Democracy has a lot of official names. Mix two of them up and you end up blaming the wrong people, or asking the wrong body to fix something. Today the class gets the words straight: what each name actually points to, and which ones people often swap by mistake.

Irish institution, European institution, role, and process.

Three pairs get mixed up more than any others. Here is the difference in each pair:

• Taoiseach and President of Ireland: the Taoiseach heads the Government day to day; the President is head of state with mostly formal powers. Both are roles, not the same job.
• The Oireachtas and the Government: the Oireachtas is Ireland's national legislature (Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann together with the President). The Government is the group of ministers who run departments day to day. The Oireachtas is an Irish institution; it is not the same thing as the Government.
• Teachta Dála (TD) and Member of the European Parliament (MEP): a TD sits in the Dáil; an MEP sits in the European Parliament. Both are elected roles, answering in different places.

In pairs, drag each term into the bucket that fits: Irish institution, European institution, role, or process. If two buckets both seem possible, pick one and be ready to say why. The class will hear the hard ones out loud before anyone locks them in.

Now the whole class plays the same terms on their own devices. Join with the code on the board. Every round, everyone answers. After each round you see how the class answered, and hear why the right heading is right.

Talk these two prompts out loud. Nothing is typed or saved.

1. Which two terms did you come closest to swapping, and what is the one-line difference between them?
2. If a first year asked you what the Oireachtas is, what would you say in one sentence without using the word parliament?