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DIY role-play in the classroom: Question time

Introduction

During Question Time the main focus is on opposition scrutiny of the government. Ministers are required to answer questions and explain the decisions and actions made in their areas of responsibility. The Parliament uses Question Time to pressure the government to justify its actions.

The Parliamentary Education Office (PEO) has developed a Question Time role-play that helps students understand the purpose, pressures and hazards of Question Time. In role and using the classroom as a chamber, students practice targeted research, skilful and strategic questioning, careful listening, public speaking and the formation and delivery of spontaneous answers.

The Question Time Role-play has many applications and adapts readily to a variety of classroom circumstances. It may:

  1. follow a unit focusing on a topical or controversial policy
  2. provide an opportunity for cross curriculum investigation
  3. practice public speaking and quick thinking
  4. facilitate classroom inquiry into real and current issues.

This page provides step-by-step instructions on how to run a Question Time role-play in the classroom. You can enjoy it completely off-the-cuff or involve the class in research, planning and writing activities that culminate in the role-play. Question Time in the federal Parliament is a highly charged session characterised by rhetoric, controversy, laughter and sometimes anger—and although Question Time is sometimes criticised, it remains a powerful symbol of a robust democracy that thrives on debate and demands answers of those in power. This is your goal too—to ensure that your parliament has the opportunity to ask tough questions and to expect good answers.

On this page:

In addition, please see the Role-play Toolkit for a complete set of role-play resources and do-it-yourself accessories including scripts, seating plans, diagrams, quick guides to each role-play, role descriptions, question suggestions and templates and instructions on how to make your own parliamentary props and gowns. See also the PEO Fact Sheet Series for information on a broad range of parliamentary subject matter.

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Role-play outcomes

Students will explore the following concepts and processes:

  • the role of government ministers
  • government accountability
  • parliamentary scrutiny.

Three Assessment Rubrics have been developed to help you assess your students. The rubrics focus on:

  • parliamentary knowledge
  • literacy skills
  • capacity to work with others.

Getting organised

Role-play is about pretending, imagining, acting. It is about experiencing what it is like to be someone else—to step into another reality. Seating plans, scripts and props create the atmosphere of parliament and help students embrace their roles.

  • Seating Plans establish a parliamentary setting and help to define roles. In parliament where you sit tells a lot about who you are and what you do.
  • Scripts use the language of the Parliament, establish procedure and define the scope of various parliamentary roles. The script provides a framework for the role-play. It is your primary resource.
  • Quick Guides provide a brief overview of each role-play, and highlight the simple processes which underpin the operations of the Parliament.
  • Make it Yourself provides all the resources you need to make your role-play truly authentic using parliamentary gowns and props such as the Speaker's gown, the Black Rod and the Despatch Boxes.

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Brainstorming issues

Question Time allows members of parliament to ask ministers of the government questions about public affairs which fall into their federal areas of responsibility such as immigration, health, education, environment etc. In your classroom you can also focus on federal issues or devise questions related to state, school or local issues. A Question Time role-play is an effective way to help students see the relevance of national issues to them and other communities of Australians. For more information see Fact Sheet 39 Question Time.

Create a list of current and/or controversial issues by:

  • brainstorming What’s in the news today?
  • listing areas of concern related to a specific unit of study
  • cutting out newspaper articles that raise issues of national importance
  • watching Question Time in the federal Parliament and broadcast daily on the radio, Internet and television when Parliament is sitting
  • raising issues of local or school interest
  • selecting from our list of question suggestions in the Templates & Suggestions section of the Role-play Toolkit.

Once the class has listed a range of issues, questions are written specifically for the minister who has responsibility for that portfolio. See the Question Time Templates in the Role-play Toolkit. Each question should be addressed to a specific minister:

Member for White: Mr Speaker, I address my question to the Minister for Resources. Minister, why has the government been selling our …

Speaker: I call on the Minister for Resources to answer the question.

Minister for Resources: Mr Speaker, the government looks after Australian resources … etc.

Changing your classroom into a chamber

It’s easy to change your room into a parliamentary chamber using no more than tables and chairs. The diagrams below show you how to arrange your classroom for a Question Time role-play in the House of Representatives or the Senate. For a larger printable version of these and other role-play seating plans go to Seating Plans in Role-play Toolkit.

Diagram of the House of Representatives seating plan during Question Time. Click to read a detailed description. Diagram of the Senate seating plan during Question Time. Click to read a detailed description.

Left: Law-making in the House of Representatives seating plan

Right: Law-making in the Senate seating plan

Setting the scene

Before the role-play begins, it is a good idea to set a parliamentary scene that encourages students to get into role as members of parliament. We have found that the more positively students adopt their roles the less intervention is required to sustain the role-play and the more memorable the experience. It is important that students understand that in their new role, they may have views and opinions which are different from their own.

It is altogether possible to throw students straight into a parliamentary role-play without preparation. This spontaneous approach works amazingly well; however, if you prefer to have questions and answers prepared a template can be useful to stimulate thought, to assist in the development of ideas and guide a clear and effective presentation.

See the Question Time Templates in Role-play Toolkit.

Alternatively, you may prefer to prepare for a House of Representatives or Senate Question Time role-play, by generating discussion around the following aspects of parliamentary life.

Primer questions House of Representatives Question Time Role-play Senate Question Time Role-play
Who are you? You are a member elected to the House of Representatives.

You are a senator elected to the Senate

How old are you? You are likely to be in your 40s or 50s. You are likely to be in your 40s or 50s.
How many members of parliament sit in this chamber?

You are one of 150 members. Each electorate is represented by one federal member.

You are one of 76 senators. Each state is represented by a total of 12 federal senators. Each territory is represented by a total of two federal senators.
Do you belong to a team?

You belong to a team if you are in the government, opposition or a minor party. The leader of the government is the Prime Minister. The leader of the opposition is the Leader of the Opposition.

* There are no minor party members in the current House of Representatives. 		You belong to a team if you are in the government, opposition or a minor party. The government is led by the Leader of the Government in the Senate and the opposition by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.

Who sits on the front bench?

Ministers sit on the front bench of the government. Shadow ministers sit on the front bench of the opposition. Ministers sit on the front bench of the government. Shadow ministers sit on the front bench of the opposition.
Who sits on the back bench? Members who are not ministers or shadow ministers sit on the back benches. Senators who are not ministers or shadow ministers sit on the back benches.
Who answers questions? Only ministers answer questions. Only ministers answer questions.
What does your team expect of you? If you belong to the government, you support the statements made by ministers answering questions. If you belong to the opposition, you expect accurate and relevant answers. If you belong to the government, you support the statements made by ministers answering questions. If you belong to the opposition, you expect accurate and relevant answers.
Who asks questions? Any member who is not a minister may ask a question. Any senator who is not a minister may ask a question.
What do you want to achieve in Question Time? If you belong to the government you will answer questions in a way that highlights your achievements. If you do not belong to the government you will ask questions that focus on the government’s weakness and/or requests for information. If you belong to the government you will answer questions in a way that highlights your achievements. If you do not belong to the government you will ask questions that focus on the government’s weakness and/or requests for information.
Who runs the chamber? The Speaker runs the chamber using the House of Representatives standing orders—the rules of the chamber. The President runs the chamber using the Senate standing orders—the rules of the chamber.
Who has specialist knowledge of the rules of the chamber? The Clerk of the House of Representatives assists the Speaker in keeping the rules of the chamber. The Clerk of the Senate assists the President in keeping the rules of the chamber.
Who maintains safety and security in the chamber? The Serjeant-at-Arms helps the Speaker keep order in the chamber. The Usher of the Black Rod helps the President keep order in the chamber.

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Question Time tips

Let the Parliament of Australia be your guide. Model your facilitation of the role-play on the rules and processes of the federal Parliament, rather than normal classroom practice. This will maintain the integrity of the role-play and help students to feel ownership of it. Our system of parliament uses Question Time to call on ministers of the government to explain their actions and decisions. It provides an opportunity for members and senators to ask ministers questions about matters within their portfolios. This puts pressure on ministers to be up to date and knowledgeable about the activities of their departments. See Fact Sheet 39 Question Time.

Question Time occurs every Monday to Thursday during sitting weeks for a relatively short period between 2.00pm and 3.00pm in both chambers. It is a known and planned part of the parliamentary timetable. Questions are planned in party meetings prior to Question Time.

Here are some suggestions for modelling the Parliament of Australia in your classroom role-play.

Distributing portfolios

Ministers are appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the party and party leadership.

You can model this behaviour in the Question Time Role-play by either:

  • advising the Prime Minister to distribute portfolios (areas of responsibility) to the frontbench of the government or
  • calling for nominations to particular ministries and having the team select by vote.

Planning questions

Although Question Time in the federal Parliament appears spontaneous it is a strategically planned part of the parliamentary timetable. Both members of the government and members of the opposition plan questions to be put to ministers prior to Question Time. Opposition questions are 'questions without notice' because ministers are required to answer on the spot and almost always evoke conflict and heckling over the hour. Government questions are called Dorothy Dixers and are in fact 'questions with notice' because they are prepared by members of the government prior to Question Time for a minister to answer.

You can model this behaviour in the Question Time Role-play by:

  • calling a party meeting prior to Question Time so that government and opposition members or senators (depending on whether you are running a House or Senate Question Time) can plan questions and team strategies. For more information about parties see Fact Sheet 22 Political Party.
  • encouraging the opposition to develop probing and controversial questions—secret questions that are designed to show the government in a bad light. Other opposition questions may request detailed information on a specific area of government activity.
  • encouraging the government to develop non-controversial questions—good news questions that are designed to illustrate the positive outcomes and achievements of government policy. See Fact Sheet Question Time 39.

Examples of opposition questions and Dorothy Dixers:

Opposition question Government question

Q. Mr/Madam Speaker/President,

I direct my question to the Minister for Education, Science and Training. Australia has a skills shortage across a wide range of trades. This is hurting our key industries. When will the minister address this glaring shortage?

Q. Mr/Madam Speaker/President,

I direct my question to the Minister for Health. Does the government plan to increase the funding for cancer research this year? Deaths from this disease will soon surpass those from heart disease.

A. Mr/Madam Speaker/President,

As the opposition is well aware, the skills shortage is a complicated issue that my department has made great effort to address. In conjunction with the Minister for Immigration, we have increased the intake of metal tradespeople fivefold in the past three years.

A. Mr/Madam Speaker/ President,

I thank my colleague for this question. Our government is very concerned about this serious health problem, and I am pleased to announce we have allocated a further 20 million dollars in next year’s budget to boost this research.

Chamber control

The Speaker is responsible for maintaining order in the House of Representatives. The President is responsible for maintaining order in the Senate.

You can model this behaviour in the Question Time Role-play:

  • Whisper suggestions to the Presiding Officer (Speaker or President) so as to minimise interruption of the role-play.
  • Encourage the Presiding Officer (Speaker or President) to use the rules of the chamber to maintain his or her authority. See the Clerk’s script (House of Representatives or Senate) for a brief list of chamber rules.
  • Encourage the Presiding Officer (Speaker or President) to rotate questions to ministers from the government, opposition, Independents and/or minor parties. See Fact Sheet 30 The Speaker and Fact Sheet 16 The President of the Senate.

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Role-play overview

Preparation

Role-play Toolkit contains all the resources you need to run your role-play. You will need:

You might also like to try:

House of Representatives Senate

Roles

  • Select a Speaker, Clerk and Serjeant-at-Arms (non questioning roles).
  • Divide the class into government, opposition and Independents. Make sure the government is the largest team with a majority, the opposition is the second largest team and that there are only two or three independents.
  • Elect party leaders (the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition).
  • Distribute portfolios (areas of responsibility) to government ministers.
  • Choose party whips to organise questioners and support of the team.

Party meetings

  • The members of each team get together to prepare questions. Government backbenchers prepare questions and answers with government ministers. Opposition backbenchers and shadow ministers plan tough questions (often on controversial topics) for government ministers.

Question Time

  • The Clerk rings the bell and tells the members to stand.
  • The Serjeant-at-Arms leads the Speaker into the chamber, carrying the mace on the right shoulder.
  • The Serjeant-at-Arms announces the Speaker and places the Mace on the table before sitting down.
  • The Speaker tells everyone to sit down and begins the session.
  • After a few questions from each side, the House may be adjourned for a party meeting. Alternatively the Speaker can continue to call on members with questions and ministers to answer them.

Ending the role-play

  • The Question Time session finishes either when there are no more questions or when the Prime Minister requests that all further questions be placed on the notice paper.
  • The Serjeant-at-Arms leads the Speaker from the chamber holding the Mace.

Roles

  • Select a President, Clerk and Usher of the Black Rod (non questioning roles).
  • Divide the class into government, opposition and independents. Make sure the government is the largest team with a majority, the opposition is the second largest team and that there are only two or three independents.
  • Elect leaders (Leader of the Government in the Senate and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate).
  • Distribute portfolios (areas of responsibility) to government ministers.
  • Choose party whips to organise questioners and support of the team.

Party meetings

  • The members of each team get together to prepare questions. Government backbenchers prepare questions and answers with government ministers. Opposition backbenchers and shadow ministers plan tough questions (often on controversial topics) for government ministers.

Question Time

  • The Clerk rings the bell and tells the senators to stand.
  • The Usher of the Black Rod leads the President into the chamber, carrying the Black Rod in the right hand.
  • The Usher of the Black Rod announces the President and places the Black Rod next to his or her seat in its holder.
  • The President tells everyone to sit down and begins the session.
  • After a few questions from each side, the Senate may be adjourned for a party meeting. Alternatively the President can continue to call on senators with questions and ministers to answer them.

Ending the role-play

  • The Question Time session finishes either when there are no more questions or when the Leader of the Government in the Senate requests that all further questions be placed on the notice paper.
  • The Usher of the Black Rod leads the President from the chamber holding the Black Rod.

Putting Question Time together

After Question Time, you might like to explore the following questions with your students.

In the House and the Senate

  1. What questions are likely to cause the government concern? Opposition questions attempt to highlight government weakness. They often target specific ministers and/or refer to controversial reports in the media. Such questions are of great interest to the public.
  2. How can the government defend itself? By being extremely well prepared, having very well informed advisors on hand and giving clear, positive answers. It can also prepare strong Dorothy Dix questions which tend to focus on achievements.
  3. Why does Question Time draw more attention than other parliamentary activities? Ministers are required to attend Question Time. The likelihood of controversy draws the media and members of the public. The short question and answer format creates an exciting and well-paced atmosphere and the fast-moving spectacle of competition. Ministers are challenged to answer complex questions. The Presiding Officers (Speaker and President) have to work hard. 
  4. What is the point of Question Time? Question Time reminds Australians that the opposition is Australia’s alternative government. It places pressure on the government to take care great care in the decisions it makes on behalf of Australians.
  5. What role do the media play in the process of scrutiny? Media organisations are free to select the news. They publish news to mass audiences and in doing so, may criticise the actions and decisions of the government. In this way, the media plays an important scrutiny role.
  6. What is the role of Independent and minor party members and senators during question time? Like the opposition, Independents and minor party members and senators ask tricky questions; they scrutinise the government and demand accountability.

Unravelling the Parliamentary Role-play

Unravelling the Parliamentary Role-play is a PEO publication which explores the pedagogy of the parliamentary role-play. Written for teachers and educators, it provides a detailed and challenging program of work that progressively builds students' understanding and involvement with the federal Parliament through intriguing questions and thought-provoking activities. Unravelling the Parliamentary Role-play is available to teachers and educators free of charge, on request from the PEO.

If this information does not answer all of your questions about how to run a Question Time role-play in the classroom, please contact the PEO by phone, fax or email.

Ph: 02 6277 3147 or 02 6277 3508
Fax: 02 6277 5775
Email: info@peo.gov.au

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