What Does It Mean to Be an Australian Citizen? 

It is important for all Australian citizens to understand our responsibilities and privileges, whether we are Australian by birth or by choice. 

But what does it mean to be an Australian citizen, and what values do we collectively hold as being fundamental to our national identity?

A Match-Up Game for Australian Citizenship

This hands-on match-up activity has been designed to support your students in understanding the key vocabulary related to Australia’s citizenship values. It contains 18 vocabulary cards and 18 definition cards.

The following terms are included in the resource: 

Respect, Freedom, Dignity, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Association, Commitment to the Rule of Law, Parliamentary Democracy, Equal Opportunity, A ‘Fair Go’, Tolerance and Mutual Respect, Mateship and Compassion, Embracing the English Language, Cultural Diversity, Social Customs, Standards of Behaviour, Online Safety, Citizen.

An answer key is also provided in the download.

How to Play Australian Citizenship Match-Up 

Follow the instructions below to use this versatile Civics resource in your classroom. 

1. Print and cut out the cards. Cardboard is recommended.
2. Place the cards face down on a flat surface.
3. Take turns turning over two cards at a time. If the cards match, the player keeps the pair and takes another turn. If the cards do not match, the next player takes their turn.
4. Play continues until there are no cards left. The player with the most matches at the end of the game is the winner!

Tips for Extension and Scaffolding

Catering for a diverse range of learners in your classroom? We hear you! Check out these great ideas to maximise the impact of this activity for learners of all abilities:

• Challenge High-Flying Students – Once they have completed the activity, challenge your more capable students to write sentences that include a selection of the vocabulary words from the match-up game. This task will demonstrate whether the students are capable of using these words correctly in context.
• Support Less-Confident Students – Allow less-confident students to access additional support materials (such as the Department of Home Affairs website page on Australian values) so they can look up unfamiliar terms while completing the activity. In order to avoid overwhelm, reduce the number of cards to be matched.

It’s As Easy As Download, Print, Teach!

Use the dropdown arrow on the Download button to select between the quick-print PDF or the editable Google Slides version of this resource.

As this resource contains a title page and an answer sheet, we recommended printing one copy of the resource, removing the title and answer page, then making copies as required.

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This resource was created by Amy Adam, a Teach Starter collaborator.

Click below to access more great resources to complement your lessons on the Australian government!