Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Meet the Commonwealth Games volunteers

20 minutes

Find Out: Investigating why people volunteer

25 minutes

Take Action: Celebrate local volunteers

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

learn about Commonwealth Games volunteers and their contributions by identifying some of the common values,beliefs, motivations and benefits of volunteering.

Success criteria

Students can:

discuss why people choose to volunteer
acknowledge and celebrate the work of volunteers.

Prior knowledge

Before starting this lesson, students should also understand the Commonwealth Games (you can use the What are the Commonwealth Games? Visual Explainer).

Tune In: Meet the Commonwealth Games volunteers

Step 1

Start the lesson by asking the class if they volunteer anywhere, or whether they know anyone who does. Discuss any responses as a class and encourage students to identify the kinds of places they know people volunteer at, and what they do in a volunteer role (eg school working bees to do gardening, or looking after the school’s chickens on school grounds during holidays, working as volunteer firefighters, a tour guide, etc.).

At this stage, ensure students understand the meaning of ‘volunteer’: a person who freely offers to take part in/do something, or work, without being paid.

Step 2

Outline that today’s lesson will focus on investigating why people volunteer, specifically at the Commonwealth Games. Highlight that students will learn about what drives volunteers, what they value and what benefits they gain from volunteering.

Step 3

Explain that students are going to learn about some people who volunteer at the Commonwealth Games. Show the students the following clips to meet some of the volunteers.

Darren Young (https://vimeo.com/1124705593/3ec3541640?fl=pl&fe=sh)
Karina Chilman (https://vimeo.com/1124705691/d8d8b610d9?fl=pl&fe=sh)
Sally Walker (https://vimeo.com/1124705716/a6f4e9c415?fl=pl&fe=sh)
Victoria Forsdick (https://vimeo.com/1124702780/1c021592f0?fl=pl&fe=sh)
Georgina Cahill (https://vimeo.com/1124702523/1be5d50363?fl=pl&fe=sh)

Then, read Commonwealth Games Volunteer Profiles together as a class. Alternatively, you could distribute copies of the volunteer bios to individuals or groups who could read and summarise the findings.

Step 4

Ask students to comment on any general observations they have made about the volunteers after reading the bios. Then facilitate a class discussion, encouraging them to share their thoughts. Guide the discussion towards identifying common themes and characteristics among the volunteers.

Find Out: Investigating why people volunteer

Step 1

Explain that students will now delve deeper into the aspects of volunteering profiles, focusing on values, beliefs, motivations, and benefits of volunteering. Ask students if they can guess any of these. If students don’t know what any of these categories mean, definitions are provided below.

Step 2

Divide the class into small groups and assign each group a Commonwealth Games Volunteer Profile to analyse. Distribute the Student Worksheet (1 per group) and discuss the questions on the sheet. Before students get started, make sure they understand the difference between values/beliefs, intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, and personal/professional gains.

Values/beliefs: Values are deeply-held principles that guide behaviour and decision-making, such as honesty and kindness; beliefs are specific ideas or assumptions held to be true, like the belief that everyone deserves respect.

Intrinsic/extrinsic motivation: Intrinsic motivation means doing something because you enjoy it or find it interesting; extrinsic motivation means doing something to get a reward or avoid a punishment.

Personal/professional gains: Personal gains are benefits that make you feel better or happier, like feeling proud of yourself; professional gains are benefits that help your career, like gaining new skills or getting a promotion.

Step 3

As the students work collaboratively to complete their Student Worksheet. Circulate around the room to facilitate discussion, answer questions and encourage deeper thinking. Offer prompts like:

‘What values seem most important to this volunteer?’
‘Can you find examples of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations?’
‘How do you think volunteering impacted this person’s life?’

Step 4

If time permits, invite a spokesperson from each group to share the findings with the class. Once each group has had an opportunity to share what they’ve learnt, encourage students to identify key similarities and differences between the profiles. You can list these on the whiteboard as students share their responses.

Take Action: Celebrate local volunteers

Step 1

Ask students, ‘Can you think of any volunteers within our local community?’ Prompt them to explain how you might be able to recognise a volunteer. For example, do they wear a uniform or badge?

Step 2

Return to any ideas suggested in the Tune In section at the start of the lesson by listing on the whiteboard a class brainstorm of volunteering roles and specific groups that operate in the local area. You may want students to focus on sporting groups or encourage them to think more broadly about volunteering.

Examples might include:

local youth sports leagues (eg football, netball or cricket club)
community events such as school fetes, productions, working bees
school sports teams and competitions
not-for-profit organisations supporting sports for people with diverse needs
community fitness programs (eg park run groups, community yoga classes)
informal neighbourhood sports groups
volunteer coaching or refereeing for school or community teams
fundraising events for sports teams or facilities

Step 3

Once students have identified individuals and/or volunteer groups, discuss some creative ways the class could learn more about them and celebrate their efforts with the community. Some suggested activities include:

interview a volunteer for a weekly feature in the school newsletter
design posters that could be displayed within the school or prominent local hotspots
make certificates of appreciation
design social media posts for the school’s Facebook or Instagram page.

Step 4

If the class selects an activity that requires some research (eg interviewing a volunteer), discuss a plan and timeline for gathering information. However, if time is limited, suggest a task students can complete straight away, like designing a certificate of appreciation.

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.

Where would you like to volunteer?
What would be your motivation for volunteering?
What might happen if we didn’t have volunteers?

Volunteering Values

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Summary

Lesson guides and printables

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