce this digitally using infographics or create something by hand. Alternatively, students could design their poster for homework and then vote on their favourite one to be displayed.

Reflection

To wrap up the lesson, ask students to reflect on the following questions, inviting them to share their answers in pairs or small groups.

Why do you think it's important for communities to have rules or expectations, whether they're clearly outlined or unspoken?
Why do you think some countries ask to join the Commonwealth? Why do you think some countries ask to leave the Commonwealth?
What new information did you learn about the Commonwealth today? How does it compare to other communities you belong to?

Our Charter

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Summary

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