My Lesson Plan [Module 4]

Learning Design for Political parties

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Context

Topic: Political parties and party politics

Total learning time: 75

Number of students: 25

Description: This is a lesson plan for civics class on uppers secondary / high school level.

Aims

The main aims of this lesson are to understand some ideologies behind the main political parties and to learn to formulate point of views concerning political questions. Also there is an aim to learn to find differences between parties. Students work in groups and they need to form political parties and describe the goals and the opinions of these parties in a wiki page or in a blog. Also they have to comment on each other’s wiki pages or blogs. Writing and commenting is done with tablets.

Outcomes

Knowledge(Knowledge): Students learn some basic knowledge about parties and political ideologies.

Comprehension(Comprehension): Studens learn to understand different kinds of political goals and reasons behind those goals.

Application(Application): Students learn to apply political ideology on some key questions in ongoing social debate.

Evaluation(Evaluation): Students learn to evaluate different kinds of political views.

1. Instructions for the lesson

Read Watch Listen 5 minutes 

Teacher will give the instructions for the lesson. First students have to create a fictional political party based on some main political ideology, which had developed during 19th and 20th centuries. For example conservative, liberal, socialist, nationalist or green party. Party can also be some sort of populist movement. Then they have to introduce their parties on a wiki page or a blog and comment each other’s pages. In the end there will either be a discussion or an argument and a Kahoot quiz.

2. Creating a political party

Collaborate 20 minutes 

Students have to do some inquiry concerning the ideology they have chosen. They do this with tablets. Then they have to form a political party. Setting up the party includes creating a party program, choosing a leader and making up a name for the party. The most important thing is the party program. It should some way reflect the ideology behind the party. Teacher may give some key question in which students have to answer in their party program.

Investigate 

Students familiarize themselves with political ideologies on which their party should base on.

3. Writing a wiki-page or a blog, and commenting other group's texts

Produce 20 minutes 

Students will write a description of their party to a wiki page or a blog. Students can use whatever platform they want, but easy option is to use ready-made wiki or blog sites in Moodle. Students may use pictures or videos if they wish and these can be embedded to their own wiki page. The most important thing is to write down some key goals and thoughts how they think that the society should be developed. These goals and opinions should reflect the political ideology which the students have chosen. When they are ready with their own wiki or blog, they can start to comment on each other’s works. This commenting has to be made from the group’s political perspective. Students write their comments with tablets to other group’s pages.

Collaborate 

Writing, producing and commenting is made together.

4. Short discussion or an argument, if there is enough time for it

Discuss 20 minutes

Students will introduce their parties and their goals to each other. There can be a short argument about some key questions if there is enough time.

5. Summing up with Kahoot! 

Practice 10 minutes 

In the end of the lesson we will play a Kahoot quiz with tablets (www.kahoot.it). This can alternatively be a Socrative quiz. The quiz is about existing political parties and their goals and ideologies. Students can play the Kahoot quiz in teams or pairs, because then they have to discuss and negotiate how they are going to answer each question.