How can we tell if the UK is democratic?
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain what is meant by a democracy and give examples of democratic features seen in the UK.
Key learning points
- There are two main types of democracy: direct and representative. The UK is a representative democracy.
- Key features of democracy incude free and fair elections, multi-party system and protect of human rights.
- First Past The Post is the electoral system used for general elections in the UK.
- Democracy can always be improved, e.g., by increasing voter turnout, reducing apathy and addressing tactical voting.
Keywords
Democracy - a system of government in which citizens vote in regular, fair elections for representatives who then make laws and decisions on their behalf
Representative democracy - type of democracy where citizens choose others to represent them, making important decisions on their behalf
First Past The Post - the voting system used in the UK to elect members of some local councils and Members of Parliament, whereby the candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins
Common misconception
Low voter turnout means people are not interested in politics.
Voter apathy might play a part in low voter turnout but other reasons exist, such as feeling votes will not count.
Teacher tip
There is lots of terminology used in this lesson that comes up in the GCSE exams. Go over these with pupils and support them with opportunities to reinforce their understanding of them.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1. is the term that means rule to the people.
Q2.Which of these are branches of power in the UK?
Q3.Who is head of the executive branch of government in the UK?
Q4.Which is the electoral system used for the General Election in the UK?
Q5.The UK is considered democratic because it holds regular where citizens vote for their representatives.
Q6.Who is responsible for making laws in the UK?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following best describes "democracy"?
Q2. democracy is a system of government in which citizens elect representatives to make decisions and laws for them.
Q3.Match the term to its example.
the percentage of eligible voters that actually vote
eligible voters that choose not to vote as uninterested in politics
areas that are consistently won by the same party with a large margin
Q4.Which of the following are ways to improve a democracy?
Q5.Which of the following are democratic features in the UK?
Q6. votes happen when people vote for a party or candidate they do not fully support, often to stop a different party from winning.
To help you plan your 10 citizenship lesson on: How can we tell if the UK is democratic?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 citizenship lesson on: How can we tell if the UK is democratic?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 citizenship lessons from the Should the UK be called a democracy? unit, dive into the full secondary citizenship curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.