Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mrs. Allchin and I'm going to be taking you through this citizenship lesson today.

I'm going to give you all the information that you need to be successful, and I'm also going to pause and tell you when to complete a check for understanding or a task.

Hope you enjoy the lesson.

This lesson is called How Do I Carry Out My Action and it's taken from the unit of lessons: How Can I Be a Change-maker in my Community? By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to understand how keeping organised and considering potential barriers will help you to successfully carry out your active citizenship project.

Our keywords are organised, which is keeping things well planned so everything is done properly and on time.

Barrier, which is something that stands in the way of you achieving your goal.

And deadline, the latest time or date that something must be finished.

Our lesson outline for how do I carry out my action is that first we're going to consider how can I keep organised? And we're then going to look at what might the barriers be.

So let's start by looking at how can I keep organised? So carrying out an active citizenship project can feel very, very different to a typical citizenship lesson.

In a typical lesson, it's likely that there'll be some type of starter activity that you might do when you come into the classroom.

You might then be shown the objectives for the lesson.

Next, there could be some teacher instruction and discussion, and then finally, some independent work completed in your exercise book.

An active citizenship lesson could look different.

You'll likely be doing different things, so there'll be different groups doing different things, different people in your group doing different things, and you are likely to be working with greater independence and kind of getting on with it yourself really, and often without the structured step-by-step process of a traditional lesson.

Of course, there's still going to be structure within the lesson and your teacher will still be supporting you.

But active citizenship lessons do tend to feel and look quite different from a traditional lesson.

Aisha's asking, "Keeping organised is therefore very important.

Why is it important and how can you do it?" So pause and have a think about that question.

So it's important because the nature of active citizenship means that there'll be lots going on at once.

So as I've said before, you might be doing completely different things to people in your group, to other children in the classroom.

So it's really easy to lose track of what is happening and who is doing what and when.

So keeping organised is really important.

You'll need a clear and detailed action plan with agreed deadlines, regular check-in points, clear roles and responsibilities, and a way to keep a record of your work.

And these things are really important to make sure that you're staying organised.

Creating an action plan should happen early on in your active citizenship project.

It's a really fundamental, important document that will help you to be successful.

So it's important that you do that early on.

As we actually have a look at the active citizenship cycle, step three is decide your actions.

So around this point, this is when you might be thinking about what is that you're going to be doing.

Your action plan should clearly state what needs to be done, who needs to do it, and when it needs to be done by.

Your action plan should be a working document, and this means that it's referred to regularly and adapted if needed.

It's a good idea to start with an end date, your deadline, and work backwards.

And that's something that I still do in my job.

So thinking about your deadlines, that might be four, five, six, seven weeks in the future.

And then thinking backwards, all of those jobs that are going to be needed to be done to make sure that you can meet that deadline successfully.

And remember that you might write your action plan and by the end of it, you might have scribbled bits out, you might have changed bits, you might have adapted bits, and that's totally fine.

It's there.

You should try and stick to it, but things happen.

So your action plan might naturally change and amend as you go along.

Let's have a check for understanding.

So Aisha's group have made an action plan.

Which column does each piece of text belong in? So we've got write to local counsellors, Izzy and Jun, and 9th of November.

So you would've had it hopefully that right to local counsellors is the what, Izzy and Jun is the who, and 9th of November is the when.

This is a really nice, simple way of organising your action plan, literally telling you what needs to get done, who is responsible for getting it done, and when does it need to be done by.

You could also agree a way to RAG your action plan.

So RAG stands for red, amber, and green.

So for example, you might have it where if it's shaded in red, it means that's not being started yet, which is not a problem.

It might not be the point it needs to be started at.

Amber means it's started but not quite finished.

And green means that it's complete.

This can provide a visual overview for the whole group.

So that can be a really good idea of something to do and it just means that you can keep an eye on those.

Anything that's red, and it might be red because it's simply not at that point of to get that done yet.

But if something's red, it might be that actually you're starting to fall behind or someone's perhaps struggling to get all of their jobs done.

So having that RAG column can also be really useful.

That real visual clue about how on track you are.

Does anyone need to help anyone out? Does anyone need to swap jobs and things like that.

So you can see on here it's been RAGed green.

So the group would be able to look at that and they'd say, "Brilliant.

Izzy and Jun have written to local counsellors.

That's been done because that's green." Each row on your action plan would then follow the same format.

So that's obviously there just one row.

Your action plan will be filled with lots and lots of these rows going all the way down until your deadline.

If this is possible, use an online document that your whole group has shared access to.

You may even wish to add an additional column where you include links to other key documents or secondary research.

So if you've got access to ICT facilities at school, even if that's at lunchtime or after school or if you've got access to those facilities at home, having an online action plan is a really, really good idea.

Something that you can all add to, you can add comments to it, you can track it as you go along.

And then adding another column with hyperlinks that could link to lots of different things: interesting bits of secondary research, letters that people have written.

It can be a really nice way to keep things organised.

But if this is not possible, a paper copy will also work.

Absolutely.

But please be aware, it will likely adapt and change and things will get crossed out and things will get added to it and that's absolutely fine.

So Aisha saying, "Originally I was going to meet our head teacher on Tuesday, but this got postponed so I started my next job instead." That's a really normal, natural thing that could happen during a project.

Aisha had it in her head that she'd be doing this big important job on Tuesday, meeting the head teacher, but if for whatever reason that can no longer happen, rather than just sort of sat thinking, "Oh, what shall I do next", she would be able to use the action plan and see what other jobs were coming up and do them instead.

So that's that idea of being flexible and moving around different jobs.

You could also break your action plan down stage by stage if you wanted to as well.

So still on one large document, but you might have a get planning stage, a taking action stage, and a measuring impact stage.

So another thing that you could consider if you wanted to break your action plan down a little bit so it didn't feel quite so overwhelming, It's a good idea to schedule weekly check-ins as well.

And that's simply where you get together.

It doesn't take very long.

It might only be five, 10 minutes and you literally have the action plan in front of you and you check in.

Are we where we're meant to be? Is everyone okay? Is anyone having any problem? It can be really tempting to race through the individual jobs and taking time to pause and check in could feel as though you are wasting time.

But this is not the case.

So you might be thinking, "Oh, but I've got all these jobs that I need to do.

I just need to go ahead and get them done." But if everyone's thinking like that, there could be something going on or a problem occurring that you're not aware of.

Just taking that quick bit of time to check in is really important.

And that's what happens in businesses and organisations often at the start of a meeting, they do have a quick check-in and check in on the action plans.

Weekly check-ins will allow you to pause and refocus if you need to.

They are also a great opportunity to share success and that can be really lovely and really motivating.

It might be that somebody's had a really good bit of feedback from head teacher or has received a letter back from a decision maker.

So showing those successes can be really, really positive, but also to troubleshoot or amend your plan if things are going wrong.

So if someone's coming across a bit of a problem, bringing that to the group so the group can try and solve it together is really positive.

And the sooner you spot a potential barrier, the sooner you can fix it.

It's very likely that things will come up during your active citizenship project where things go a little bit wrong or something that you plan to do can no longer happen.

The sooner you're aware of that, the better because then you can change and amend your plans.

And by having those weekly check-ins, you're much more likely to notice when things are perhaps not going as they should.

Let's have a check for understanding What are the missing words? Weekly check-ins allow you to something and refocus.

They are also a great opportunity to share something and troubleshoot or amend your plan if things are going wrong.

The sooner you spot a potential barrier, the sooner you can something it.

Pause while you have a go at that check for understanding.

Let's see if you've got that right.

So weekly check-ins allow you to pause and refocus.

They are also a great opportunity to share success and troubleshoot or amend your plan if things are going wrong.

The sooner you spot a potential barrier, the sooner you can fix it.

So Aisha's asking, "How will assigning clear roles and responsibilities keep us organised?" What do you think? So the who column on your action plan, if you remember, so you have your what, and then you have your who, is really crucial for many different reasons.

It means that everyone knows exactly what they are supposed to do, reducing confusion and overlap of tasks.

You don't want two people doing the same job because it's just a waste of time.

Tasks can be completed simultaneously allowing the group to make better use of time and resources.

Individuals are more likely to take ownership of their work and make sure they work hard and get it done because their name is attached to it.

And defined roles help team members support each other effectively.

So if you come across a really great idea, you suddenly have a fantastic idea, you can look at actually who is responsible for that particular job and share your idea with them.

So it's really good to know who is doing what.

Aisha is also asking, "Do I need to keep a record of my work if it's not getting marked in the same way as my exam practise?" So what do you think? Yes, absolutely.

Step seven of your active citizenship project requires you to evaluate your active citizenship project.

And to do this effectively, you need to remember what it is you actually did.

And it can be really hard trying to think back and remember.

So keeping organised and keeping a record of your work is really important.

And also if you are taking the citizenship studies GCSE, you will also be asked questions about your active citizenship project in the exam.

So an evidence record can become a useful revision guide.

It can ultimately be what you use to help you to revise and remember exactly what you did in your project.

Your evidence record can be handwritten or digital.

It doesn't matter how it looks.

Just make sure it's clear and organised so you can review and improve your work later.

So it's not something that's gonna get sent away that's going to get checked by an an examiner anywhere.

It's purely for you.

So it needs to make sense to you.

It needs to be neat and organised so that you can read it and understand it and use it to help you remember what it is that you did.

You may wish to consider the following format.

So you might want to organise your evidence record like this.

So you might wanna have a project overview where you have the title and the aim of the project, what the issue was that you chose, and why it's relevant, because you could get asked about that.

Citizenship concepts linked to the issue as well.

So really making sure you are clear about the issue you chose and how it links to citizenship and therefore, why it's relevant.

You then might want to have a planning section where you might have some of those notes from those initial discussions.

You might have a list of the people in your group and what their role and group responsibilities were.

You would definitely have a copy of your action plan and the deadlines and also the different methods of research that you used as well.

You would then have a section on campaigning and action.

So a description of the action taken, just need to go into lots and lots of detail, but an overview of what it is you actually did.

Maybe photos or screenshots of anything that you have created or photocopies of things like questionnaires, for example, any evidence of contact with decision makers, so copies of any emails or letters that you sent out or any replies, and just a few comments on how well you think the group worked together as well can be useful.

And then your evaluation.

So any results of the action, any changes that were made because of the action, what worked well and what didn't.

So a list and an overview of the skills that you were able to develop by taking part in the project, a reflection on how the project showed active citizenship in practise, but also thinking about what you might do next to take the project even further.

So let's have a check for understanding.

State four ways you can keep organised during your active citizenship project.

And we've explored these this lesson.

So you might have said keeping a detailed action plan, having regular check-in points, assigning clear roles and responsibilities, and keeping a record of your work.

For task A, I'd like you to explain the top tips that will help you keep organised when completing your active citizenship project.

And your tips might include keeping a detailed action plan, having regular check-in points, assigning clear roles and responsibilities, and keeping a record of your work.

So pause while you have a go at task A.

So in explaining the top tips that will help to keep pupils organised, you might have included make an action plan and actually use it.

Think of this like your project's to-do list, but with dates.

Write down what needs to be done, who's doing it, and when it needs to be done by.

It helps everyone stay on the same page and it makes sure jobs don't get left until the last minute or forgotten.

Set regular check-ins.

Have little check-in sessions, maybe once a week after each main task.

You can update each other, help out someone stuck and keep things moving.

You might have also included assigned roles.

Everyone should know exactly what they're meant to do.

Don't have five people all trying to write the same email or design the same poster.

Give clear jobs like team leader, researcher, designer, communicator, and stick to them.

Keep records, proof of your actions.

Take photos, save your emails, keep notes on what you did.

It might sound boring, but it's very useful when you're evaluating your project.

Plus, this can act as a revision guide if you are taking the GCSE.

So we've had to look at how you can keep organised, and now we're going to have a look at what might the barriers be.

It's really good to think about possible barriers so that we can plan for them.

So Sofia's asking, "What is a barrier?" What do we think? A barrier is something that stands in the way of you achieving your goal.

Something that can make it difficult for you to achieve what you want to achieve.

What barriers might you face when completing your active citizenship project? What do you think? Pause and discuss.

Potential barriers during an active citizenship project could include not having enough time, not having access to the right people, money, or resources, lacking confidence, and also conflict within groups.

So Sofia's asking, "What could these barriers look like and how could they be overcome?" So pause and just have a think of those four.

What could that look like in practise and how could they be overcome? So lack of time can be a barrier.

There may be lots of things that you want to do, but you're struggling to find the time to do them all, especially if you are balancing this with commitments from all your other lessons.

So to get over this, you could create a detailed action plan by working backwards from the deadline.

Make sure roles are clear and tasks aren't duplicated, so they're not being repeated.

Be realistic about what's achievable now.

You could always develop the project further later, so make sure it's realistic in the time that you've got available to you.

So let's have a check for understanding.

What could Andeep's group have done differently to overcome this barrier.

So let's have a look.

Andeep's saying, "Everyone in my group loved the creative tasks, so we ended up with loads of great posters, but ran out of time to write letters to decision makers.

It all went a bit wrong." So what could Andeep's group have done differently? So Andeep's group should have made an action plan with clear deadlines and assigned tasks to each member.

This would've helped them stay on track and complete all key actions.

Lack of resources can be a barrier.

It might be difficult to get in touch with decision makers.

You might have ideas that cost money or as a group, you might have a lack of technology resources such as laptops, for example.

So to overcome this, try multiple methods to get in touch with decision makers such as letters, emails, or through social media if you have the trusted adult's permission.

Also remember that the action is still valid even if you don't receive a response.

You've still communicated your thoughts to them.

If you're trying to engage with decision makers in school, you could ask your teacher to promote this in staff meetings to make staff fully aware of your action.

So they might say, "Some of my citizenship students are going to be sending out an email, or they're going to be putting a leaflet in your pigeon hole.

Please do reply to them." And just give it that bit of a promotion really so they're more likely to perhaps help.

So you can use your teacher if you're trying to communicate with people on your staff body at school as well.

If technology is a barrier, consider asking if you can use your school computer rooms during lunchtime or after school if they're available.

Alternatively, look at each job separately and consider if they could be completed without technology.

You might not always need technology for every job or if there are jobs that could be done at home, if people in your group have access to a computer there.

So if you're going to be doing some homework, some home learning, you might want to consider if you've got people in your group that have got access to printers or laptops or things at home, are there any jobs that could be completed there? A lack of money should not stand as a barrier.

There is so much that can be achieved at no cost.

Often the most success can be achieved by really focusing on getting others to understand and support your issue.

This involves carrying out thorough research and knowing your issue well.

It doesn't involve money.

So let's have another check for understanding.

This time, what could Alex's group do to overcome their barrier? So let's have a look.

Alex is saying, "Ideally we want at least 80% of all staff to complete our online referendum, asking the question, 'should the government do more to tackle climate change?' So far we have had responses from about 30%, mainly the teachers that we know well." So Alex's group are really struggling to get enough staff to complete their online referendum.

What could they do to overcome this? Alex could ask their teacher to mention their email in a staff meeting and encourage others to complete the referendum.

They could also try visiting classrooms after school or writing reminder notes for their teachers.

A lack of confidence can be a barrier to some, especially if your action involves presenting to others or communicating with people that you wouldn't normally.

And this is why it's a great idea to assign tasks based on skillsets.

If there are people in your group who are confident at public speaking, they can lead on this.

So it doesn't have to be that if you've got someone in your group that the thought of public speaking makes 'em feel really, really sick and nervous, they might not necessarily have to do it.

There might be lots of other jobs that they can do instead.

However, if it was that you were lacking confidence, but you did actually want to have a go and you did want to improve that skill, which is fantastic, it is something you can practise.

So public speaking is a skill that people can get better at through practise.

You could rehearse in front of family at home, or you could consider group presentations where the emphasis isn't on one person and actually someone that's nervous might only need to say a few words just to build up that confidence.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false: if someone lacks confidence to speak publicly, they likely won't ever be able to do it.

Is that true? Is that false? And can you tell me why? And that's false.

And why? Public speaking can be improved with practise and may feel easier when done with a partner.

Remember, active citizenship projects involve many important roles.

Public speaking is just one of them.

Conflict within groups can be a difficult barrier to overcome because emotions are often also involved.

There might be arguments about what to do, who was going to do it, or concerns over people's work ethics.

There could even be concerns in the group that not everyone is working as hard as they should be, and that could be really, really difficult 'cause that can actually cause arguments and cause people to feel angry or upset.

So it's a really difficult barrier to overcome.

Remember the key concept of democracy when making decisions in a group.

So draw upon that.

If you can't all agree, if appropriate, have a vote.

Vote to decide on things.

And also consider personalities.

Ensure that all pupils are being heard and their opinions are valued.

You might have people in your group that are naturally more outspoken and a little bit louder, and others are a little bit quieter.

So it's really important that everybody gets to have their opinions heard because that can help with conflict later on.

Ensure your action plan clearly identifies who is responsible for each job as this will also help to hold others to account.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What could Izzy's group have done differently to prevent this barrier? So Izzy's saying, "My group are upset with me as they say it's my job to carry out the petition at lunchtime.

I'm pretty sure that was Jun's job.

I wanted to plan the speech the head teacher instead." So what could Izzy's group have done differently to prevent this barrier? Izzy's group needed a clear action plan that clearly stated who was responsible for which job.

This might have stopped any arguments later on.

If the group couldn't decide who was going to do which job, they could have discussed this and decided fairly as a group.

For task B, I'd like you to write a document that provides advice for pupils completing an active citizenship project so they can plan for and overcome the following barriers: not having enough time, not having access to the right people, money, or resources, lacking confidence, and conflict within groups.

Pause while you have a go at task B.

Your document that provides advice may have included: if you're doing an active citizenship project, the best way to succeed is to plan early and stay organised, especially if you're short on time.

Break the project in smaller steps and spread them out so it doesn't get overwhelming.

If you don't have access to the right people, money, or resources, try using what's already around you such as teachers, free online tools, and even school equipment.

If you're not feeling confident, working with others can help.

Share the load.

Practise your speaking or presentation a few times and remember that even small actions can make a big difference.

Finally, if your group isn't getting along, try to divide the tasks clearly so everyone knows what they're doing and talk it out early before things get worse.

It's all about teamwork.

So in summary of the lesson How Do I Carry Out My Action? It's important to stay organised during your active citizenship project.

You can do this by creating a clear and detailed action plan with agreed deadlines, regularly checking in as a team to ensure the plan is working, agreeing clear roles and responsibilities, and keeping a record of all your work.

You may come across barriers such as not having enough time, not having access to the right people, money, or resources, lacking confidence, or facing conflict within your group.

These barriers can be overcome through careful planning, making sure that everyone is clear about their roles, and thinking carefully about what you are trying to achieve and why.

That brings us to the end of today's lesson.

Well done for working hard, and I hope that you'll come for some more citizenship lessons in the future.