Citizenship at key stage 3 (Year 7-9)
Unit 06: Government, elections and voting
Section 4: Participating in elections
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Objectives |
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- about the importance of voting and the implications of low turnout
- to question the reasons for low voter turnout and ways to increase turnout
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Activities |
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Outcomes |
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Children: |
- Ask pupils why they participated in certain elections. Why do they think it is important to vote? Consider the importance of having a say, being counted and participating in a decision. If less than half the class bothers to vote, how representative is the winning candidate? How might it affect the way the representative is seen or their ability to do the job?
- What if people do not vote? Compare figures for voter turnout over time for local, national and European elections. Pupils could also analyse figures for referenda. Why do they think that people are less likely to vote in local and EU elections than general elections? What might this suggest about people's feelings towards local and EU government? Ask pupils to prepare a survey to collect information from adults about their participation in different types of election. What reasons do people give for whether or not they participate in elections?
- If the voting age was lowered tomorrow, for example to 16 or 14, would pupils vote in an election? Ask them to list reasons for and against voting at local, national and EU level.
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- know that turnout varies for different types of election in the UK and give some of the possible explanations for low turnout in elections
- understand the individual's motives for voting
- appreciate some of the possible consequences of low turnout, especially in terms of legitimacy and representation
- form a valid opinion on responses regarding turnout
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Points to note |
- The survey could be carried out using members of the school community (including staff, parents, governors and any pupils eligible to vote).
- Link with thinking skills: reasoning, evaluation.
- The IEA Civics Project may be useful here, www.nfer.ac.uk/risheets/iea.htm
- This section links with unit 12 'Why did women and some men have to struggle for the vote in Britain? What is the point of voting today?'
- www.learn.co.uk/yvote has online debates about reducing the voting age.
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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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