Citizenship at key stage 3    (Year 9)

• In pairs, pupils spend a short time discussing the things they remember most about citizenship during the previous three years. Individually, they complete the sentence 'My greatest citizenship achievement so far has been ...'. The results are recorded on a board or flip chart and displayed.
• In small groups, pupils could reflect in more detail on their progress during key stage 3. They review how they have participated in decision-making within the school and other contributions they have made to the school and the wider community. They identify what they value most about their progress and why, reflecting on a wide range of projects or initiatives in which they have been involved, individually and as members of a group or class.
• In their small groups, pupils discuss and decide how best to communicate their progress and achievements to others, ensuring that each group member's achievements and skills are presented and the active nature of their work illustrated.
• Encourage pupils to think about the needs of a specified audience, drawing on their previous experience of presenting to audiences. They list the issues to be considered, eg the audience's likely prior knowledge of citizenship; what will need to be explained; ways of engaging the audience; appropriate level of literacy, including vocabulary within the presentation.
• Pupils decide how to present their information, eg a display, piece of drama, magazine, video, collage, website. They decide what evidence of achievement to include, eg photographs, written reports, copies of letters or e-mails, survey results, quotes from people they have worked with.
• Pupils use individual portfolios as prompts for the process, and as sources of evidence. They review their portfolios' effectiveness for this purpose.
• The presentations/displays could form part of a day for prospective year 7 pupils, with year 9 pupils taking responsibility for explaining the progress and achievements displayed.

• In groups, pupils choose a topical issue, problem or event of concern to them (political, spiritual, moral, social or cultural), at a local, national or global level. They identify the issue's implications for human rights, criminal and legal systems, local or national governments, the media, etc. They research relevant facts and a variety of viewpoints, eg from different generations, different community members, other pupils/adults in the school, people from other parts of the country/world (through e-mail links, the media and websites).
• Pupils consider their personal views and opinions in the context of their findings, eg What does this have to do with me? Do I have any responsibility? Is there anything I could do to influence the situation?
• Pupils present their findings to a selected audience, eg other pupils, teachers, other adults, members of the wider community, local councillors, MPs, employers, other organisations. The presentation could be verbal, audio-visual, ICT-based or written (letter/report to an MP, local authority, health authority, etc).

• Pupils review their agreed ground rules for discussion. In groups or as a whole class, they brainstorm local, national or global issues that concern them. They use democratic decision-making processes to choose one as a debate topic.
• Pupils and teachers discuss and agree the criteria to be used for assessing planning, organising, collaborative working and debating skills.
• Pupils identify and allocate roles and responsibilities for researching the issue and establishing opposing viewpoints. They invite people from the rest of the school, from the local community, the council and other local or national organisations to attend and participate in the debate. A video could be made of the debate and this could be used to support review and assessment.
• Pupils reflect on the debating process and identify whether it has confirmed or changed their own beliefs and opinions, and if so, why and how.

• Ask pupils to plan and organise a conference for other pupils and members of the school and wider community (a different theme can be selected each year). This could incorporate activities described above - displays, debates, presentations - as well as involving a range of invited speakers to ensure balance between different views. It could involve having displays/exhibitions from community organisations and support agencies, such as the Police or health service, as well as access to the internet and advice for participants on how to obtain information, search websites, etc. Pupils evaluate how the conference went and identify ways of improving their contribution to the organisation of the event.