CITIZENSHIP – Scheme of Work
Year:
10
Title:
Lessons:
9
Power and Politics
NC Links:
1c) the work of parliament, the government and the courts in making and shaping the law
d) the importance of playing an active part in democratic and electoral processes
2a) research a topical political problem or event by analysing information from different sources
b) express, justify and defend orally and in writing a personal opinion about such issues, problems or events
c) contribute to group and exploratory discussions, and take part in formal debates
3b) negotiate, decide and take part in school-based activities
c) reflect on the process of participating
EdExcel GCSE Short-Course Specification
Theme 2: Power, Politics and the Media
 The nature of democracy; why people living in a democracy should vote (1d)
 The importance of playing an active part in the democratic and electoral processes (1d)
 Electoral processes: voting rights (who can vote, at what age, what can be voted for, voting methods) (1d)
 The role of Parliament, the government and the courts in making and shaping the law (1c)
Cross-curricular Links:
2a) links to En2/4a-4c
2b) links to En1/1a-e and En3/1i-1o
2c) links to En1/3
Lesson
What is
democracy?



What is our
local council
responsible


Learning Objectives
Define the concept of
democracy
Recognise the difference
between direct and
representative democracy
Analyse the practical realities
of representative democracy
Analyse the responsibilities of
the local council
Reflect on the expense of

Main Activities
Unfair treatment
reflection
Keywords
Representative v. Direct
democracy
Cartoon analysis



Croydon quiz
Brainstorm
Council website – ideas





Resources
Democracy
cartoon
Local council
website
Keywords
Democracy
Autocracy
Majority
Minority
Direct democracy
Representative
democracy
Referendum
Council
Budget
Tax
Homework
Research stories
in the news
demonstrating
the
consequences of
a country where
there is no
democracy
Use Croydon
Council website
to investigate
for?

How is our
local council
structured?



How does
national
government
work?



Voting and
Political
Parties



Electing the
Mayor of
London



Should we

these responsibilities
Recognise the sources of
funding for the local council
Reflect on how the local
council could be organised to
fulfil its responsibilities
Recognise the how the local
council is structured
Evaluate how democratic the
local council is










Categorise responsibilities
into those of local
government and those of
national government
Recognise the structure of
national government in the
UK
Know the legislative process
in the UK
Analyse the differences
between proportional and
first-past-the-post voting
systems
Recognise the three main
political parties in the UK and
their characteristic policies
Evaluate how democratic the
current system in the UK is
Reflect on the responsibilities
of the Mayor of London
Know how the Mayor of
London is elected
Analyse the candidates
standing for Mayor of London





Define the concept of

for brainstorm
Keywords
Funding choices
Essay question
Recap of responsibilities
Own structure
Croydon council structure
Keywords
Croydon council facts
Textbook questions
Democracy reflection

EdExcel
‘Citizenship Today’
textbook
Council Tax
Business Rates
further the
budget for this
year
Councillor
Cabinet
Leader
Ward
Mayor
Re-visit Croydon
Council website
to find out local
councillor,
leader of the
council and who
the current
Mayor is
Using
‘Democracy in
the UK’ research
the terms to
find current
examples of
them
‘Democracy in the UK’
keyword sheet
See ‘Democracy
in the UK’ sheet

Quick questions
Who does what?
Keywords
Political structure diagram
Law making process
diagram
Dingbats






Recap of main terms
Keywords
Explanation of systems
Analysis
Political party research
Essay
OCR Citizenship
textbook
Proportional
representation
First-past-thepost
Research and
produce a factsheet about one
European
country that
uses
proportional
representation

Re-cap local and national
government
responsibilities
Responsibilities of the
Mayor of London
London election system
Analysis of Mayoral
candidates
Keyword
London Mayoral
Election booklets
Candidate research
sheet
First/second
preference
voting
Research news
about the three
main candidates
(Labour,
Conservative
and Liberal
Democrat)
CORT tools for
Tolerance



tolerate the
intolerant?
Mock
election
preparation
Our Mock
Election








tolerance
Analyse the issues
surrounding the BNP
candidate
Write assessment essay
Recall the responsibilities of
the Mayor
Reflect on what influences
voters
Develop team-working skills
Present election campaigns in
teams
Demonstrate Mayoral voting
system
Reflect on participation


CORT debating
Essay writing
debating
London Mayoral
Election booklets
Essay writing frame

Re-cap Mayoral
responsibilities
Brainstorm
Development of campaign
– speech and manifesto
Presentation of Mayoral
campaigns
Voting
Exit slips
Planning sheet
London Mayoral
Election booklets





Ballet papers
Exit slips
Campaign
Manifesto
Complete
campaign for
presentation
next lesson
CITIZENSHIP – Lesson Plan
YEAR:
10
SoW:
Power and
Politics
PREVIOUS LESSON:
NA – 1st lesson in SoW
NEXT LESSON:
What is our local council responsible for?
LESSON TITLE/KEY QUESTION:
What is democracy?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Define the concept of democracy
2. Recognise the difference between direct
and representative democracy
3. Analyse the practical realities of
representative democracy
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
ALL will be able to:
 Define the words democracy, direct democracy and representative democracy
MOST will be able to:
 Analyse the advantages and disadvantages of both direct and representative
democracy
SOME will be able to:
 Analyse a satirical cartoon to explain why representative democracy may not
always be ‘democratic’
RESOURCES REQUIRED:
 Democracy cartoon
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
 Unfair treatment reflection
 Keywords
 Representative v. Direct democracy
 Cartoon analysis
LESSON OUTLINE:
STARTER:
Ask pupils to write down in their books a situation in which they felt they
have been treated unfairly. Draw out from discussion with pupils that they
often feel like this were there is no mechanism for pupils to have their say
– link this to concept of democracy
TIME:
10 mins
1. Provide pupils with keywords democracy, autocracy, majority and
minority – explain the etymology of the word democracy (demos,
kratos)
5 mins
2. Using their definitions ask pupils to discuss in pairs and write down
whether we have democracy in school, our local area and our country.
10 mins
3. Provide pupils with definitions and examples for direct (X-Factor,
referendums) and representative (school council, national Parliament)
democracy.
5 mins
4. Pupils analyse advantages and disadvantages of each system – discuss
with pupils to draw out common ideas
10 mins
5. Introduce pupils to cartoon – pupils answer questions on this to build
up an essay-style answer on this cartoon
10 mins
PLENARY:
Selected pupils can read out their answers about the cartoon – use this to
check completion of learning objectives
10 mins
DIFFERENTIATION:
Set 4 will need further questions to break down the analysis of the cartoon. Set 2 can be left to work in pairs analysing
direct/representative whereas set 4 will be better doing this as a whole class activity.
HOMEWORK:
Research stories in the news demonstrating
the consequences of a country where there is
no democracy
KEYWORDS:
Democracy
Autocracy
Majority
Minority
Direct democracy
Representative democracy
Referendum
CITIZENSHIP – Lesson Plan
YEAR:
10
SoW:
Power and
Politics
PREVIOUS LESSON:
What is democracy?
LESSON TITLE/KEY QUESTION:
What is our local council responsible for?
NEXT LESSON:
How is our local council structured?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Analyse the responsibilities of the local
council
2. Reflect on the expense of these
responsibilities
3. Recognise the sources of funding for the
local council
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
ALL will be able to:
 State 5 responsibilities of the local council
 Recall one source of funding for the local council
MOST will be able to:
 Give examples of responsibilities for each section from the Croydon council
website
SOME will be able to:
 Give reasons for and against the proposition that council tax should be related
to income
RESOURCES REQUIRED:
 Local council website
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
 Croydon quiz
 Brainstorm
 Council website – ideas for brainstorm
 Keywords
 Funding choices
 Essay question
LESSON OUTLINE:
STARTER:
Croydon quiz
TIME:
5 mins
6. Initial brainstorm on discussion on pupils ideas about what the local
council might be responsible for
5 mins
7. Introduction to Croydon Council website – has 10 sections for visitors
to learn about its work. Pupils work in pairs to think of examples of
responsibilities for each section. Feedback and discuss with class
10 mins
8. Run through complete list of responsibilities – pupils copy down
keywords
5 mins
9. In pairs, pupils arrange responsibilities according to how much they
think these cost the local council. Present income/expenditure ‘tree’ to
pupils – compare to pupil ideas
10 mins
5 mins
10. Keywords on council tax
11. Introduce essay – in pairs pupils prepare plan for essay on “Should
council tax be related to income rather than house value?”
PLENARY:
Revisit learning objectives – use questioning of pupils to check that these
learning questions have been met.
10 mins
10 mins
DIFFERENTIATION:
For set 2, pupils may be able to get onto writing their full answer for the essay. For set 4 it is very important to ensure that during
the feedback for activity 2 all pupils get the correct answer (in order to full first learning outcome)
HOMEWORK:
Use Croydon Council website to investigate
further the budget for this year
KEYWORDS:
Council
Budget
Tax
Council Tax
Business Rates
CITIZENSHIP – Lesson Plan
YEAR:
10
SoW:
Power and
Politics
PREVIOUS LESSON:
What is our local council
responsible for?
NEXT LESSON:
How does national government work?
LESSON TITLE/KEY QUESTION:
How is our local council structured?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Reflect on how the local council could be
organised to fulfil its responsibilities
2. Recognise the how the local council is
structured
3. Evaluate how democratic the local council
is
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
ALL will be able to:
 Recall that Croydon council is structured with the Leader, Cabinet and Council
MOST will be able to:
 Explain the difference between the Mayor of Croydon and the Leader of
Croydon Council
SOME will be able to:
 Give reasons why the structure of Croydon Council is/is not democratic and
why it is structured in this way
RESOURCES REQUIRED:
 EdExcel ‘Citizenship Today’ textbook
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
 Recap of responsibilities
 Own structure
 Croydon council structure
 Keywords
 Croydon council facts
 Textbook questions
 Democracy reflection
LESSON OUTLINE:
STARTER:
Pupils recall 5 responsibilities of the local council
TIME:
5 mins
12. Individually, pupils think of their own borough and explain how and
why they would structure a council to provide services for this borough.
Link this back to the ‘desert island’ scenario at the start of the year
10 mins
13. Pupils make notes of the structure of Croydon council, explanation of
this and the relevant keywords for this topic
15 mins
14. Present and discuss facts about Croydon council
15. Pupils read through EdExcel textbook pages and answer the questions
from this to prove their understanding
16. Pupils make a note of the difference between Mayor and Councillor
PLENARY:
Pupils have already shown their understanding in Activity 4, therefore the
end of the lesson can be spent discussing how democratic this
arrangement is for the people of Croydon – link back to the cartoon from
the first lesson
5 mins
10 mins
5 mins
10 mins
DIFFERENTIATION:
Set 4 will need to read through the textbook as a class to check their understanding of this – they will also benefit from an
explanation of the answers to the questions, whereas set 2 will only need a quick summary of them to check that they are correct.
HOMEWORK:
Re-visit Croydon Council website to find out
local councillor, leader of the council and who
the current Mayor is
KEYWORDS:
Councillor
Cabinet
Leader
Ward
Mayor
CITIZENSHIP – Lesson Plan
YEAR:
10
SoW:
Power and
Politics
PREVIOUS LESSON:
How is our local council
structured?
NEXT LESSON:
Voting and Political Parties
LESSON TITLE/KEY QUESTION:
How does national government work?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Categorise responsibilities into those of
local government and those of national
government
2. Recognise the structure of national
government in the UK
3. Know the legislative process in the UK
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
ALL will be able to:

MOST will be able to:

SOME will be able to:

RESOURCES REQUIRED:
 ‘Democracy in the UK’ keyword sheet
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
 Quick questions
 Who does what?
 Keywords
 Political structure diagram
 Law making process diagram
 Dingbats
LESSON OUTLINE:
STARTER:
Quick questions recapping learning so far this half-term
17. Discussion and feedback onto board to separate functions of local and
TIME:
10 mins
10 mins
national government
18. Run through keywords on sheet – stress importance of these to pupils
for their GCSE exam
5 mins
19. Diagram for political structure in the UK, from voters to the Sovereign
10 mins
20. Diagram for the law making process in the UK
10 mins
21. Questions taken from pupils on what has been covered so far
5 mins
22. Discussion on how democratic this is – facts provided for pupils
5 mins
PLENARY:
Dingbats to check knowledge of the key terms
5 mins
DIFFERENTIATION:
There is a possibility for set 4 to have a second lesson on this topic, after this one, where pupils are given flashcards with the key
terms and have to sort them into words they know and words they need clarifying for them.
HOMEWORK:
Using ‘Democracy in the UK’ research the
terms to find current examples of them
KEYWORDS:
See ‘Democracy in the UK’ sheet
CITIZENSHIP – Lesson Plan
YEAR:
10
SoW:
Power and
Politics
PREVIOUS LESSON:
How does national
government work?
NEXT LESSON:
Electing the Mayor of London
LESSON TITLE/KEY QUESTION:
Voting and Political Parties
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Analyse the differences between
proportional and first-past-the-post voting
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
ALL will be able to:
 Recall the definitions for proportional representation and first-past-the-post
systems
2. Recognise the three main political parties
in the UK and their characteristic policies
3. Evaluate how democratic the current
system in the UK is
 State the names of the three main political parties in the UK
MOST will be able to:
 Explain how proportional representation and first-past-the-post voting
systems work
 Give 2 things the three main parties stand for
SOME will be able to:
 Analyse the two voting systems to answer the essay question
RESOURCES REQUIRED:
 OCR Citizenship textbook
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
 Recap of main terms
 Keywords
 Explanation of systems
 Analysis
 Political party research
 Essay
LESSON OUTLINE:
STARTER:
Replay dingbats from the last lesson – can pupils still accurately define
these keywords and explain their place in the political system?
TIME:
5 mins
23. Keywords – pupils copy these down and follow the example on the
board to show how these systems work and how they can lead to
different results for the same votes cast
15 mins
24. Questions on the voting systems – pupils discuss these in pairs and
answer them in their books
10 mins
25. Pupils use the textbooks to complete the tables about the three main
political parties in the UK
10 mins
26. In pairs pupils can plan essay before writing them individually
15 mins
PLENARY:
Return to learning questions – are all pupils able to answer these?
5 mins
DIFFERENTIATION:
Set 4 will need to come up with their own numbers to demonstrate the difference between P.R. and F.P.T.P – could even run a
mini-election in the class to ensure pupils understand the difference.
HOMEWORK:
Research and produce a fact-sheet about one
European country that uses proportional
representation
KEYWORDS:
Proportional representation
First-past-the-post
CITIZENSHIP – Lesson Plan
YEAR:
10
SoW:
Power and
Politics
PREVIOUS LESSON:
Voting and Political Parties
NEXT LESSON:
Should we tolerate the intolerant?
LESSON TITLE/KEY QUESTION:
Electing the Mayor of London
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Reflect on the responsibilities of the Mayor
of London
2. Know how the Mayor of London is elected
3. Analyse the candidates standing for Mayor
of London
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
ALL will be able to:
 State 3 responsibilities of the Mayor of London and 2 candidates running in
the election
MOST will be able to:
 Explain how 1st and 2nd preference voting works in this election
SOME will be able to:
 Summarise the key manifesto pledges of 2 Mayoral candidates
RESOURCES REQUIRED:
 London Mayoral Election booklets
 Candidate research sheet
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
 Re-cap local and national government responsibilities
 Responsibilities of the Mayor of London
 London election system
 Analysis of Mayoral candidates
LESSON OUTLINE:
STARTER:
Recap responsibilities of local and national government – discuss with
pupils what they already know about the Mayor of London (currently
during the election campaigns for forthcoming election – it is in the news)
TIME:
10 mins
27. Pupils make a list of the responsibilities of the Mayor of London in their
books from the election booklets
5 mins
28. Pupils make notes (giving examples) on how the 1st and 2nd preference
voting system works – stop pupils and check understanding of this
10 mins
29. In pairs, pupils can research fully one candidate, filling in the research
sheet for the candidate
10 mins
30. Pairs feedback to rest of the class, allowing them to complete the
research sheet
15 mins
PLENARY:
Can pupils recall all ten candidates and explain how the voting system will
work?
10 mins
DIFFERENTIATION:
Set 4 may not be able to work out from the election booklet how the voting system works without discussion and prompting to
draw out the correct answer.
HOMEWORK:
Research news about the three main
candidates (Labour, Conservative and Liberal
Democrat)
KEYWORDS:
First/second preference voting
CITIZENSHIP – Lesson Plan
YEAR:
10
SoW:
Power and
Politics
PREVIOUS LESSON:
Electing the Mayor of London
NEXT LESSON:
LESSON TITLE/KEY QUESTION:
Should we tolerate the intolerant?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Mock election preparation
1. Define the concept of tolerance
2. Analyse the issues surrounding the BNP
candidate
3. Write assessment essay
ALL will be able to:
 Define the word tolerance, giving an example to show its use
MOST will be able to:
 Give 2 arguments for and 2 arguments against allowing the BNP to stand in
the London Mayoral elections
SOME will be able to:
 Give their own opinion on the issue and consider the other side of the
argument
RESOURCES REQUIRED:
 CORT tools for debating
 London Mayoral Election booklets
 Essay writing frame
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
 Keyword
 CORT debating
 Essay writing
LESSON OUTLINE:
STARTER:
Recall the candidates the stand-out in pupils’ minds – draw the discussion
to the BNP and surrounding issues
TIME:
10 mins
31. Pupils copy down the definition for tolerance and give an example to
show their understanding of its use
5 mins
32. Using the CORT debating tools, pupils work through the issues involved
which will help them to write their essay
15 mins
33. Pupils write their essays using the provided writing frame
20 mins
PLENARY:
Discuss with pupils what the they found challenging about the essay and
what they were able to do well on the essay
10 mins
DIFFERENTIATION:
Set 4 will spend two lessons on this instead of one – they will spend a lesson preparing and then spend a lesson writing their
essays. This will enable them to access the material and show their understanding without the pressure of time. Set 2 are able to
complete this essays to a satisfactory standard in a single lesson – if they want to they can spend less time on the CORT debating
and move straight into the essay, examining the issues as they go. More able pupils can attempt to write the essay without using
the provided frame
HOMEWORK:
KEYWORDS:
Tolerance
CITIZENSHIP – Lesson Plan
YEAR:
10
SoW:
Power and
Politics
PREVIOUS LESSON:
Should we tolerate the
intolerant?
NEXT LESSON:
Our Mock Election
LESSON TITLE/KEY QUESTION:
Mock election preparation
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Recall the responsibilities of the Mayor
2. Reflect on what influences voters
3. Develop team-working skills
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
ALL will be able to:
 Recall the responsibilities of the Mayor and state two things that influence
voters
MOST will be able to:
 Work effectively in teams to produce all the required materials for the mock
election
SOME will be able to:
 Lead their teams to produce materials that will influence the class in voting
next week
RESOURCES REQUIRED:
 Planning sheet
 London Mayoral Election booklets
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
 Re-cap Mayoral responsibilities
 Brainstorm
 Development of campaign – speech and manifesto
LESSON OUTLINE:
STARTER:
Pupils give 5 responsibilities of the Mayor of London
34. Introduce the mock election to the class, allow pupils to get into teams
before explaining what is required of them for next lesson
TIME:
5 mins
10 mins
35. Pupils spend the remainder of the lesson working of their resources for
next lesson
ROL – Plenary
PLENARY:
Pupils share with the class a few key points from their manifestos
10 mins
DIFFERENTIATION:
Ensure that weaker pupils do not work all together – make sure they are ‘shared’ out so that stronger pupils can direct and assist
the weaker pupils. Encourage more able pupils to take an active role in leading their group and demonstrating their effective
team-working skills.
HOMEWORK:
Complete campaign for presentation next
lesson
KEYWORDS:
Campaign
Manifesto
CITIZENSHIP – Lesson Plan
YEAR:
10
SoW:
Power and
Politics
PREVIOUS LESSON:
Mock election preparation
NEXT LESSON:
NA – final lesson in SoW
LESSON TITLE/KEY QUESTION:
Our Mock Election
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Present election campaigns in teams
2. Demonstrate Mayoral voting system
3. Reflect on participation
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
ALL will be able to:
 Have the opportunity to vote in a mock election following the candidate’s
presentations
MOST will be able to:
 Contribute to their team’s presentation and reflect on this participation
SOME will be able to:
 Explain how the 1st and 2nd preference voting system produced the election
result
RESOURCES REQUIRED:
 Ballet papers
MAIN ACTIVITIES:
 Presentation of Mayoral campaigns

Exit slips


Voting
Exit slips
LESSON OUTLINE:
STARTER:
Give pupils a brief opportunity to collect their work and be ready to present
36. Groups take it in turns to present their campaign speech (Mayoral
candidate) and explain the content and design on their Manifesto
37. Pupils in the audience have an opportunity to ask questions at the end
of each speech
TIME:
10 mins
5 mins per speech
10 mins
38. Mock election and counting – clearly demonstrating 1st round, knockout and redistribution of 2nd preference votes
10 mins
PLENARY:
Pupils complete exit slips, demonstrating what they have learned and
reflecting on the process of participation
DIFFERENTIATION:
Not all pupils are expected to speak in front of the class – they have been given the opportunity to contribute to their group in
other ways, e.g. making the manifesto, researching policies etc.
HOMEWORK:
KEYWORDS: