Citizenship at key stage 3    (Year 7-9)

• Use a text extract, pictures, a cartoon or perhaps an oral report to start a discussion about a current issue or recent news story (immunisation examples include:
  vaccination against foot and mouth disease, the MMR [measles/mumps/rubella]
  vaccine, annual vaccination against flu for the elderly, biological weapons).
  A directed reading activity based on a newspaper article might prepare pupils for a better discussion.
• Ask the pupils about their own experiences of and opinions about the current topic, noting (or adding) differing viewpoints. For example, pupils are likely to have had DPT [diphtheria/polio/tetanus] and whooping cough vaccinations, a BCG and perhaps some other vaccination(s) in preparation for a trip abroad. They may need to be prompted to think about the purpose of vaccination.
• If the pupils are not sufficiently well informed to express opinions on the chosen issue, begin with a sorting exercise. Give them six statements that sum up the major positions in the debate, and ask them to sort these statements into two categories: 'I agree with' and 'I disagree with'.
• From this introduction, make a list of key words: both citizenship words, eg fact, opinion, objective, subjective, controversial, and relevant science words, eg micro-organism (microbe), public health, infectious disease, epidemic, quarantine, immune, host (carrier).

• Ask the class collectively to list the parties affected by the issue, eg for foot and mouth disease: farmers, the food industry, the rural tourism industry, the government, expert veterinary advisers, consumers.
• In small groups, pupils explore a few websites, with tasks such as the following:
  • Work out the viewpoint of each of the affected parties and write it down. For example, are people's lives or employment directly affected? How?
  • Does the issue have political, social and/or economic dimensions?
  • How has the issue been portrayed in the press and on TV? Has this influenced public opinion and political response, eg the images of pyres of burning carcasses for foot and mouth disease?
  • Develop the ethical dimension: encourage pupils to consider both individual and community points of view, and what they consider as right and wrong actions in this case
  • Ask pupils to identify rights and responsibilities, eg the right to individual choice as against the responsibility not to endanger the health of others
• Debrief using feedback from the tasks, reviewing the main points first. Then ask the class whether the differing viewpoints might be reconciled and, if so, how.

• Ask pupils to recall relevant scientific ideas, eg for immunisation: What are the symptoms of the disease? Can the disease be treated? How does the microbe spread? Is the host contagious before it shows symptoms? Is there a test available to identify hosts during the incubation period? How does the immune system respond with and without immunisation? What does 'vaccination' mean? Are there other ways to prevent the spread of the disease?
• Introducing one or more historical case studies is one way of undertaking revision and at the same time developing understanding of citizenship concepts. Key events have sometimes led to public acceptance of new policies, eg cholera outbreaks in 19th century London created a notion of public health and enabled statutory protective measures to be introduced. To develop scientific understanding, a science teacher might prefer to undertake relevant practical work, afterwards inviting pupils to explain what was done and then discussing what it showed.
• In small groups, pupils think critically about the information they have considered. Which parts of the information from interested parties are factual, and which are opinion? One way of doing this would be to ask pupils to sort statements into three categories: 'fact', 'opinion' and 'uncertain'. Choose statements carefully to ensure that all categories are represented. Follow-up discussion is essential, so that pupils are trained to be critical of 'fact'. For instance, it is a 'fact' that vaccinations can have unwanted side effects, but causal links are often difficult to establish, eg a suggested link between MMR vaccination and autism is by no means proven; the science here is uncertain. Crime statistics, because they arise in part through enforcement policy itself, are not straightforward facts.

• Return to a structured class discussion of the issue with which you began, by asking for specific reports from different groups. Each group should consider and agree on how they wish to communicate their findings to the audience. Encourage pupils to:
• consider the evidence gathered (from media reports or elsewhere) by discussing questions such as: How have scientists gathered the evidence? Why might there be conflicting views among scientists? Why aren't scientists certain about the issue? Ask pupils whether the case requires further scientific evidence and whether this is obtainable
• appreciate that, in a democracy, public policy should represent the interests of a majority of people, but this does not mean that everyone gets what they want
• appreciate that public policy needs to be developed even when the scientific case is uncertain, and that this requires political argument and sometimes compromise
• Finally, ask pupils to consider whether they could influence the debate or take action in some way. How? You might ask pupils to write a press release, or to design a campaign poster.
• Extension activity: With more able groups you may want to introduce epidemiological data, carefully explaining the value and meaning of statistical evidence. Help pupils to distinguish between correlational evidence (often what's available) and cause and effect (more difficult to establish).

• Ask pupils to review and reflect on what they have learnt during their investigation. What were the different points of view they considered? Pupils describe their own views and conclusions, based on what they have found out.
• Pupils can keep a record of their work, and/or their assessment of it, in their citizenship portfolio.