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Lesson 4 of 5
  • Year 3

Individual liberty

I can explain what individual liberty means, why it matters and how to use it kindly.

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View unit
Lesson 4 of 5
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New
  • Year 3

Individual liberty

I can explain what individual liberty means, why it matters and how to use it kindly.

Download all

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Individual liberty is one of the fundamental British values, it means freedom to make choices for ourselves.
  2. It means we are free to choose our activities, friends and beliefs.
  3. Individual liberty is important for many reasons, for example, it allows people to be themselves safely.
  4. These freedoms come with responsibilities towards others.
  5. We should use our freedom in kind and caring ways and not to say or do things that hurt others.

Keywords

  • Individual liberty - the freedom to believe, speak and express yourself without hurting others

Common misconception

Individual liberty means a person can do anything they like.

Individual liberty means freedom with responsibility; choices must not harm others. Whilst we all enjoy individual liberty, there can be consequences if we use our freedom to hurt or harm.


To help you plan your year 3 RSHE (PSHE) lesson on: Individual liberty, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

You might want to adapt this lesson to include parts of the behaviour policy for your setting.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What are important rules made by the Government that everyone must follow called?

Correct Answer: laws, a law

Q2.
What is the main purpose of having laws?

to make life difficult for people
to give the police something to do
Correct answer: to keep people safe
to make lots of money
Correct answer: to protect their rights

Q3.
Match what happens without rules.

Correct Answer:no playground guidelines,children might get hurt playing

children might get hurt playing

Correct Answer:no traffic rules,car accidents could happen more often

car accidents could happen more often

Correct Answer:no classroom expectations,learning becomes difficult and noisy

learning becomes difficult and noisy

Correct Answer:no bedtime rules,children might feel tired and grumpy

children might feel tired and grumpy

Q4.
Who enforces the law in the UK?

Correct Answer: the police, police, police officers, policemen, police women

Q5.
What should you do if you want to play a different game than your friends?

force everyone to play your game
Correct answer: ask politely if they'd like to try your idea
walk away and refuse to play anything
tell them their game is silly and boring

Q6.
What should you remember when making choices that affect other people?

Correct answer: you should be kind and not hurt others
other people's feelings don't matter
you should always do what others want
only think about yourself

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word means the freedom to believe, speak and express yourself?

Correct Answer: individual liberty, liberty

Q2.
Match each choice you can make with what kind of freedom it shows you have.

Correct Answer:choosing your hobby,you can decide what activities you enjoy doing

you can decide what activities you enjoy doing

Correct Answer:picking your clothes on weekends,you can express yourself through what you wear

you can express yourself through what you wear

Correct Answer:sharing your thoughts,you can say what you think about things

you can say what you think about things

Correct Answer:selecting your snack,you can make choices about what you eat

you can make choices about what you eat

Q3.
Jack says "Individual liberty means I can do whatever I want!" Is Jack right? What would you tell him?

"Yes, you can do anything you like."
"Yes, but only at home."
"No, teachers decide everything."
Correct answer: "No, freedom comes with responsibility to others."

Q4.
Why is individual liberty important? What does it allow people to do?

Correct answer: It allows people to be themselves safely.
It lets people break rules whenever they want.
It stops people from having responsibilities.
It means children make all decisions.

Q5.
Put the following events in chronological order.

1 - Monarchs made all the rules about what people could believe and say.
2 - Magna Carta gave some people basic freedoms.
3 - The Bill of Rights protected people’s freedoms.
4 - The Human Rights Act made sure everyone has individual liberty.

Q6.
How can we use our freedom kindly? We can ...

Correct answer: think about others around us
Correct answer: respect other people’s choices
make fun of people's differences
Correct answer: take turns and share classroom equipment
ignore each other’s opinions