Graffiti Prevention Education Program
A sense of community: Years 3–4
Teaching and learning activities
Objective
The learning activities in this unit introduce students to the concept of community. They map their
community and identify its physical, cultural and social aspects, as well as strategies to maintain and
sustain it. The unit provides students with knowledge and understanding to develop their:
• awareness of their environment and community
• understanding of proactive and reactive strategies
• actions as good citizens
• personal and social perspectives about the impacts of crime.
Activity description
In this activity students create a map featuring aspects of the social and physical environment that
contribute to their individual sense of community.
Inquiry question
• What is a community and do I belong?
This teaching strategy has been designed using the framework from Kath Murdoch, Phases of
Inquiry kathmurdoch.com.au/fileadmin/_migrated/content_uploads/phasesofinquiry.pdf.
Guiding questions
1. How will the study allow students to reflect on their own values, beliefs and opinions on the topic?
2. Are there places where connections can be made to larger social or environmental issues?
3. Are there opportunities for students to enact a solution or action plan about the issue?
This teaching strategy was designed from the 5Es inquiry framework.
The following links provide information on how to use the 5Es:
• E5 instructional model
education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/pages/e5.aspx
• Enhancing education: The 5Es
enhancinged.wgbh.org/research/eeeee.html
• Introduction to inquiry based learning by
Neil Stephenson teachinquiry.com/index/Introduction.html
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
A sense of community: Years 3–4: Page 1
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Background information
What is graffiti?
Graffiti is the unauthorised act of marking other people’s property without their permission. It is
illegal, ugly and expensive to remove. Graffiti affects us all: it can lower property values, make
people feel unsafe, reduce business patronage and encourage other types of crime.
Graffiti is a crime
Graffiti is illegal in Australia. It is a persistent problem that attracts a variety of penalties. In
Queensland, graffiti is a crime under the Queensland Criminal Code Act 1899 s. 469 Wilful damage,
which states:
Any person who wilfully and unlawfully destroys or damages any property is guilty of
an offence…
If the property in question is in a public place, or is visible from a public place, and the
destruction or damage is caused by (a) spraying, writing, drawing, marking or
otherwise applying paint or another marking substance; or (b) scratching or etching;
the offender commits a crime and is liable to imprisonment for 7 years…
The court may… order the offender to perform community service… including for
example, removing graffiti from property; and… may order the offender to pay
compensation to any person.
Consequences
Graffiti offences are treated seriously by police, all levels of government and the justice system.
Juvenile offenders (aged 12–17 years) may be sentenced to a term in a detention centre, given a
graffiti removal order or given a period of probation (Note: a person aged 17 or over is tried as an
adult). Regardless of the penalty imposed by a court, a graffiti offender may be ordered to remove
the graffiti and/or pay compensation to the owner of the property that was vandalised.
Where does graffiti occur?
Most graffiti occurs on exposed walls and fences, and it is usually in the form of messages in letters
or images written in spray paint, permanent marker or etched into a surface with a sharp instrument.
Graffiti vandals have no respect for private or community property and no regard for the negative
impacts of their actions. Their aim is usually to impress their peers and strengthen their reputations
by putting their graffiti tags in as many places as possible.
Graffiti removal
Graffiti that is left intact attracts more graffiti. The longer it remains, the greater the gratification for
perpetrators. It also suggests that the community does not care or is unable to deal with the problem.
Keeping neighbourhoods graffiti free reinforces pride in the city and helps to maintain feelings of
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
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Graffiti Prevention Education Program
safety and wellbeing for everyone in the community. The best way to reduce graffiti is to remove it as
quickly as possible. Local governments, businesses, organisations and volunteers commit money
and resources to remove graffiti and participate in various graffiti prevention strategies.
City of Gold Coast graffiti prevention program
The City of Gold Coast (the City) spends approximately $1.3 million every year on graffiti removal
and manages a range of graffiti prevention strategies. Our Graffiti Removal Team responds to an
average of 10,000 graffiti removal requests each year, removing graffiti from public assets and some
private property. We also provide free graffiti removal kits and support volunteer graffiti removal
programs.
The City’s graffiti prevention program includes:
•
education within schools about graffiti and its consequences
•
identifying graffiti hotspots and installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to catch
graffiti offenders
•
encouraging property owners to design and create spaces that are less attractive to graffiti
vandals (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design)
•
working with retailers of paint products
•
facilitating public art graffiti prevention projects
•
supporting community service graffiti removal programs
•
working with police and other agencies on crime prevention programs.
You can report graffiti for removal by using the City of Gold Coast mobile app, calling the Graffiti
Hotline on 07 5581 7998 or emailing: [email protected].
Reporting graffiti offenders to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Policelink on 131 444 is also
encouraged.
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
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Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Teaching strategy
Tuning in
1. Calculating local area
As a class, or as individuals, ask students to access Google Maps: http://maps.google.com.au.
Ask students to:
a. look at an aerial view of your area to determine the extent of your local government region
b. estimate the area by using the scale of the map and measuring the distance between
significant landmarks at the compass points; for example, for the Gold Coast it may be
Dreamworld to the north, Coolangatta to the south, Mt Tambourine to the west and the beach
line to the east. For the Gold Coast, students can use the map from Student activity
worksheet 2: A sense of community provided at the end of this document.
Finding out
2. Their community area
Have students work in pairs or individually to find their residence on the map. Ask them to:
a. plot what they would consider as their ‘community’. They should be able to select the
extremities of their community to the north, south, east and west.
b. compare the size of their community to the local government area, to their state, to Australia,
to the Asian region and to the world
c. list the main features and community spaces in their community, for example, schools,
churches, sporting fields, shopping centres, parks and beaches.
Sorting out
3. Draw a community map
Ask students to draw a map of their community (from memory or from reference to the map). Ask
them to:
a. place their residence in the centre of the map
b. draw and label the streets, physical features of the landscape and community sites as far out
from their home as they can remember
c. compare their drawn map to the Google map to see if their knowledge of the area is accurate.
4. Discuss community
As a class, discuss students’ understanding of ‘community’. Ask questions to extend their
understanding:
• Who lives in your community?
• Do you belong to more than one community?
• Do the people who live in your community have some things in common? What are they?
• What do you like doing for your community?
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
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Graffiti Prevention Education Program
• What do you like most and least about living in your community?
5. Definition of community
As a class, negotiate a definition for ‘community’. Write it up on a board or poster and ask
students to suggest the things they most like about their community. These suggestions can be
grouped under sub-headings such as: places, spaces, services and people. Discuss the
commonalities and differences in students’ responses.
Going further
6. Physical and social aspects of community
Using the Student activity worksheet 1: A sense of community provided at the end of this
document, ask students to identify physical or social aspects that contribute to their personal
sense of community. Select a social example and a physical example from the list below to check
the understanding of students prior to commencing the activity.
Social
Physical
Family
Schools
School
Hospitals and other medical services
Work
Shops
Neighbours
Emergency services (police, fire services, ambulance)
Community groups
Parks, gardens and beaches
Friends
Safe open spaces
Footpaths and roads
Sporting and recreation facilities
7.
Complete the sentences
Students reflect on their feeling for their community and complete the sentences provided in
Student activity worksheet 1: A sense of community.
*Note: If students begin discussing reasons why they do not feel safe in their community,
discuss or use the internet to look up ways to feel safer or invite a guest, such as the police, to
discuss safety strategies.
Applying
8.
Read
Have students read the book My place by Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins. Each of the
stories is based on the lives of children who live in the same place but at different times. Each
story is made up of a map and a recount narrative by the child. Each child’s story identifies
aspects of the environment that they interact with.
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Graffiti Prevention Education Program
9.
Write a story
Using the map students produced of their local community; have them write a story (200 words)
about how they get involved in their community and what it means to them. The story could be
written as a recount of events in their past or as a persuasive text enticing other students to
come and live where they do and join their community. Students could access online or print
images of the places they identify to add evidence and impact to their stories. Share each
student’s story with the class.
Follow-up activities
10. Display the students’ maps and stories in the school and/or send them to the City of Gold Coast,
Community Safety Team for upload to their website.
11. Invite the Community Safety Team to your school to discuss how communities operate and
sustain themselves.
City of Gold Coast
Community Safety Team
Safe and Livable Communities Branch
P 07 5581 6074
E [email protected]
W www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au
M PO Box 5042 Gold Coast Mail Centre Qld 9729
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Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Australian Curriculum
Learning areas
Strand
Content descriptions
Year 3
Civics and
citizenship
Citizenship,
diversity
and identity
Why people participate within communities and how students
can actively participate and contribute (ACHCK003)
Year 4
How a person’s identity, including their own, can be shaped
by the different cultural, religious and/or social groups to
which they may belong (ACHCK014)
Cross-curriculum link: Geography: Knowledge and understanding
Cross-curriculum priorities
Sustainable futures result from actions designed to preserve
and/or restore the quality and uniqueness of environments.
Sustainability
Futures
General
capabilities
Element
Sub-element
Comprehending texts through listening,
reading and viewing
Interpret and analyse learning area texts
Composing texts through speaking,
writing and creating
Compose spoken, written, visual and
multimodal learning area texts
Literacy
OI.9
Use language to interact with others
Numeracy
ICT
Grammar knowledge
Express opinion and point of view
Word knowledge
Understand learning area vocabulary
Using spatial reasoning
Interpret maps and diagrams
Investigating with ICT
Locate, generate and access data and
information
Creating with ICT
Generate solutions to learning area tasks
Pose questions
Critical and
creative thinking
Inquiring — identifying, exploring and
organising information and ideas
Identify and clarify information and ideas
Organise and process information
Examine values
Ethical
understanding
Explore values, rights and
responsibilities
Explore rights and responsibilities
Consider points of view
Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), downloaded from the Australian Curriculum website in
March 2014.
CC-BY-SA
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
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Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Resources
• Graffiti Prevention Education Program PowerPoint — Lower Primary
• Google Maps
maps.google.com.au
• My place by Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins
City of Gold Coast graffiti prevention resources
• Graffiti prevention information
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
• Video clip Graffiti — Let’s stay on top of it cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
• Graffiti prevention education resources, colouring sheet, find-a-word puzzle
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/education
• Australian Institute of Criminology: Key issues in graffiti
aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rip/1-10/06.html
Community resources
• Gold Coast Community Guide
goldcoastcity.com.au/communityguide
• City of Gold Coast: Community safety
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/communitysafety
• Gold Coast voluntary groups
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/communityconcerns
• City of Gold Coast: Community Development Program
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/communitydevelopment
• Gold Coast Beach Care
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/education
• Gold Coast Land for Wildlife
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/education
• How to build a sense of community
suite101.com/article/how-to-build-a-sense-of-community-a181853
(URLs active as of January 2014)
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
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Graffiti Prevention Education Program
What is graffiti?
Graffiti is the unauthorised act of marking other people’s property without their permission. It is
illegal, ugly and expensive to remove. Graffiti affects us all, it can lower property values, make
people feel unsafe, reduce business patronage and encourage other types of crime.
Where does graffiti occur?
Most graffiti occurs on exposed walls and fences and is usually in the form of messages in letters or
images, written in spray paint, permanent marker or etched into a surface with a sharp instrument.
Graffiti vandals have no respect for private or community property and no regard for the negative
impacts of their actions. Their aim is usually to impress their peers and strengthen their reputations,
by putting their graffiti tags in as many places as possible.
In Queensland graffiti
is a crime under the
Queensland Criminal
Code Act 1899 s469
“Wilful Damage”
Graffiti is a crime
Graffiti is illegal in Australia. It is a persistent problem that attracts a
variety of penalties. In Queensland, graffiti is a crime under the
Queensland Criminal Code Act 1899 s469 “Wilful Damage” Any person
who wilfully and unlawfully destroys or damages any property is guilty
of an offence.
(1) If the property in question is in a public place, or is visible from a public place, and the destruction
or damage is caused by (a) spraying, writing, drawing, marking or otherwise applying paint or
another marking substance; or (b) scratching or etching; the offender commits a crime and is liable to
imprisonment for 7 years.
(3) The court may order the offender to perform community service, including for example, removing
graffiti from property; and/or may order the offender to pay compensation to any person.
Consequences
Graffiti offences are treated seriously by Police, all levels of government and the justice system.
Juvenile offenders (aged 12-17 years) may be sentenced to a term in a detention centre, given a
graffiti removal order or given a period of probation (note: a person aged 17 or over is tried as an
adult). Regardless of the penalty imposed by a court, a graffiti offender may be ordered to remove
the graffiti and/or pay compensation to the owner of the property that was vandalised.
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
A sense of community: Years 3–4: Page 9
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Graffiti removal
Graffiti that is left intact attracts more graffiti. The longer it remains
the greater the gratification for perpetrators. It also suggests that the
community does not care or is unable to deal with the problem.
Keeping neighbourhoods graffiti free reinforces pride in the city and
helps to maintain feelings of safety and well-being for everyone in
the community.
The best way to reduce graffiti is to remove it as quickly as possible.
Local governments, businesses, organisations and volunteers
commit money and resources to graffiti removal and participate in
various graffiti prevention strategies.
© Copyright, Council of the City of Gold
Coast (Council) 2001-2014
Photographer: Sam Lindsay
City of Gold Coast graffiti prevention program
The City of Gold Coast (the City) spends approximately $1.3 million every year on graffiti removal
and manages a range of graffiti prevention strategies. Our Graffiti Removal Team responds to an
average of 10,000 graffiti removal requests each year, removing graffiti from public assets and some
private property. We also provide free graffiti removal kits and supports volunteer graffiti removal
programs.
The City’s graffiti prevention program includes:
•
education within schools about graffiti and its
consequences
•
identifying graffiti hotspots and installing closecircuit television (CCTV) cameras to
catch graffiti offenders
•
encouraging property owners to design and
create spaces that are less attractive to
graffiti vandals (CPTED)
Graffiti Prevention Mural by Libby Harward
© Copyright, Council of the City of Gold Coast
(Council) 2001-2014
Photographer: Sam Lindsay
•
working with retailers of paint products
•
facilitating public art graffiti prevention projects
•
supporting community service graffiti removal programs
•
working with police and other agencies on crime prevention programs.
You can report graffiti for removal:
A City of Gold Coast mobile app
P 07 5581 7998 (Graffiti Hotline)
E [email protected]
Reporting graffiti offenders to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or
Policelink on 131 444 is also encouraged.
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
A sense of community: Years 3–4: Page 10
Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Student activity worksheet 1: A sense of community
List the things that make you feel like you are part of your community.
List the social ways that make you feel like you are part of your community.
Finish the following sentences.
The best thing about living in my community is…
I am proud to belong to my community because…
I feel safe in my community because…
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
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Graffiti Prevention Education Program
Student activity worksheet 2: A sense of community
Gold Coast map example
© Copyright, Council of the City of Gold Coast (Council) 2001-2014
cityofgoldcoast.com.au/graffiti
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