Talk about Respect
Assessment activity: What is Active Citizenship?
Staff notes
Summary of activity
Prior to this activity, students should have discussed what active citizenship consists of, and also thought about what makes a good presentation.
For students, see tips on making presentations below.
For staff, as background for discussing the meaning of active citizenship with students see the staff assessment notes below, and also the following link: http://www.activecitizensfe.org.uk/what-is-post-16-citizenship.html
In the activity, students work on their own to select statements about the kinds of things active citizens do. They record their individual decisions, which are used by staff to assess each student’s understanding. Students then join up into pairs to share and discuss their decisions, agreeing the two statements that most represent active citizenship for them.
Each student make a brief presentation on their conclusions about one of the statements to the rest of the class. Other students assess each other’s practice presentations.
Learning outcomes

Identify the meaning of active citizenship

Identify and discuss citizenship issues

Make a practice presentation and reflect on its strengths and weaknesses.
Method

Give each student a copy of the sheet What is an active citizen?
and allow 10 minutes for them to make their selection of statements, with ticks in the first column on the sheet.

Ask students to work in pairs and discuss their decisions and the extent to which they agree or disagree.

Ask them to choose TWO of the statements that they agree about, and tick these in the second column.

Each pair should prepare presentations on why they chose each of these statements. E ach student will explain the pair’s choice of one of the two statements to the whole class, in a one-minute presentation (NB most people say three words per second – so a one-minute presentation is about 180 words long). Give out the tips on making presentations to help them.

Give out and explain the peer assessment sheet.

Allow each student one minute to make their presentation and a further minute for students to complete the peer assessment sheet on that presentation. At the end of the activity, collect all sheets in and use the assessment notes to score students on these tasks, using the staff assessment notes for guidance.

NAME:
What is an ‘active citizen?’
Make a tick in the first column against all the statements that you think refer to active citizens. Remember that active citizens want to change things for the better.
An active citizen is someone who…….
1. …..is pleasant to people if they ask for help (e.g. giving directions)
2. …..does not write graffiti on walls
3…..takes an interest in current affairs and watches the news
4…..votes in elections to choose who should run the local council
5….never drops litter on the streets
6….volunteers with a local organisation or charity
7….does not put their feet on the seats of buses and trains
8….stands for election in their school or college council
9….obeys all laws and rules at all times
10….writes letters to Members of
Parliament or local councillors about things that seem wrong
11….has strong religious beliefs and worships regularly
12….takes part in protests over important issues (e.g. a new road, or the closure of a local park)
Tick if you agree
Tick TWO statements, chosen in your pair

Tips on making presentations 1
1.
Be yourself
2.
Make eye contact with the audience
3.
Give your talk structure
4.
Keep it simple
5.
Sometimes pause
6.
Speak from the heart
7.
Keep to time
8.
Be heard – speak up
9.
Be animated
10. Practise, practise, practise
1 1 Adapted from Top Ten Tips for Speaking in Public, Speakers Trust. Other useful materials and training are also provided. www.speakerstrust.co.uk
, 0845 862 0444

Peer assessments of presentations
Your job is to assess each of the one-minute presentations. The other students will, of course, assess your presentation too.
Listen carefully to what is being said in each presentation, watch the body language and decide how confident each presenter is. Score each category as follows:
0 _________1_________2________ 3________4_________5
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
9.
10.
11.
12.
5.
6.
7.
8.
13.
14.
15.
16.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Not clear Very clear
Not relaxed Very relaxed
Not confident Very confident
Name of student Clear presentation
0-5
Relaxed body language
0-5
Confidence
0-5

Staff assessment notes
Part 1
– staff assessed: What is an ‘active citizen’?
People often confuse ‘good citizens’ with ‘active citizens’. Good citizens are concerned about others and responsibility. Active citizens go further. They are interested in politics and current affairs and want to help change things for the better. They are prepared to point out things that are not so good, to argue and take actions that will persuade others that change is necessary. The following statements from the list are more likely to apply to active citizens: 3, 4, 6, 8, 10,12.
Success criteria
What is an ‘active citizen’?
TOWARDS
The selection of up to two of the correct statements, though none of them in the pair.
2 SCORE
Part 2 – peer assessed: Practice presentation
AT
The selection of three or four of the correct statements, and at least one of these in the pair.
5
BEYOND
The selection of all six of the correct statements, and identification of two of these in the pair.
10
It will be early days in the development of presentation skills, and this activity is just another opportunity to practise. However, as well as providing practice opportunities, it also helps students understand the assessment process. Calculate average scores for each student by adding all the scores together from all the assessors and dividing by the number of assessors. Use the score to help them improve.
Success criteria
Clarity, relaxed body language and confidence in practice presentation
AVERAGE SCORE
TOWARDS
Average score is 5 or less
Total possible from both parts: 25
AT
Average score is 6-
11
BEYOND
Average score is 12-
15