Part of the Edexcel Politics A Level UK Politics module A lesson (or series of lessons which can include homework) that asks students to research the pros and cons (for and against arguments) for lowering the voting age to 16 in the UK. Does include that 16 and 17 year olds can vote in Wales and Scotland. Begins with outlining what you can legally do at 16 in the UK - how many of these can they guess? Good starting point to argue ‘if you can do all this, why can’t you vote?’ Provides a basic timeline of the movement, and an extensive list of websites and sources to find information for and against the argument to extend the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds. Students can use these and their own research to produce an argument for both sides of the argument. There is a final task to bring the research together, including seeing what the general view of the class is. This could very easily be turned into a debate too! Note that Tutor2U has a GREAT resource on this, which specifically provides a source question and activities that are a good follow up to this lesson. I always used it, but obviously for copyright reasons can’t include it here.

This lesson is for the Edexcel A Level Politics Componant 1: UK Politics section (Democracy and participation). Two lessons included: First lesson: PPT and worksheet to fill in included - begins with a review game of of who can vote in UK parliamentary elections - can they select the correct options? Then contains extensive notes on the franchise before the 19th century, and then the changes produced by the Great Reform act of 1832. Main task asks them to produce a timeline of the development of the franchise using their notes, the additional sheets supplied and text book (requires the accompanying Pearson textbook), and then decide which event on the timeline they believe if the most important point for the growth of democracy in the UK and why. Bonus lesson: looks at the work of the Suffragettes and Suffragists in extending the franchise, including looking at lots of the propaganda they used. Great for a discussion lesson, can be used at your discretion.

Very first lesson for the Edexcel course, so also includes an introduction to the UK Government section of the course, including a brief overview of the topics, the layout of the exam etc. Lesson includes a detailed PPT and a worksheet to fill in. Lesson covers the meaning of democracy, an overview of the difference between direct and representational democracy, and an activity to address the strengths and weaknesses of both. Also provides detailed modern examples of both (Brexit and the 2017 minority government - the latter could be updated depending on the political events of the coming months!) Lesson concludes with an exam question planning session, great for a recap and to discuss essay structure.