Citizenship at key stage 3 (Year 7-9)
Unit 21: People and the environment
Section 3: Why is it important to weigh up the arguments?
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Objectives |
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- about different points of views on the issues they have investigated
- to contribute to group and class discussion
- to justify opinions
- to negotiate responsibly
- to reflect on the process of negotiation and participation (NSE)
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Activities |
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Outcomes |
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Children: |
- In a plenary session, a spokesperson from each group from the previous activity displays or presents the record of their group's discussion. Compare the records of the different groups. Are there any common threads?
- Although the class discussion will depend on the group discussion that pupils have undertaken, the following are likely to be key questions:
- Can the conflicting rights and responsibilities of different people in the case study be resolved? Is there one best solution or are there alternative possibilities?
- Can pupils justify their own value judgements? What values do they express? How have they applied their values in this case?
- What are the limitations of scientific evidence in making decisions about energy use? (Scientific principles provide some information about what can be done).
- If we have to make decisions on the basis of incomplete information, how can we make sensitive decisions? Would we form 'better' opinions if we had more information? What type of information is most important?
- Why is it important to gather information and think for ourselves when it is so much easier simply to echo the opinions of others?
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- know and justify their own viewpoint and recognise the viewpoints of others
- know how the rights and responsibilities of different groups may conflict
- identify ways of balancing competing viewpoints
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Points to note |
- The purpose of this section is to show the interaction of value judgements and scientific evidence in forming opinions. The process of discussion and consideration of different rights and responsibilities is more important than reaching a consensus.
- If the records were completed on A3 paper or larger, they could be presented as posters for display within the classroom or around the school.
- If the opportunity arises, highlight the fact that environmental monitoring requires the cooperation of scientists from many countries.
- Link with NSE: year 7 S&L11, year 8 S&L9, year 9S&L 8.
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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of
activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by
moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.
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