Bellwork What do you think todays lesson is
Bellwork • What do you think today’s lesson is about? Image of hands being held up in the air. Image can be found at http: //www. huffingtonpost. com/elisa beth-macnamara/how-the-league-of -women-v_b_6220824. html Image of Jeremy Corbyn waving after inaugural speech as new Labour Leader. Cartoon image of ancient Greeks holding up placards saying ‘Power to the People’. Image can be found at https: //randomvudatala. com/201 4/03/ Image of people queuing up at a ballot box Image can be found at https: //www. rt. com/uk/315154 jeremy-corbyn-labour-election/ Project: Political Ideologies. School: Chalfonts Community College, Buckinghamshire. Date: September 2016
What will I learn today? Title: What is a democracy? LO: To investigate the notion of democracy Knowledge: • To know how democracies work • To consider how a democracy can influence change Skills: • To assess what a good democracy would involve • To evaluate the effectiveness of the British democratic system
Homework To what extent is it fair to say that riots are never justified under UK democracy? (8 marks) Before writing your answer, it may be an idea to draw a table – arguments for and arguments against – to help you plan.
What do you think?
66. 1% of the population vote in the general election and a Conservative government is chosen as a result (Which did happen in the 2015 election)
Only men can vote. (This was the case in Saudi Arabia until 2015. It’s still the case in the Vatican City) Image of women in niqabs putting their ballot papers in a ballot box in Saudi Arabia
Only people over the age of 18 can vote. (This is currently the case in the UK, but there is often talk of lowering this. )
There is no authoritative power and the community govern themselves-which can lead to anarchy (There are limited cases of where this works in the world, for a prolonged period).
Each constituency has their votes added up to give us a winning candidate and then the constituencies are added up to give us a winning party. (This is what we do in the UK)
Each individual vote is counted to give us a winning party.
In your pairs… • Which of the democracy notions we just looked at are the best? • Which are the worst? • What do you think an ideal democracy would look like?
What is a democracy? • In your notes now write down your own definition of a ‘democracy’. • The dictionary definition is: control of an organization or group by the majority of its members • Is your definition similar/different to this one? In which ways?
Democracy in the UK • It is thought that democracy began with the Ancient Greeks. • The main purpose was to create a service ‘from the people, for the people’ so that all decisions made by the authorities in charge represented the views of the people in their community. • Watch the clip about democracy in the UK and spider- diagram all the ways in which people can be a part of democracy in the UK today.
Democracy in the UK • Although voting is currently only for people over the age of 18, there are other ways to be involved in decisions the government make. • Do you think there are enough other accessible ways? • Would you personally use them? • Does this make the UK a good or bad example of democracy?
An uprising in a democracy: The London riots 2011 Image of looting during the London riots in 2011. Image can be found at http: //www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk 14471098 (image 4) Read the extract on your handout and answer the questions in your notes. Image of rioters in Tottenham in 2011 with building on fire and riot police. Image can be found at https: //www. theguardian. com/uk/2011/oc t/24/riots-analysis-gangs-no-pivotal-role
What have I learnt today? • Write down what you think an ideal democracy would involve, using the following key terms from today’s lesson in your answer: • Voting • Change • Uprising • Society Challenge: what in the UK represents a good democracy? What needs changing?
- Slides: 16