Teaching article
What does the federal government do? Choose a checked example
Use a clear national-service example, then distinguish a real responsibility from a classroom analogy.
A national issue is not automatically an exclusively federal responsibility. Choose a current official account of one function and help children explain that example accurately before expanding the conversation to other services.
Use a current official explanation of the selected responsibility. Federal involvement should not be inferred simply because an issue affects many people.
A passport example introduces a national responsibility; choosing tomorrow's classroom story is a classroom decision, not a federal process.
One example, with its boundaries
Introduce a checked federal service. Contrast it with a local question. Explain what further information a mixed case needs.
The size of a problem does not determine its government level.
Can learners justify one example with a source? Provide two contrasting pictures and spoken choices.
Resources
- Who Does What? Government Power Match — Use the responsibility matching activity for a separate checked-service comparison.
Further reading
- Parliamentary Education Office — classroom activities
- Australian Electoral Commission — Democracy Rules
Read next
- A classroom message that explains representation
- Which ballots count? Read the rules of the model
- Where do courts fit? Avoid the three-level ladder
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