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

Running Our First Action

In this lesson you carry out a citizenship action connected to rights and responsibilities. As you do so, you record evidence of what happens in real time, including successes and setbacks. This helps build a clear and honest account of the experience.

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    1 - Start ~4 mins

    Illustration for StartToday the planning stops and the action starts. Reopen the named plan Our first action from last time: the change somebody outside this room should notice, the roles, and what counts as done. Your teacher will name once, from that same plan sheet, the locked in-room start for today if any outside step cannot finish in this period.

    Check your role card or group slip now. It already names your job, a short secondary job, and what you note against the four evidence prompts. In a quick stand-up, one runner per group says the group's job out loud once (confirmation only). If you were absent when roles were set, take a spare slip from the teacher. Then you run the action and keep a record while you work, not afterwards. Something that goes wrong is still useful evidence, as long as you write down what actually happened.

    2 - What to Capture While You Work ~5 mins

    Evidence collected after the event is usually vague. You each get a four-box evidence slip matching the four prompts still on the board. Fill the boxes as you go:

    1. Who said what (a real sentence, a name or role).
    2. What changed (something different afterwards you can point to).
    3. What did not change (be honest; a no is still a finding).
    4. What you would do differently next time (one concrete change).

    Example

    Weak: "The principal was interested." Strong: "Ms Byrne said she would raise it at the Thursday staff meeting."

    Write your own notes in that stronger form on the slip.

    Your role card also names a short secondary job (for example tally, time-check, or materials) so you still have a named task if your main part finishes early.

    Key point

    Today's goal is a real start inside this period plus honest evidence. The locked in-room start your teacher named from the plan sheet is the part you begin here if an outside step cannot finish now. Note on the slip what still needs to happen next. Unfinished outside steps are expected, not a failure.

    3 - Run the Action ~20 mins

    Carry out the action in your roles. Fill your four-box evidence slip against the prompts still on the board as you work. Every role has a concrete note job on the card, so writing evidence is part of your job, not something extra for later. Write what actually happened, including delays, refusals, empty replies, and things that went better than expected. Do not wait until the end of the period to start writing.

    If your main part finishes early, switch to the secondary job already printed on your role card (tally, time-check, materials, or photo log if allowed), or add detail to the notes already made. Nobody's only task is waiting. If an outside step cannot finish today, keep going on the locked in-room start named on the plan sheet and record on the slip what still needs to happen next. By the end of this stretch the class should have a first pile of honest evidence, not a polished story.

    4 - Make Sense of It ~8 mins

    First, in pairs for about a minute: each person speaks one specific piece of evidence from their four-box slip (a name, a sentence, a number, a place, or a clear no). Everyone contributes once here.

    Key point

    Then, as a class, share three things only:

    • one piece of evidence that shows something changed, or started to
    • one piece of evidence that shows something did not go to plan
    • one note you would trust enough to keep for a later record
    Tip

    Listen for specifics. A name, a sentence, a number, a place, or a clear no is stronger than "it went well".

    5 - What You Covered ~3 mins

    Today you ran a real citizenship action linked to rights and responsibilities, and you recorded what happened while it happened. You practised keeping evidence that is specific: who said what, what changed, what did not, and what you would do differently. Next time you will look at what the action taught you and what still needs work under the plan Our first action.
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