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40 mins
Teacher/Student led
+50 XP
Teacher-led from the board. Pupils do not need a device, but can follow on one.

Choosing Which Action to Record

You review your three completed citizenship actions and decide which one to record for your Classroom-Based Assessment. You consider what the assessment requires in terms of engagement, reflection and presentation before justifying your selection in writing.

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    1 - Start ~4 mins

    Illustration for StartYou have already run three citizenship actions: one on rights, one on a global challenge, and one on democracy, power or the law. For the Classroom-Based Assessment you record only one of them as your Citizenship Action Record. Today you choose which one, and you justify that choice against what the assessment actually asks for.

    Key point

    The action that went most smoothly is not always the one that gives you most to write about.

    2 - What the Record Is Looking For ~6 mins

    Your Citizenship Action Record is your own, even if the action was done in a group. What is judged is your individual role and contribution. The Features of Quality look at three things: how you engaged in meaningful action; the quality of your personal reflections on your learning; and how the record is presented.

    Key point

    That changes how you choose. An action that hit a problem, had to be changed, or did not go to plan often gives you more honest reflection than one that ran perfectly. A smooth action with thin evidence is weaker to record than a messy one you can still show and think about.

    Two hard rules

    Two hard rules. First, you need real evidence for the action you pick: what you planned, what you did, who you dealt with, what they said, and what changed. Second, work completed in first year cannot be included for reporting. If your strongest memory is a first-year action, it is not available for this record.

    Today is only the choice of action.

    3 - Weigh and Commit ~23 mins

    Desk check first (about two minutes). On your desk, show what you still have from each citizenship action. Evidence can be plans, notes, messages, photos, dates, what people said, or what changed. If your folder is thin or a group-mate held the artefacts, use the fallback: write from memory what you can still recover today (who you spoke to, what you did, what changed) and note what you will try to get back before drafting. Nobody freezes for an empty desk.

    Then work alone on the one-page grid. Rows are your three actions. Columns are the five prompts below. Keep each cell to a few words so the three rows stay comparable:

    1. What real evidence do I still have (or can recover today)?

    2. Can I clearly describe my own role and contribution, not only the group's?

    3. Did anything go wrong, stall, or get changed that I can reflect on honestly?

    4. Can I say what I learnt about the issue, what skills I used, and whether my opinions were changed, challenged or confirmed?

    5. Was this action completed in second or third year (not first year)?

    Key point

    When the teacher gives the mid-point call, stop adding grid notes and choose one action. Write exactly two sentences: which action you will record, and why that one best fits what the Action Record asks for. Use the three headings on the board in your reason. Early finishers sharpen both sentences so each names something specific they did or learnt.

    Before you pack

    Before you pack away, self-tick the four-box strip on your page: (1) I have evidence or a recovery plan, (2) my own role is visible, (3) this is not first-year work, (4) two justifying sentences are written. Wait for the teacher to spot-check any empty boxes and to collect or photograph your two-sentence commitment.

    4 - Make Sense of It ~4 mins

    In pairs, read your two sentences aloud to each other. Listen for whether the reason names evidence, your own role, or something you can actually reflect on. If your partner only said the action felt important, help them tie the reason back to one of the three things the Features of Quality judge. You do not have to agree with each other's choices.

    5 - What You Covered ~3 mins

    You now know that the Citizenship Action Record judges your engagement in meaningful action, your personal reflections on learning, and how the record is presented. You know the smoothest action is not always the strongest to record, that first-year work cannot be included, and that you need real evidence of your own role. You have chosen one of your three actions and justified it in two sentences. Next you gather the evidence for that action into the shape the record needs.
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