Lesson Plans
Please note that the lessson plans are in PDF format.
To view Acrobat PDF files, you need Acrobat Reader.
Elementary
- English
- Blue Box Democracy
- This activity will encourage students to think critically and explore the issues regarding low voter turnout
- The British Columbia Peoples' Festival of Democracy
- Students will research, analyze, synthesize and present information and interesting facts about the history, process, and importance of democracy in British Columbia.
- Students will present their findings to an audience and will showcase the importance of engaging and educating our society in the Legislative processes.
- Students will utilize visual, audio, oral, written, organizational and collaborative skills that encompass many areas of cross-curricular subject matter.
- Change You Can Believe In
- Methods of influencing government.
- Committing to Community: Why Bother?
- This lesson was developed in response to the concern about general apathy in civic life, including low voter turnout. In an attempt to encourage students to engage in personal civic responsibility, they will first explore and discuss the meaning, importance and relevance of community in their own lives. Students will then identify a need in their own community and develop an Action Plan to meet that need.
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Polling Station
- This project is designed to enhance students’ interest in the election process in British Columbia by bringing important dates in electoral history to life.
- History and Mystery in the House
- To clarify the history of objects and traditions involved in the parliamentary process.
- Internet Search Assignment: Question Period
- Give students the opportunity to explore the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia website and familiarize themselves with various sections.
- Legislative Debate: The Importance and Role of Debate within the Legislative Process
- This series of lessons is a unit within a larger study of legislative government focusing on the discussion of issues and developing an understanding of opposing viewpoints.
- “LEG”eopardy - Legislature Jeopardy Game
- Students will play “LEG”eopardy, like the TV game Jeopardy and practise debating skills with concepts related to the B.C. Legislative Assembly.
- Lost at the Legislature
- A day-by-day description of a teacher's experience at the BC Teachers' Institute on Parliamentary Democracy (BCTI).
- Classroom Presentation - includes links, tasks and discussion activities.
- Peer Presentation - outlines the events of the Institute briefly
- Myth Busting: Separating Parliamentary Myths from Reality
- To identify common perceptions and misconceptions relating to the role of Parliament and to identify the myths versus the reality on how the Parliament operates.
- Now Playing at the Leg.
- Through a game format, students will learn and apply their knowledge about roles and responsibilities of the key players in the provincial government. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of this topic by responding to questions on clue cards while moving along a game board.
- Parliamentary 101 or "How to Get Things Done!" (Unless You're in Opposition)
- Students will develop an understanding of the roles of Parliamentary Committees and MLAs used within the parliamentary/decision-making process.
- So You Think Government is Boring...
- We all love to listen to a good story. Government is often viewed as being "boring", but teachers can utilize the art of storytelling to act as a medium through which they can capture their students’ imaginations. Through narratives, concepts are placed within a more meaningful context, historical figures come to life, and otherwise seemingly mundane details can become memorable.
- SURVIVOR Victoria – Should we vote the Queen off the island?
- The students will explore a Constitutional Monarchy and contrast that with a republican form of government. Ultimately, they will decide if they want to keep our Constitutional Monarchy.
- Then and Now: Art or Fact
- Demonstrate an understanding of the evolution of Parliamentary Institutions.
- "To Speak or Not to Speak"
- Students will explore the role of the Speaker of the House and examine the importance of neutrality in that role.
- Understanding the Purpose of Provincial Government
- Summarize the purposes of the provinical government:
- to familiarize students with vocabulary relating to government
- to familiarize students with the three branches of government
- to familarize students with roles and responsiblities of the provincial government.
- Vote: Own It or Get Owned!
- In this lesson students will create a 30 second to 1 minute advertisement using technology to encourage voter participation.
- Who are You Going to Call? (Three Levels of Government: Local, Provincial and Federal)
- Students will recognize the responsibilities of the three levels of government (local, provincial, and federal).
- Who's Who and What Do They Do?
- To clarify the roles and responsibilities of the people involved in the parliamentary process after watching them in action at the B.C. Legislature.
- Who's Who in the House?
- To research the responsibilities of the Lieutenant Governor, the Premier, the Speaker, MLAs, Clerks and others working at the Legislature; and, To role-play the passing of a Bill through the House.
- Français
Secondary
- English
- Blue Box Democracy
- This activity will encourage students to think critically and explore the issues regarding low voter turnout.
- Branches of Government
- Understanding of the three branches of government through case studies.
- The British Columbia Peoples' Festival of Democracy
- Students will research, analyze, synthesize and present information and interesting facts about the history, process, and importance of democracy in British Columbia.
- Students will present their findings to an audience and will showcase the importance of engaging and educating our society in the Legislative processes.
- Students will utilize visual, audio, oral, written, organizational and collaborative skills that encompass many areas of cross-curricular subject matter.
- B.C. Provincial Elections WebQuest
- The students will use guiding questions and research the electoral system in B.C. Next, the students will present their research information in the form of several journal entries.
- Change You Can Believe In
- Methods of influencing government.
- Choosing the Cabinet (Provinicial)
- This activity will encourage students to think critically and explore the issues regarding low voter turnout.
- Committing to Community: Why Bother?
- This lesson was developed in response to the concern about general apathy in civic life, including low voter turnout. In an attempt to encourage students to engage in personal civic responsibility, they will first explore and discuss the meaning, importance and relevance of community in their own lives. Students will then identify a need in their own community and develop an Action Plan to meet that need.
- Democracy: The Right to Disagree and the Responsibility to Cooperate
- Within a unit on government in British Columbia, this is a lesson that can be used to demonstrate two tenets of democracy: the right to disagree and the responsibility to cooperate. Before this lesson, students should have an understanding of the historical roots of the Canadian political and legal systems.
- Electoral Reform
- A comparative study of electoral systems.
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Polling Station
- This project is designed to enhance students’ interest in the election process in British Columbia by bringing important dates in electoral history to life.
- How to Get the Premier’s Ear: Creating a Concept Paper
- Students will select an issue and work through the process of creating a concept paper
- The Influence of Media on Decision Making: Exploring Ideas of Bias in Media with a Committee of the Legislative Assembly
-
Students will:
- develop and express appropriate responses to issues or problems;
- assess the influence of mass media on public opinion;
- develop, express, and defend a position on an issue, and;
- demonstrate the ability to think critically, including the ability to define an issue or problem and develop a hypothesis and supporting argument.
- Internet Search Assignment: Question Period
- Give students the opportunity to explore the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia website and familiarize themselves with various sections
- “It is Leff-tenant, Not Loo-tenant”
- The students will be able to describe the role of the Lieutenant Governor, and learn and appreciate the responsibilities of this important and traditional position of authority.
- The students will be able to decide on the personal characteristics recommended for consideration in the selection process for the next Lieutenant Governor.
- The students will be able to research prominent British Columbians who may become nominees for the position of the next Lieutenant Governor.
- Junior Village Council/Local Government
- Elect 2 representatives to form a junior village council or local government and hold a meeting where students play the roles of the mayor and councillors, who meet to introduce, debate, and vote on proposal for their village or local government.
- Mock Provincial Parliament
- A three Lesson Mock Provincial Parliament Unit.
- Myth Busting: Separating Parliamentary Myths from Reality
- To identify common perceptions and misconceptions relating to the role of Parliament and to identify the myths versus the reality on how the Parliament operates.
- A New Voting System for B.C.
- Students will:
- gain an understanding of a variety of electoral systems (current and potential) through the examination of past election results;
- think critically about possible alternatives, and;
- prepare a proposal for the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform.
- Now Playing at the Leg.
- Through a game format, students will learn and apply their knowledge about roles and responsibilities of the key players in the provincial government. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of this topic by responding to questions on clue cards while moving along a game board.
- Order of Precedence for B.C.: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
- communicate effectively in written and spoken language or other forms of expression, as appropriate to the social sciences;
- demonstrate the ability to think critically, including the ability to:
- define an issue or problem, and,
- develop hypotheses and supporting arguments;
- gather relevant information from appropriate sources;
- assess the reliability, currency, and objectivity of evidence;
- develop and express appropriate responses to issues or problems;
- reassess their responses to issues on the basis of new information;
- demonstrate skills associated with active citizenship, including the ability to:
- collaborate and consult with others,
- respect and promote respect for the contributions of other team members, and,
- interact confidently;
- assess the role of values, ethics, and beliefs in decision making;
- demonstrate appropriate research skills, including the ability to:
- develop pertinent questions about a topic, an issue, or a situation,
- collect original data, and,
- use a range of research tools and resources, and;
- compile and document task-specific information from a wide variety of print and electronic sources
- Parliamentary Committee Live with...
- Students will demonstrate learning in how B.C.'s parliamentary committee system operates
- Parliamentary 101 or "How to Get Things Done!" (Unless You're in Opposition)
- Students will develop an understanding of the roles of Parliamentary Committees and MLAs used within the parliamentary/decision-making process.
- Politics and Government in Daily Life
- This is an introductory exercise for the government unit. The exercise is a participatory opener that will help students to develop an understanding of the relationship between politics and current issues, thereby gaining an appreciation for the role of politics in daily life.
- Show Me the Money
- Students will be divided into groups. Within these groups, students will take on the role of Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers. The students will be asked to estimate, present and negotiate budgets for a single ministry.
-
So You Think Government is Boring...
- We all love to listen to a good story. Government is often viewed as being "boring", but teachers can utilize the art of storytelling to act as a medium through which they can capture their students’ imaginations. Through narratives, concepts are placed within a more meaningful context, historical figures come to life, and otherwise seemingly mundane details can become memorable.
- The Structure of British Columbia’s Government
- This review activity is intended as a pre-assessment tool. The format is a “card game” centred around a “Jeopardy” type of task designed to review pertinent information on the subject of the three branches of B.C.’s government.
- To Speak or Not to Speak
- Students will explore the role of the Speaker of the House and examine the importance of neutrality in that role.
- SURVIVOR Victoria – Should we vote the Queen off the island?
- The students will explore a Constitutional Monarchy and contrast that with a republican form of government. Ultimately, they will decide if they want to keep our Constitutional Monarchy.
- Understanding and Explaining the Role of the Media in a Free and Democratic Society
- The intent of the following assignments is to have students understand the role of the media in a democratic society.
- Vote: Own It or Get Owned!
- In this lesson students will create a 30 second to 1 minute advertisement using technology to encourage voter participation.
- Who are You Going to Call? (Three Levels of Government: Local, Provincial and Federal)
- Students will recognize the responsibilities of the three levels of government (local, provincial, and federal).
- Who's Who and What Do They Do?
- To clarify the roles and responsibilities of the people involved in the parliamentary process after watching them in action at the B.C. Legislature.
- Why Parliamentary Tradition Today?
- A lesson designed to increase awareness of the significance of tradition in the current parliamentary processes.
- Français
|
 |
