Unit 10: Prime Minister You!

Unit 10: Prime Minister You! Australian Prime Ministers 12 Joseph Aloysius Lyons (1879 1939) Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Aloysius Lyons was born at Circular Head near Stanley, Tasmania, on 15 September 1879. His father, Michael Lyons, had a butchery and bakery business, but lost it on account of bad health and then was forced to work as a labourer. His mother did much to keep the family of eight children together. By the time he was 12, Joseph had been an errand boy in a store, a boy in a newspaper office, and had done scrub-cutting and farm work. By the time he was 17, he had qualified as a teacher. In 1909 he resigned from teaching and was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly. There he fought successfully for the widening of educational facilities and the establishment of high schools in Tasmania. In April 1914 he became Treasurer, Minister for Railways and for Education. The following year, Lyons married Enid Burnell, an 18-year old teacher. In 1923, he became Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Railways in Tasmania, but his ministry was defeated in 1928. The next year Lyons was elected into the Federal Labor Government of Prime Minister James Scullin. On January 1931 Lyons resigned as a protest against the proposed return of Ted Theodore to the position of Treasurer. With a handful of colleagues and followers, Lyons formed the United Australia Party. At the election held in November 1931, the Labor Party was defeated, and Lyons formed a government, taking the positions of Prime Minister and Treasurer. On 7 April 1939, in Sydney, Lyons died suddenly of a heart attack. He was the first Australian Prime Minister to die in office. I m Bill Middling I grew up in the City and on The Land. My story is Australia s story. 98 Vote 1 for the Australian Future Party

Untitled speech on Federation, 1900 Sir Edmund Barton (1849 1920), First Prime Minister of Australia On this day three weeks, Australia will begin her new career. In affairs which are national in their Australian range, she will act as one. In affairs which are national in the Imperial sense, she will act as a powerful unit of a mighty empire. In reality, she will take a new departure in each of these capacities; and in each, she must march with her responsibilities at the heels of her great opportunities. Let us then consider her advantages and her duties, first, as she stands in these seas by herself; and next, as she holds herself towards the Empire, with new strength and, as we all know, with unlessened loyalty. Ministerial Statement: Republics, 7 June, 1995 Paul Keating (1944 ), 24th Prime Minister of Australia We are approaching the 21st century and the centenary of our nationhood. As never before we are making our own way in our region and the world. For us the world is going and we are going in a way which makes our having the British monarch as our Head of State increasingly anomalous. The fact is that if the plans for our nationhood were being drawn up now, by this generation of Australians and not those of a century ago, it is beyond question that we would make our Head of State an Australian. Any suggestion that the British monarch would fill the role would not be entertained. This is not because our generation lacks respect for the British monarchy, or the British people, or our British heritage, or the British institutions we have made our own, or our long friendship with the British in peace and in war. On the contrary, Australians everywhere respect them, as they respect The Queen. But they are not Australian. It is so obvious, that if we were just now drawing up our constitution, we probably would not even feel the need to say that the Australian Head of State will be Australian it would go without saying. 99

In the texts 1 The text on page 98 is a b. It is the story of a person s life written by someone else. An is the story of a person s life written by themselves. 2 Why are the dates important in the text on page 98? 3 The ministerial statement on page 99 is an exposition. What does it tell you? 4 Expositions have high modality, which means they have words that show strong feeling and meaning, eg absolutely certain. Write some examples of high modality from the Ministerial Statement. 5 What can you find out about a politician by reading a billboard advertisement? 6 List some examples of texts where you would learn about a politician s childhood. 7 Which texts on pages 98 99 are trying to persuade you to believe something? 8 Read aloud to a partner the sentences that have dashes in the Ministerial Statement. What effect did the dashes have? 9 What do you notice about the language used in Mr Barton s speech? Why is it written this way? 100

Read and learn 1 How old was Mr Lyons when he was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly? 2 What is the House of Assembly called in your State? 3 In the Tasmanian parliament, what did Mr Lyons try to achieve? 4 What does his ministry was defeated mean? 5 Why did Mr Lyons start a new political party? 6 Why do you think Mr Lyons United Australia Party no longer exists? 7 a In Mr Barton s speech, who is she? b This is called personification because 8 What is Mr Barton explaining to the people of Australia? 9 In which affairs does Mr Barton say Australia will act as one unit? Give an example. 10 How was this different from what had been happening before in Australia? 11 What is Mr Keating talking about? 101

12 What does increasingly anomalous mean? 13 What do you think Mr Keating sees as some differences between Australians in 1900 and 1995? 14 In Mr Keating s opinion, what do Australians respect about the British? 15 What does Mr Keating say is obvious and would go without saying? 16 What do you think are the three most important things Mr Middling wants you to know about him? a b c 17 Do you think Mr Middling would appeal to Australian voters? Why or why not? 18 Use three sentences to rewrite Mr Middling s message that My story is Australia s story. 102

Your turn 1 You are leader of a political party and it s election time! Design a billboard to promote yourself. Choose no more than three key messages, and remember that people move past billboards quickly, so they won t see a lot of detail. An exposition argues for or against something. It has: s point of view evidence further action. 2 Write a speech to convince voters that you should be the next Prime Minister of Australia. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls Include some biographical details in one paragraph. Choose two or three reasons why you should be Prime Minister. Write one paragraph for each one. Support your arguments with evidence. Use words with high modality to convince. Use action verbs to show what you will do. Sum up your argument want to vote for you! 103

Nouns and pronouns 1 Proper nouns name a place, person or object. Find these proper nouns on pages 98 99. A town in Tasmania a A teacher g A boy b A group of countries h A leadership position c A political party i A state d A place j A ruler e A nationality k Our 24th Prime Minister f The name of a book l 2 Abstract nouns name things that you can t see, but exist in thoughts and feelings, eg happiness. Find these abstract nouns on pages 98 99. A feeling of honour a Culture and traditions f towards another Faithfulness b Business matters g State of being a nation c Something we suggest h State of being friends d The act of leaving behind i Feeling of being strong e What must be done j 3 Collective nouns are names for groups of things. Write collective nouns for these descriptions. A group of countries with a A group of workers d the same monarch in a school A group of singers b A group of giraffes e A group of birds c A group of crows f 4 A pronoun stands in place of a noun, so that the noun doesn t have to be repeated, eg My Dad said he would go he stands in for Dad. Find the pronouns on pages 98 99 which stand for these words. Joseph Lyons a Bill Middling c Australia b many Australians d 104

5 Pronouns can be singular or plural, eg He (singular) can have one but they (plural) can t. Complete these sentences with pronouns. Barton was the first Prime Minister of Australia. When people were asked, said thought that was the right person for the job. 6 There are also possessive pronouns, which show ownership, eg mine, your, his, hers, its. Complete these sentences with possessive pronouns. The Prime Minister met parents in office at Parliament House. Did parents attend the private meeting? 7 Pronouns have person (first, second or third). First person is the person speaking: I, me, mine. Second person is the person being spoken to: you, yours. Third person is the person being spoken about: he, she, it, him, her, his, hers, its. Write five sentences of pretend biography about Sir Edmund Barton s life. Use a variety of pronouns in the correct person. 8 A noun group is a group of words, including a noun, that describes a person place or thing, eg the people in our neighbourhood. Add words to the following nouns to make noun groups. Don t write sentences (no verbs). a Joseph Lyons, b Parliament House, 9 Write noun groups to complete these sentences. a made a memorable speech. b passed a new law about road safety. 105

My stuff UNIT 9: AN ELECTION plays Unit 10: Prime Minister You! great websites 106

Books read DIARY! drawings poetry photos MUST SEE CHARACTERS! 107

Assessment: Units 9 and 10 Print your name here: (First name) This is a test to see how well you understand what you have read, and to see what you know about using language, spelling and punctuation. It is also a writing test. Instructions Read each question carefully. Some questions will ask you to read a text from another page in this book before answering. (Family name) There are three different ways to show your answer: answer. O Use a pencil. DO NOT use a pen. If you make a mistake, rub it out and try again. Start of test Read the texts on page 90, and answer questions 1 to 4. 1 Classroom Vote is a procedure because it O explains how an election works. O shows what happens when we vote. O outlines the steps to conduct an election. O tells what happens when children vote. 2 The steps are numbered O to keep each step separate. O because the paragraphs are different. O to tell the reader when to pause. O to set out the order of the steps. 3 Steps 4, 5 and 6 set out the way to O use the preferential voting system. O conclude the voting. O count every vote carefully. O count over again to be sure of the voting. 4 What should be done before preparing the ballot papers? O Write brochures about the election. O Choose candidates from your class. O Ask a teacher if you can hold an election. O Hand out the papers. Study the ballot papers on page 91, and answer questions 5 to 7. 5 You can tell that the House of Representatives ballot paper is smaller than the Senate ballot paper because O it looks that way on page 91. O it has fewer names on it. O the printing is bigger on the green ballot paper. O the white ballot paper is horizontal. 108

6 There is only one way to vote for Senate candidates. O True O False 7 You must number every box on the green ballot paper. O True O False Read the chat room conversation on page 91, and answer questions 8 to 9. 8 The people using the chat room O are bored. O are politicians. O want to call an election. O are frustrated with each other. 9 Bill@home s name is in red on the side of the screen because O his message is the newest on screen. O he is angry. O he doesn t like Cinderella. O he is more important than the others. Read the main text on page 98, and answer questions 10 to 12. 10 This text is a biography because it tells Mr Lyons life story O from his family s point of view. O written by himself. O written during his life. O written by an author. 11 What sets Mr Lyons apart from all other Australian Prime Ministers? O He died in his office. O He died while still Prime Minister. O His ministry was defeated. O He was married. 12 The dates beside Mr Lyons name are important because they O show when the biography was written. O add meaning to his life. O show when he was born and died. O tell historians something they didn t know. Read the two speeches on page 99, and answer questions 13 to 17. 13 Referring to Australia as she is an example of O personification. O alliteration. O confusion. 14 As she begins a new career, Australia will O stand in these seas by herself and act as a powerful unit. O act as one, as a powerful unit and march without responsibilities. O fly a new flag, with new strength and unlessened loyalty. O build a powerful empire, take a new departure and act as a unit. 15 What is the main idea in Mr Keating s speech? O The British Monarch will be our Head of State. O Australians respect the British monarchy. O Australia is making its own way. O It is natural that we have an Australian Head of State. 109

Assessment: Units 9 and 10 16 What does it would go without saying mean? O It would be possible. O It is obvious. O Go away quietly. O The speech is now finished. 21 Which sentence uses the correct collective noun? O A gaggle of crows. O A herd of cricketers. O A swarm of rabbits. O A cast of actors. 17 Which phrase does not describe Mr Keating? O He was born in 1944. O He gave all his speeches in Parliament House. O He thinks Australians respect the Queen. O He is a former Australian Prime Minister. 18 Which sentence uses but as a coordinating conjunction? O Cars are a danger on the road, but we use them every day! O A plane is a bigger danger but! O But when? 19 Which pair of sentences could be joined using the conjunction although? O I went to school early. I took my umbrella. O I went to school early. I met friends on the way. O I went to school early. I was feeling very tired. O I went to school early. My teacher welcomed me. 22 Choose a suitable noun group to complete this sentence: Across the plains, from the horizon to our village, trooped a O squad of new recruits. O squad. O squad who was singing. The spelling mistakes in these sentences have been circled. Write the correct spelling for each circled word in the box. 23 The Australian Parllament is replaced regularly. 24 A monark holds an important position. 20 Which statement is correct? O Prepositions are found in every sentence. O North is a preposition. O Prepositions relate one thing to another. O Prepositions are very short words. 110

25 Is there something you want a friend to try for the first time? Write a procedure to help them try it. How To: Ideas Plan Write a short introduction. List materials your friend needs. Number each point of the procedure. Don t write too many steps, or you will lose your friend s interest. Remember Give clear instructions. Use action verbs. Use time words, eg first, then, next, after this, finally. 111