WarmUp

Over the next three weeks your students will have the opportunity to scrutinise the general election, share their insights and find out what's going on round the rest of the UK. Crucial to the quality of their debating experience is that they come to the Forum with at least a basic awareness of the topic.

These following activities are designed to assist you in using the student notes to build up this rudimentary knowledge-base. The core areas that will be covered in the following lesson activities are:

  • young people's understanding of elections, electoral processes and their place in a representative democracy
  • young people's own perspectives on the general election and political participation
  • the campaigns and policies of the political parties
  • young people's ability to access and utilise election-related information sources

The Hansard Society also provides teachers with materials for running mock elections in their schools. Visit the Mock Elections site to access the wide range of election resources available.  

Starter Activity

To start with it is important that students are knowledgeable on the correct meanings of some of the terms that will be encountered over the course of the Forum. A comprehensive glossary (or 'Jargon Buster') is available in the BackUp and, if time allows, you should endeavour to cover as many of these terms as possible.

If time is limited, we suggest that the class focus on the following terms:

  • candidate
  • election
  • electorate
  • franchise
  • turnout
  • vote

This glossary activity is a good means of introducing students to the basic dynamics of the general election. It is particularly useful for airing and resolving any confusions the students might have.