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Citizenship at key stages 1 and 2 (Year 3-6)
Unit 10: Local democracy for young citizens
Section 1: What do we know about our local community?
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Objectives |
| Children should learn: |
- about their local community and how it has changed over time
- why the place is located where it is, and about people who have contributed to its development
- to work together to pose questions and undertake research
- to communicate their findings to others
- to discuss the local area with a range of different people in the school and local community
- what the place is like today and what it might be like in the future
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Activities |
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Outcomes |
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Children: |
- Give the children a range of resources so that they can explore, in groups, what the local place is like and what some significant features of its location are, eg copies of old and new maps; photographs, pictures and documents from the local studies centre or local newspaper archives; internet resources. Ask questions to prompt them, eg What is the place like? Why did it develop where it did? What features can you identify that contributed to the location (major route, port, ford or bridge across a river, raw materials, military garrison, etc)? Ask the children to list some features that help to identify the place today, eg famous football team, a key industry, a landmark or historic event, a railway station, scenic countryside, a well-known river or building.
- Where is the place? Ask the children to locate the place on maps at a range of scales. Then ask them to locate the place in the context of the region, county, country, Europe, the world. Talk about scale. The children could mark on a base map the key physical and human features of the locality, eg woodland, parks, rivers, railway, major roads, post office, the school. Ask them where the local council chamber is located (the council may be in a different place from where the children live) and to mark it on their map.
- What can old documents tell us about the place, eg Are there any charters conferring market, borough, or city status? If so, when and by whom was this conferred? Does the local council have a coat of arms? What do the symbols on it mean, and what is the motto? Do any important local people have a coat of arms? The children could draw a coat of arms for their own families, representing their interests, employment and leisure activities.
- Extension activity: Use a range of historical sources to find out more about the locality in the past and present, eg discuss what a charter is, what it might look like, what it might contain and who might have signed one; look at original or facsimile charters and discuss the purpose and use of seals; write charters conferring rights on the children at the school and seal them with wax.
- Ask the children to explore what their community is like today and how it has changed over time. They could compare old maps with current maps and study photographic and newspaper archives. Ask the children to work in pairs to devise questions for interviews with older people in the school and community. They could practise asking questions before their meeting, eg Did they go to school in the area? Where? What was it like? What job did they do? What did they do in their spare time? How did they travel about? What is the biggest change in the community from when they were young? What would they like to change today?
- After the interviews, ask the children to reflect on what they have learnt about where they live, eg What do they like? What do they dislike? What would they like to change? Discuss what the community may look like in the future - in 5, 10, 25, 50 years' time. What would they want for their community, what could they do to bring about positive change, and who might help them? Introduce the role of the local elected councillors and council.
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- describe some key features of a place and some of the reasons for its development in that location
- use a range of sources of information to find out about their local community
- collaborate with others as they investigate
- communicate their findings to others
- talk with various adults in the local community about the community in the past and present
- reflect on what they know about the local area and identify their likes and dislikes
- suggest ideas for improving the local community
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Points to note |
- There are opportunities in this section to link with local studies work in geography and history.
- Link with geography: 1a-e, 2a-g, 3a-g in the key stage 2 programme of study;
unit 6 'Investigating our local area',
unit 8 'Improving the environment',
unit 20 'Local traffic - an environmental issue' in the scheme of work.
- Maps of the area, including historical Ordnance Survey maps, may be available from the local library. The Ordnance Survey has an online 'get-a-map' service where you can find a current or historical map using an address or postcode.
- It is useful to prepare a selection of historical sources before the activity for the children to refer to. Local history societies, newspaper archives, public records offices, museums and libraries may be able to help, and many towns have local studies centres. There may also be local history websites containing information about local issues.
- Interviews with older members of the school and local community provide valuable experiences for both the children and the residents to share ideas and opinions. Visits to the school should take place in accordance with the school's policy. Guidance on the use of visitors is in the Teacher's guide.
- Link with history: 7 in the key stage 2 programme of study.
- Link with English: En2 R 3d, 3e in the key stage 2 programme of study.
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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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