- familiarise yourself with the resources offered on this blog!
- look back at some of the key terms and concepts you learned last year
- research an area arising from this and...
- create a '3 facts 3 questions 3 sources' briefing/quiz for the rest of the class
TASK ONE: 6 GROUPS TACKLE 4 QUESTIONS EACH FROM THE QUIZ SHEET
We'll form 6 groups of 4-5 students.
We'll answer Q1 together then you've 4mins to try and answer Q2-5 (group1), Q6-9 (group2), Q10-13 (group3), Q14-17 (group4), Q18-21 (group5), or Q22-25 (group6).
We will then quickly go through the answers.
TASK TWO: 6 GROUPS RESEARCH A TOPIC + PREPARE A POWERPOINT WITH at least 3 FACTS, 3 QUESTIONS + 3 USEFUL ONLINE RESOURCES
You'll find below 6 sections, one for each group.
Each group has a video and some suggested online resources they can use to create a PowerPoint on this topic.
The PowerPoint must be saved with the topic in the file name, eg Group6 Youth Council.
I will gather these in on memory sticks.
You have fifteen minutes to research and complete this task (that includes saving + getting the completed file copied onto the teacher's computer for screening); everyone must contribute at least one fact or question.Multiple choice questions are a good choice when its highly unlikely your classmates would be able to get the specific answer; the options and questions must be sensible and helpful for understanding your topic.
You do not have time now to look at the other groups' resources, but you can always do so in your time using this blog.
Try to employ some of the terms used in the quiz sheet we started the lesson with!
GROUP 1 RESOURCES: MANIFESTOS + EDUCATION POLICY
For this topic you could research:
- what the major political parties policies were on certain issues at the last general election (policies are published in their official manifestos)
- what policies they currently have
- what current debates there are about education
- focus on debates and proposals that might impact on yourselves or your younger peers
- examples: GCSE reform, scrapping modular exams and coursework, introducing then tripling university fees, slashing university funding, the abolition of EMAs, the Academy policy, the English baccalaureat
Conservative policy in 2012;
Labour policy in 2012;
LibDem policy in 2012;
Policies in the 2010 election manifestos (Telegraph guide);
Recent articles on education policy (The Guardian);
Labour should ditch exams at 16 (Guardian opinion article);
NUS announce November 2012 protest; (also: Guardian article on this)
Labour wants to set up military schools (BBC, 2012);
BBC education stories;
16 year-old gives education speech at Labour conference (video)
Tuition fees Wiki;
Government guide to tuition fees (DirectGov);
BBC guide to tuition fees.
Yes, Minister clip (classic BBc sitcom):
GROUP 2 RESOURCES: ELECTORAL SYSTEMS
For this topic you could research:
- what the major political parties policies re on electoral reform
- the arguments for and against FPTP or PR
- the mix of electoral systems used in the UK for general, local, European, regional and devolved assembly/parliament (Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) elections
- the level of public support for various voting systems
- the recent referendum on voting reform, the result, why it failed
- how many/few of our European neighbours use FPTP
BBC glossary of electoral terms;
Frequently asked questions about elections (BBC);
Politics.co.uk guide;
Wiki on electoral reform;
The Electoral Reform Society;
Electoral reform articles (Guardian);
After referendum defeat, what next for electoral reform (opinion piece, Guardian)
About.com compares FPTP + PR;
http://www.dprvoting.org/FPTP_comparison.htm;
BBC explains FPTP + compares PR (video/text);
Electoral systems explained through Lego - video:
GROUP 3 RESOURCES: LOCAL GOVERNMENT
For this topic you could research:
- what powers do local gov have
- how are they funded
- what was the poll tax and what was public reaction to this attempted reform of local taxation
- what do the LibDems argue should change about local taxation (mansion tax)
- how many levels of government are there below the national level, and how does this differ in NI, Eng, Scotland + Wales
- just how much money is spent by local gov which agencies are run by local gov
- what power do they have to overturn BBFC film ratings (as happened with The Dark Knight and Sweet Sixteen in many council areas)
DirectGov guide to local gov in UK;
Gov agencies run by local gov;
Councils should have right to say prayers (Telegraph);
Local gov should be freed from Whitehall (national) control (opinion piece, Guardian);
UK local gov Wiki;
Yes, Minister clip (classic BBc sitcom):
GROUP 4 RESOURCES: GOVERNMENT MINISTERS + MINISTRIES
For this topic you could research:
- what does a gov minister do
- what privilieges does s/he get
- is their wage higher than a backbencher
- do ministers stay in the same job for a long time, or do they often change jobs/ministries
- are they appointed to a ministry because they are experts in that field
- what is a cabinet reshuffle
- which senior ministers/ministries were reshuffled recently by PM Cameron
- have any gov ministers been forced to resign in recent times
Wiki of UK gov ministries;
DirectGov list of UK gov ministers;
Parliament UK on gov ministers;
2012 reshuffle (BBC guide);
2012 reshuffle - list of changes (Guardian);
2012 reshuffle mean shift to right-wing policies (Guardian);
DirectGov on Cabinet - history + how it works;
Videoclip from Yes, Minister (classic BBC sitcom) on cabinet rehuffles:
GROUP 5 RESOURCES: YOUTH COUNCILS + VOTING
For this topic you could research:
- what is a youth council
- what examples are there
- how long have there been youth councils
- what do they do
- is there strong public awareness of youth councils and what they do
- have they influenced any government/party policies
- do they get much media coverage
- are there any local youth councils
- should 16 year-olds get the vote
- Scotland is giving 16 year-olds a vote in the referendum on Scottish independence
- which parties propose giving 16 year-olds the vote
Arguments for + against giving vote to 16 year-olds;
North Yorks Youth Council;
York Youth Council - buses policy change;
Kirklees Youth Council webcast meetings;
Bradford-Keighley Youth Council;
British Youth Council;
How to create a Youth Council;
Wiki on Youth Councils;
Videoclip from Yes, Minister (classic BBC sitcom):
GROUP 6 RESOURCES: GOVERNMENT BUDGET + SPENDING
For this topic you could research:
- how much does the UK gov raise in a year - and how much does it spend
- what is our national debt
- what are 'austerity measures' and why do the coalition gov support this, and Labour (partially) oppose this
- look into spending by different departments; you could ask classmates to rank 3 gov departments in order of budget
- how much goes to the EU
- how much comes in from the EU
- spending at the local level
- comparisons with other countries budgets/debts
Gov spending: the concept [Wiki; the 1st para is useful as context];
Bradford Metropiltan Council: budget and spending [may be pending update];
Bradford Met. Council: spending items over £500 [may be pending update];
Treasury UK budget guide [official gov. site];
UKPublicSpending.co.uk [unofficial site lays out figures very clearly];
Statistics.gov.uk gov spending guide [official gov site];
UK DebtBombshell.com [pressure group; features 'national debt clock'];
UK budget: Wiki;
UK Gov defeated over EU budget [BBC report 31.10.12];
Budgets ranked worldwide [Wiki];
France puts tax rises before spending cuts [BBC 2012; France is seen as representing a leftist alternative to the austerity policy favoured by right-wing, free market govs such as UK + Germany]
Taxpayers told how gov spends their tax contribution [2012 D.Tele report];
£400m Environment/Climate underspend defended [Guardian 2012 report];
Gov marketing budget to increase [2012 BBC report];
Scottish gov spending [you can find sim for NI, Wales + UK regions]
Videoclip from Yes, Minister (classic BBC sitcom):
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