Extension activities

Challenge your students with these extension activities once you have completed the Make a law: House of Representatives classroom activity.

After your bill has passed the House of Representatives, you may like to:

Another option is to debate amendments – changes – to the bill.

Amendments – Changing the bill

During a debate on the bill, your students may have suggested some changes to the bill. These are called amendments, and are often used in the Parliament when members want to improve a bill. If you would like your students to debate an amendment follow these instructions.

  1. Print the Amend a bill script.
  2. When deciding on an amendment to debate, either select one that was suggested during the previous debate or help the class think of one. Ensure the students understand that an amendment cannot change the main intention of a bill.
  3. Choose a student to give a speech to introduce the amendment explaining what the amendment is and how it will improve the bill.
  4. Let the government and opposition meet as teams to decide whether they support the amendment. The minor party and independent members should also decide whether they will support the amendment. You may wish to give your students time to prepare speeches.
  5. Use the Amend a bill script to run the debate, repeating the process if you have more than one amendment. If the amendment is agreed to, the bill has been changed.