To participate in a debate. possible arguments for and against scrapping the Act and replacing it with a British Bill of Rights (as per the Conservative Party’s 2015 election pledge). Split students into two groups and ask them to prepare for a debate on the motion: ‘This house believes that the Human Rights Act should be scrapped’. Provide students with research material to help them make the case and . Run the debate, this guide to help . Ask students to vote. Ask students to write a reflection of their viewpoint and consider whether it has changed. Liberty’s Human Rights Act mythbuster: The Express Britain 'to scrap human right laws that let terrorists and criminals stay in UK': Cambridge University Guide to Debating: 18 Rights in the workplace Themes A5, D2 To understand that there are laws which protect employees. To know about the protection that is offered by these laws. To stand in other people’s shoes to experience issues relating to employment law. Use the TUC’s ‘Unions in schools’ resources to guide students’ understanding of the role of trade unions in society. Use the different case studies and tasks provided, which are supported by various relevant clips. Unions into schools: 19 Rights and duties of citizens / rule of law Themes A5, C2 To understand and explain how the rule of law is important. To consider what duties people have the rule of law. Show students the and ask students to make bullet-pointed on: What is the rule of law? How does fairness relate to rule of law? Present students with a list of human rights and ask them to explain each corresponding ‘duty’. Suggest that students focus on the right to education, or perhaps driving a vehicle. Present students with a list of ‘wants’ and ‘needs’. Ask students to sort them into the Professor Jeffrey Howell’s explanation of the rule of law
students to consider both sides of the argument here.) Use extracts from the to help stimulate debate. 24 Identifying problems/solutions Theme A8 To consider how best to make your voice heard with the local council. To look at a variety of local problems and consider possible solutions. Prior homework: ask students to take a photo of something in their community that they would like to see improved. Ask students to consider which of these is the most significant issue. Brainstorm effective ways of raising issues with the local council or create a card-sort asking students to rate the most effective. Some possible options to consider might be: to councillors or officers attend a full council meeting go to a cabinet meeting complain go to the council’s website demonstrate outside the council building attend a local meeting. Ask students to prepare short presentations about local problems and solutions to show to the visiting local councillor next lesson. 25 Presentations and Q&A with local councillor Theme A7, A8 To understand the work of a local councillor. To present issues of local concern to a decision-maker. Facilitate a session with your local councillor. You may wish to invite them into school or organise this session as part of a school visit to your local council chamber. 26 End-of-module internal assessment To evaluate your understanding of this unit. You may wish to use some of the sample Edexcel assessment material that students will sit for their final exam, as a basis for constructing your end-of-module internal assessment.
lonely and subsequently campaigning for more day centres to help them? After this discussion, ask students to work either individually or as part of a group to draw and label their ideal active citizen. What contribution would they make and how might they behave? Extension/follow-up activity: You may wish to further investigate digital democracy with your students by looking at the issue of whether clicking ‘like’ on Facebook is a form of ‘slactivism’ or whether it enhances democratic engagement. Have they personally participated in any online campaigns? Following on from the #Kony2012 (which you may wish to show students) you could opt to show Al Jazeera’s coverage of the debate as stimulus for students. 63 Having your say in other parts of the world: comparing democracies and dictatorships Theme D1 To compare the key differences between dictatorships and democracies around the Brainstorm dictatorships as a starting point for the lesson with the class. What do students already know? Use this as a discussion point to tease out some of the key differences between democracies and dictatorships, which are investigated in greater detail during the next task. Produce a card-sort showing the key differences associated with democracies and dictatorships. Ask students to split the cards into two piles, representing the different systems. How is of living in a dictatorship different from our experience in Britain? Ask students to write a short reflection. You may wish to focus on a topical story about whether or not the British government should cut its links with dictatorships around the world, as argued by some human-rights campaigners. Do students think that trade and good Alois' experience of living in a dictatorship: Human rights ahead of the President’s visit: what is China accused of?
Theme D4 these come from? Can they spot any correlations? Ask students to collect a variety of papers prior to the lesson (or bring these into class yourself). Consider basic questions about the difference between newspapers. Which ones would they classify as tabloid/popular and which would be quality (or what used to be known as a broadsheet)? Use the newspapers as a tool to get students to highlight and present to the class stories that they have identified as being more factual and those that are more based upon opinion or commentary. 89 Is the media honest and truthful and how is it regulated? Theme D4 To develop critical awareness of the To consider whether the ‘Hacked Off’ campaign is right to demand tighter media regulation. Introduce students to the idea of spin by showing topical headlines that focus on the same story. It might be worth focusing on particularly contentious issues and comparing the coverage of, say, a migration or immigration story. Comparing the coverage of a newspaper such as the Daily Mail or Express to that of the Guardian in this regard may be a good starting point. Explain that in the UK, newspapers are free to report comment and can be biased, whereas television news is highly regulated and needs to give multiple perspectives. If time permits, looking at the difference between US and UK television news is particularly interesting. You may wish to search online for clips from Fox News vs the BBC’s coverage. Download information and use Hacked Off’s website. Ask students to investigate how the is regulated in the UK at present and Newspaper front pages: Hacked Off – the campaign for a free and accountable press: http://hackinginquiry.org
99 Model UN role-play preparation To understand what a model UN session is (MUN). To prepare to play a part in a model UN session. Open with a short video from YouTube explaining the Model UN session. Explain that they take place throughout the world in schools, colleges and universities. 1. Whatever UN body you opt to replicate (the UN Security Council is usually the most popular), split your class into small groups and assign them a UN member state. They should assume the role of that country’s diplomats. The delegates represent the views of their country, reflecting that country’s national interests, rather than their own personal opinions on an issue. 2. The delegates should spend this lesson researching their country’s position on whatever topic you select for debate, paying particular attention to their country’s perspective on the topic to be discussed at the Model UN. You may wish to select the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, economic justice, or the provision of clean water, for example. Video: An introduction to Model United Nations: UN Associations Model UN resources: http://www.una.org.uk/globe 100 Model UN role-play To learn about the function of the UN through a model UN simulation. As teacher you will probably wish to chair the model UN role-play meeting, or ensure that a student feels comfortable doing so. In this session the delegates come together to enact the UN meeting, based on agreed rules (see guides on the UN Association website for help with this). The delegates should be invited to present statements of their countries’ positions and debate and negotiate with the other delegates, both through formal and informal debate. Bring students together to write a resolution that is then debated, negotiated and amended, in line with UN Association UN resources: http://www.una.org.uk/globe