Lesson Plan //
Politics - Who Rules
Political Systems
Suggested Timescale
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10 – 15 minutes: Discussion and brainstorm
- Give a Post-it note to each student. Display the word 'Politics'. Students write down the first related word that pops into their head. Stick the Post-it notes on the board around 'Politics'.
- The teacher reads out some of the words. Students can be asked if they agree/disagree/have any comments about what has been said.
- Ask students whether they would vote if there was an election tomorrow. Record the result and retain the Post-its.
Resources: Post It notes
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10 – 15 minutes: Use website and brainstorm
- Ask students to look through the 'Political Systems' introduction.
- Go back to the brainstorm activity about politics. Add any new or further ideas that students may have.
Resources: Introduction to the 'Political Systems' section of the website
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5 minutes: Teacher talk
- Introduce students to the lesson and tell them that it is about the different ways that governments run countries — political systems.
- Split the class into pairs. Allocate a country from the 'Reality Bytes' sections from 'Political Systems' to each pair. Ensure all the countries are covered. Some may be repeated, this doesn't matter.
Resources: List of countries contained in 'Reality Bytes' from the 'Political Systems' section of the website
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10 minutes: Pair work using the website.
- Each pair reads their 'Reality Bytes' and answer the following questions (this could be set out as a table) : What are people allowed to do? What are people not allowed to do? Who’s in charge? What system does the country have?
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25 minutes: Pair feedback – filling in information
- The pairs feed back to the rest of the class about their country. If more than one pair has the same country, ensure that they all get a chance to speak. The rest of the class answer the same questions using what they are being told about each country. This could be done with the class if there is access to an interactive whiteboard, or the sheet could be projected onto the board and the teacher writes up the answers so that students are able to concentrate on what is being said. Allow students some time between each one to make any comments about what they think about life in each of the counties.
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15 minutes: Individual research using the website
- Split the class into groups of six. They will initially be working individually but then will join together as a group to share information.
- Each individual from every group should be allocated a political system so that each group covers all the systems.
- Each student finds out about their system from the relevant section of the website and summarises four facts about it. They could present this as a spider diagram, with the type of system written in the middle.
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15 minutes: Groupwork
- The groups then come together and share their facts with each other so that they all have a basic outline of each system. They can ask each other questions so that they can have any points clarified. If they are not sure, they can use the website to find out more and check any unknown words in the glossary.
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10 minutes: Groupwork
- Each group then goes back to their answers about the countries.. As a group, the students read through each country and try and decide what system each country is under and record this under their previous answers about each place.
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5 minutes: Whole class
- The students come together as a class. The teacher asks what system each country might have and why. Answers are checked and corrected if necessary.
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5 minutes: Discussion
- Ask students what they found most interesting about the way countries are run. What did they find most shocking?
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5 – 10 minutes: Discussion and vote
- Read the poll question. Allow students to share their ideas and thoughts about the question. Students record their votes on the poll and complete the quiz individually.
Resources: Website Poll
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25 minutes: Individual – play online game followed by whole class discussion
- Students play the political systems game and print off their results. Discussion leading to homework — what would you take from the UK system to improve the country you visited in the game? Why? What would you take back to the UK to improve life? Why? What might the impact be to the UK and the other country of the changes you have made?
Resources: Political systems game
Alternative Activities – Extension Activities
The lesson revolves around the poll question. The class is split into two groups – one side arguing in favour and the other arguing against. Students use the website to find out about the different systems and use the case studies as a starting point to research further into each type of system, eg finding good points/bad points about each country and the system it is under. They are then brought back together and debate for and against the poll question regardless of their personal opinion. They then take a class vote at the end to decide which side has won.
There are also opportunities to research the countries covered in the case studies. A display could be created showing each country on a world map, with information about the political system and the country.
Assessment:
- Groupwork skills
- Research skills
Active Citizenship Opportunities: Look at the Amnesty International website. Start a 'postcard to MPs' campaign around the abuse of human rights. Students could promote their campaign through an assembly to the rest of the school and encourage others to do get involved.
Teacher Guidance
The timescales given are purely as guidance. Some activities may take longer or shorter depending on your class. The way the activities are organised is also for guidance. All the activities can be done individually, in small groups or as a whole class. It is intended that the role of the teacher is that of facilitator with the website doing the actual 'teaching'. Students should be able to explore the website and find out more about what interests them from the variety of information contained on each section of the site. Where discussion questions have been suggested, these can also be done as written questions or used to guide extended writing on the issues raised within the body of the text on the website.
