Description
Activity
Students consider what symbols represent them individually, or as a class, and create a Mace.
Duration
30 minutes
Supplies
- Mace Video – watch the section between 12 seconds-53 seconds
- Coloured pencils/textas
- Blank Mace printouts – A3 recommended
Instructions
- Explain that the Mace is a symbolic object and represents the House of Assembly and the Speaker. The South Australian Mace includes:
– Royal seals for Queen Victoria (the Monarch when the House of Assembly was first established) and Queen Elizabeth II (the Monarch when we got the Mace)
– Opals from Coober Pedy – a South Australian gemstone
– Engravings of wheat and grapes – South Australia’s big exports to the world
– Signatures of all the different Speakers of the House of Assembly dating back to 1857 - If setting this task for individual students, ask them to consider what symbols, gems and engravings they would put on a Mace to represent themselves. Design the Mace and label the different features.
- If setting this task for a class, ask students as a group to brainstorm ideas of what things represent their class (e.g. is it engravings of “Hello” in all the languages spoken by students in the class? Is it a symbol of their room or school mascot?) Then ask students to individually design and label a class Mace. Conduct a vote to choose the winning design.
Follow Up Ideas
- Use cardboard boxes to paint and actually create the Mace design. You can place the Mace in front of a student who has authority to speak, or use it in an opening procession (see Mace Video 1.45-2.20).
