Lesson video

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

I'm going to be giving you all the information that you need to be successful, and I'll be pausing and telling you when you need to complete a check for understanding or a larger task.

I hope you enjoy the lesson.

This lesson is called "How can we get involved in our school community?" and it comes from the unit of lessons, Citizenship: what's it all about? By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to identify a number of ways we can make a positive difference in our school communities.

Our keywords for today's lesson are: community, which is a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common; active citizen, someone who takes responsibility and works to improve their community; school council, a group of pupils representing their peers in school discussions; and campaigning, actions or events organised by an individual or a group of people to achieve an aim.

Our lesson outline for how can we get involved in our school community is first we're going to look at who holds the power in our school community, and then what campaigns have we seen, and then how can we get involved.

So let's begin by looking at who holds the power in our school community.

We all belong to a school community.

The school community is a group of people that have a particular characteristic in common, and that particular characteristic is being a member of the school.

Not all school communities are the same.

Schools will have different characteristics and rules.

They will be run in different ways, dependent on the needs of their pupils.

An active citizen is someone who actively takes responsibility, becomes involved in areas of public concern and tries to make a positive difference in their community.

Even small actions by an active citizen can make a big difference.

There are lots of different ways someone can be an active citizen at their school.

So Alex is saying, "I helped organise a book drive.

We collected books and donated them to the local hospital for their waiting room." So that's an example of a pupil being an active citizen at their school.

And Laura is saying, "I was an active citizen when I fundraised for more accessible playground equipment." So another example there of being really active and doing something to make a difference in your school community.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false? All school communities have the same characteristics.

Is that true? Is that false? Can you tell me why? It's false, and why? All school communities are different because they have different values and have different people from different places in them.

Rules will also differ from school to school.

Some other examples of ways people can be active citizens include raising awareness for a particular cause or issue, fundraising, so raising money, petitioning, protesting about an issue, writing to key decision makers in the community.

So for example, that could be the head teacher, the local council, or even your Member of Parliament.

And also volunteering.

It is important that active citizens understand who holds the power within their communities.

By understanding who the key decision makers are, they can make their voices heard and are more likely to be able to bring about positive change.

So Jacob is asking, "Who holds the power at our school?" So think about that question yourself.

Who holds the power at school? So Andeep is saying the head teacher, or you might call your head teacher the principal, and governors.

We can have our say too through the school council.

So the head teacher and governors have that power within the school, but also through a school council, pupils can have a voice as well.

So let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following are examples of being an active citizen at school? A, joining the school debating team.

B, helping a friend with their homework.

C, organising the cleanup of the playground to improve the area.

C, organising a cleanup day of the playground to improve the area.

And Aisha is saying, "Options A and B are great things to do, but they aren't examples of actively taking responsibility or becoming involved in an area of public concern." So still lovely to do, but not necessarily active citizenship.

One way of getting involved in your school community is to become part of the school council.

You may also get involved by writing a letter to your school council about something you want to change.

A school council might have a different name at your school.

So you might call it a student or pupil parliament or a class or a year council.

But they mean the same thing.

In a school council, elective representatives raise and discuss concerns in the school and local area.

They challenge ideas and understand differences.

So Jacob is the chair of his school council.

So Jacob is saying, "My role as chair is to act as a role model to peers, be an active citizen, and be responsible for helping coordinate the school council meetings and activities like fundraisers.

Pupil voice is really important because it gives everyone a chance to share their views, have them heard, and make positive change." And that's really important if you're a member of the school council that yes, you are sharing your views, but you are listening to the views of your peers too.

Pupil voice is a forum for children to talk about what they want to change, what they like, and any challenges they have faced.

So let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following statements about the school council are true? School council, A, is a group of pupils elected to represent their classmates and voice their opinions; B, raises and discusses concerns about school and local area; C, helps communicate pupil voice to the people who run the school; and D, has the authority to hire and fire teachers.

So school councils do align with A, so they are a group of pupils that are elected to represent their classmates and voice their opinions.

They do raise and discuss concerns about school and even sometimes the local area, and they do help communicate pupil voice to the people who run the school.

They don't have the authority to hire and fire teachers.

School council representatives might meet new teachers and they might even be a part of the interview process.

However, the power to hire and fire doesn't ultimately sit with them.

For task A, I'd like you to discuss the following questions with a partner, or think about these yourself, and then write one or two sentences answering each of them.

So, one, who are the people responsible for running a school? And two, why do we need to know who they are? So your answers might have included: for thinking about who are the people responsible for running a school, there are many people responsible for running a school.

The governors, the head teacher, the deputy and assistant teachers, heads of years, class teachers, and the school council or school parliament all play a part.

Most importantly, you also have responsibility and power.

And then when thinking about why do we need to know who they are, it is important to know who the decision makers are and where power lies, as by understanding how the school or any community is run, you'll be in a better position to make your voice heard by them.

Then if you have an issue or concern, you know the right person to write to in order to help resolve it.

So it's important that you need to know who has the power and who makes decisions, because if not, it's going to be hard to know who to talk to about things that matter to you.

We're now going to have a look at what campaigns have we seen.

One method an active citizen can use is campaigning.

Campaigning means actions or events organised by an individual or a group of people to achieve an aim.

Usually campaigning is focused on social or political issues that people want to change.

There are lots of famous examples of campaigns that you might have heard of or learned about.

So Jun is saying, "I have been taught about the civil rights movement in the USA." So that is an example of a campaign, really well-known campaign about social action and political movement in the USA.

And Sofia is saying, "I've learned about that too.

I've also learned about the campaign for women getting the right to vote in the UK." So all of these are examples of campaigning.

Raising awareness is an important element of campaigning.

You need people to know what it is that you're talking about.

Some campaigns use social media to reach audiences in a low-cost, impactful, and effective way.

They might use platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, where their messages can be shared.

Other campaigns wanting to engage younger people will use social media to gather support.

Campaigns can also use more traditional advertisements.

For example, newspapers, magazines, and posters.

Some people use demonstrations or protests as part of their campaign.

Citizens get together to show support for an issue.

They sometimes try to gain attention for their issue by causing disruption.

So Jun is saying, "When I learned about the civil rights movement, I found out about Martin Luther King Jr.

He led the march on Washington in 1963 to gain attention for civil rights for African Americans.

200,000 people marched on the American capital that day." So let's have a check for understanding.

What are all the different ways that people can campaign? Tick all that apply.

A, by reading a book; B, by sharing on social media; C, by attending demonstrations and protests; or D, using traditional advertisements.

So all of B, C, and D.

So let's think about some campaigns that we might have actually heard of, some more campaigns.

So Greta Thunberg is a climate activist who started learning about climate change when she was eight years old.

She raises public awareness about the effects of climate change and what it is doing to the planet.

In 2020, she wrote a letter to European leaders about the importance of addressing climate change.

This is the opening of the letter that she wrote.

"Dear Presidents of the European Union, the climate and ecological crisis cannot be solved within today's political and economic systems. That's no longer an option.

It's a fact." So that shows there that passion and that understanding that Greta had as a climate activist.

Many other young people also campaign about the impact that climate change is having.

For example, when he was a teenager, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez gave numerous speeches rallying young people to fight for sustainability and raise awareness of climate change.

He also became a youth director of the environmental charity Earth Guardians, and spoke at the United Nations.

Both Greta Thunberg and Xiuhtezcatl Martinez are examples of active citizens who became involved in campaigning when they were young and still at school.

We can use their example as a way to motivate and inspire us to be involved in our school community as active citizens.

So can we remember the age that Greta Thunberg was when she first learned about climate change? Was she seven, was she eight, or was she nine? She was eight, which goes to show that you can really start thinking about being an active citizen at a young age.

Greta once said, "Once we start to act, hope is everywhere.

So instead of looking for hope, look for action.

Then, and only then, hope will come." For task B, I would like you to complete the following sentences, so you need to finish these sentences off.

So one, two active citizens who have campaigned for climate action and sustainability are.

They were campaigning because.

Some actions they took include.

I think this issue is or is not important because.

And other famous campaigns I have learned about include.

So pause while you have a go at task B.

So your completed sentences could look like this.

Two active citizens who have campaigned for climate action and sustainability are Greta Thunberg and Xiuhtezcatl Martinez.

They were campaigning because they felt strongly that if action is not taken to reverse the impact of climate change, it will have catastrophic consequences.

Some actions they took include giving speeches to raise awareness amongst young people, writing a letter to European leaders, and speaking to the United Nations.

You may have then gone on to say: I think this issue is important because campaigning for climate change and sustainability helps protect our planet.

If we don't do this, we could face problems like extreme weather and loss of animals.

By campaigning, we can make sure that the Earth stays healthy for future generations.

Some other famous campaigns I've learned about include the female suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, Jamie Oliver's campaign for healthy eating in school, and Marcus Rashford's campaign for free school meals in the school holidays.

We're now going to come to the last part of the lesson where we're going to think about how can we get involved.

An active citizen is someone who works towards making a positive change in their communities.

As an active citizen, it is important that you have the right knowledge to be able to make your voice heard by key decision makers and those in power.

So you need to know what it is that you're talking about so you can really, really put forward that question.

Two key areas active citizens need to know about are democracy and human rights.

If you like, pause and think about how confident are you with these citizenship concepts.

Democracy means rule by the people.

When you live in a democracy, you can influence decision makers and those in power by campaigning.

When you live in a democracy, your human rights are protected.

Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international agreement that protects your rights.

And Article 12 of this law says that you should be free to express your views in all matters that affect you.

So ultimately, children and young people's views should be heard.

Article 12 means that children have the right to express their views, and so, as active citizens, we should aim to adhere to this right.

Therefore, we should stand up for things we believe in and fight for fairness in society and within our communities, including in our school community.

You think about it, you spend a lot of time within your school community.

It's important, so you should speak up.

Becoming involved in your school community can take many different forms. You might try and join your school council.

You might write letters to those in charge.

You might actually take part in campaigning in school.

And you might provide your opinions by providing pupil voice.

And all of these are excellent examples of being an active citizen.

It's not just about being a member of the school council.

There's lots of other things that you can do.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Match the word to its definition.

So we've got democracy, active citizen, and human rights, and you are matching to either freedoms all people are entitled to, rule by the people, and someone who works towards making a positive change in society.

So democracy is rule by the people.

Active citizen is someone who works towards making a positive change in society.

And human rights: freedoms all people are entitled to.

Let's have another one.

Article 12 from the United Nations Convention states: is it A, actions or events can be organised by an individual or a group to achieve an aim; B, the basic rules, rights, and freedoms that you are entitled to; C, you should be free to express your views in all matters that affect you? And it's C.

You should be free to express your views in all matters that affect you.

So the views of children and young people absolutely matter and should be heard.

For task C, I'd like you to write a letter to your school council to raise awareness on an issue that is important to you.

I'd like you to look at what's on the screen and set it out in the same way as what's on this slide and on the next, so that we're practising those communication skills too.

So pause and have a look at how everything is laid out.

And then let's have a look at the layout here as well.

So you're going to start with your opening paragraph.

Then your main body, where you're going to evidence or justify, you are going to give reasons for why there needs to be a change.

Outline what you would like to do to make the change.

That's your main body of your communication.

Then you are going to have your closing statement and then you are going to sign off.

So pause while you have a go at task C.

So when writing a letter to your school council, this is what your answer might have included.

So you can see there that we've got two addresses.

And then let's have a look at the main communication.

"Dear school council representatives, I'm writing to you to raise awareness about the amount of litter on school grounds.

There are many reasons why littering is bad and should be taken more seriously.

One reason is that it has a hazardous impact on wildlife.

It also has negative impacts on our safety.

I suggest that the school council discuss the issue and resolve it by investing in more bins, not just in the classrooms but around the school grounds.

This will therefore give no excuse to why people are littering.

I also suggest that as a school we should address littering and establish consequences for it.

I'm looking forward to this being addressed in the school council meetings." And then as you can see, there is a professional sign off.

So in summary of the lesson "How can we get involved in our school community?", there are many people responsible for running a school: the governors, the head teacher, class teachers, the school council, and most importantly, you also have responsibility and power within your school community.

Being an active citizen in your school community means taking responsibility, becoming involved in areas of concern and trying to make a positive difference.

It is important to know who the decision makers are in your school community and to raise awareness, make change by campaigning on issues that are important to you.

That brings us to the end of the lesson.

Well done for all of your hard work, and I hope that you'll come to more Citizenship lessons in the future.