Lesson Plans & Ideas for Primary and Secondary School Citizenship Teachers

Many UK based charities and organisations produce wonderful free lesson plans and worksheets for key stage 1 citizenship teachers and key stage 2 classes. Some of the teacher packs and posters are beautifully illustrated and will brighten up any classroom. World aid organisations produce more thought provoking classroom ideas for KS3 and KS4 citizenship students. There are great video film clips online with accompanying lesson plans for teachers.

Free Citizenship Teaching Resources & Materials Produced by UK Charities

Many UK charities produce topic led classroom material based on their cause. There are lots of animal charities that provide lesson plan ideas, case studies, videos and posters that are free for teachers. Global organisations produce some thought provoking material that deals with world issues such as global poverty and inspire children to actively contribute to a fair and just world. There are also small local charities that produce thought provoking, and often tear jerking material. Many of the resources produced by charities have very good visual elements that really help students connect with the issues. Many students may not previously be aware of common global issues such as the amount of people in the world who live in poverty, and the images, both still and video, combined with the case studies and teachers input can really help students to get a good understanding of the issues. 

UK Organisations who Produce Great Free Lesson Plans

There are also some great free materials from organisations out there for our teachers. Companies include the Electoral commission, BSI Standards, the British Film Institute, and BP. These organisations have specially commissioned educational resources so the quality you can expect is fairly high. On this site you can find links to great free teaching ideas that cover many of the topics covered in this subject, including globalization, justice, the European Union, volunteering, active citizens, local action, politics and the media. 

Want to join the Teachers Association?

If you would like help, advice and support from the professionals then the Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT) could be for you. They support teachers and schools in delivering citizenship in primary and secondary. They connect teachers to local and national networks and provide conferences, NPD and training.