|
|
|
Citizenship at key stage 3 (Year 7-9)
Unit 14: Developing skills of democratic participation
Section 1: How can we make decisions as a class/year group/whole school?
|
|
Objectives |
| Children should learn: |
- about the different ways in which groups can make decisions
- to work together in groups to solve problems (NSE)
- that there are different mechanisms within the school for making decisions and allowing pupils' views to be represented, eg class/year/school councils
- reflect on their abilities as speakers in different situations (NSE)
|
Activities |
|
Outcomes |
|
Children: |
- In groups, pupils discuss and make a decision about a particular issue, problem or event, eg where to go for an end-of-year outing, choosing a charity or voluntary organisation to support, what facilities a new local sports club should provide.
- Ask pupils to identify different ways in which groups of people, eg organisations, communities, make decisions. Are there situations in which everyone has a say? Can other people ever make decisions on our behalf? What are fair ways of making a decision? Is taking a vote on different options the only possibility? What other ways are there, eg one person decides; voting (show of hands, secret ballot, e-mail poll, MPs walking through the lobby in Parliament, national referendum); a sub-group decides for a larger group (for instance a board of directors makes a decision on behalf of company shareholders)?
- Pupils could then list the ways in which they can 'have their say' in school, eg informal discussions with staff, group discussions during tutor time, circle time, surveys of pupils' opinions, student noticeboards, meetings, involvement in class/ year/school councils. How effective are these different forums, and to what extent do pupils feel consulted/able to contribute to discussions? How are they notified of any decisions that are made in/about the school?
- In groups, pupils could compare the ways of contributing to the decision-making process used in the school with those used in the wider world. Draw out suggestions on how they can further their involvement in decision-making, eg improving their listening skills, learning how to get the most from meetings, choosing appropriate people to represent them, taking part in surveys, writing letters.
|
|
- work together and identify and evaluate a range of ways in which decisions are made
- contribute to group decision-making processes
- are aware of how the views of the student body are represented in their school
|
|
Points to note |
- Review with pupils the agreed ground rules for discussion from the introductory unit 'Citizenship - what's it all about?'.
- Link with NSE: year
7 S&L13, year
8 S&L10, year
9 S&L10.
- ICT opportunity: pupils could use the internet, eg the local council's website, to investigate how decisions are taken in different organisations and institutions. They could look at a range of decisions currently being made.
- Extension activity: pupils could carry out research into the changes to local decision-making processes made following the implementation of the Local Government Act 2000. How has your local authority/council changed the way it makes decisions? How are young people involved in the decision-making process?
- Link with NSE: year
8 S&L1, year
9 S&L1.
- Link with thinking skills: evaluation.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
