Citizenship at key stage 3    (Year 7-9)

• Choose (with the involvement of pupils) a real local environmental issue, eg an application to build a waste incineration plant or a wind farm. Suitable stimulus materials could include: maps or photos, local newspaper headlines, a cartoon, diagrams, or a directed reading activity based on a newspaper article.
• Use one of the following activities in considering rights and responsibilities in relation to the chosen environmental issue:
• a real or fictional case study, perhaps relating to renewable and non-renewable energy resources. Pupils devise a grid showing the goals, rights and duties of a particular group of people affected by the issue they are investigating
• a structured class discussion
• a 'consequence mapping' exercise, in which pupils think about different situations and explore 'what might happen if...?'. Focus on the likely impact on specific groups of local people, eg the effect on local jobs, air quality or traffic volumes
• a role-play in which the rights and responsibilities of different individuals are explored; conclude with a detailed debriefing and review
• the collection and presentation of data relating to the case (perhaps data-logging environmental information collected at school), followed by either a case study or a role-play
• an exercise in which pupils rank local services in order of importance, eg competing claims on a council budget for removing burnt-out cars, improving litter collection or improving environmental education. Pupils could research among their family and friends whether (and how) priorities differ between generations
• Make a list of key words, eg
• citizenship: right, responsibility, duty
• science: renewable, non-renewable, fuel

• Ask pupils to suggest how the behaviour of individuals or groups impacts on the wider environment, and introduce the concept of sustainability, eg what impact would shifting to renewable energy resources have on specific groups of local people and on the environment. Pupils could consider changes in their own behaviour and that of others, eg using a different form of transport, changing car, switching electricity supplier, recycling. In small groups, pupils apply their knowledge and beliefs to this situation and evaluate and decide what should be done, either by:
• a 'consequence mapping' ('what if ...?') activity, in which the impact of change on the people concerned is identified and then discussed in relation to rights and responsibilities, or
• considering the goals, rights and duties of the people affected
• Each group records its discussion (perhaps using a grid showing the goals, rights and duties of a particular group of people). Encourage pupils to identify:
• value judgements, eg we think the farmer has a right to build wind turbines on his land
• where knowledge of scientific principles are useful, eg for taking action or supporting renewable and non-renewable energy resources
• where information is lacking, eg on the power output of a wind farm
• how decisions about this issue are made, eg who decides, whether and how their decisions can be influenced, and what role pupils can play in the decision-making process
• Extension activity: Introduce data on probability and risk and ask pupils to take these into account in weighing up the arguments.

• 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?

• Ask pupils to discuss in pairs and identify what they have learnt about: rights and responsibilities; the influence of the media on public opinion, consultation and the power of decision-makers; using scientific principles to inform decision-making; and the process of decision-making and resolving conflict, with regard to the issues they have investigated. Discuss whether individuals can make a difference, eg what pupils can do to change local energy use or supply in the school, home or community.
• Pupils share what they have learnt with different audiences - within the school, their local, national or global communities. For example, they could:
• write articles for the school or local newspaper or environmental magazines and websites
• prepare a display for the school buildings or local council office
• develop a school policy on environmentally sustainable practices, which could be discussed at Student Council or with governors and members of the local community
• take part in a local citizens' forum, eg on a council website, or a young people's forum
• write letters making recommendations to their MP, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the European Parliament or the United Nations