1 - Start ~4 mins
You already took one global challenge apart: its causes, consequences, impact on people’s lives, and possible solutions. Today is different. The question is not what the world should do. It is what this class could actually do, here, in the time you really have. A contribution is real when something is different afterwards and somebody outside the room notices. By the end you will name one option the class is prepared to back.
2 - What Makes a Contribution Real ~8 mins
Four tests help you judge a contribution without pretending there is one correct answer.
Reach: how many people would notice or change?
Can we do it: given your time, numbers and skills, is it realistic?
Does it last: would anything still be different a month after you stop?
Starting ourselves: can you begin this week, or do you need someone else’s yes first?
A popular idea can fail every test. A quiet idea can pass three. The point of weighing them is to watch what happens when you decide which test matters most. Changing the weights can change which option comes out ahead. That is your reasoning handed back to you, not a recommendation from the lesson.
3 - Weigh What We Could Do ~20 mins
In pairs, skim the three options in the interactive. Each option already carries a concrete sample line (written as if the challenge were plastic waste). Swap that sample detail for the challenge we chose before you rate anything. For example, if our challenge really is plastic waste you might keep “reusable cups in the canteen”; if it is something else, rewrite the note so it fits. If your class has a stronger local idea, tell your teacher and swap it for one of the three before you rate.
Fill or fix the notes in each cell from what you know about the challenge we chose, then rate every option on every row. Set how much each row matters to you and watch the bottom line move. There is no official winner. When pairs finish, be ready to say which option led for you and which weight did the most work.
What could we actually do?
4 - Make Sense of It ~5 mins
On your own, write three short lines:
1. The option I would back, and why.
2. The option I think the class is most likely to choose, and why.
3. One honest reason those two might differ (time, courage, permission, or something else).
Then, as a class, agree one option you will act on. Give it the name the option we backed and write it under the challenge on the board. That is the contribution you will plan as your second citizenship action. Keep it local to the school or community so you can really run it.
5 - What You Covered ~3 mins
Today you evaluated real contributions to the challenge we chose, not slogans. You used four tests: reach, whether you can do it, whether it lasts, and how far you can start yourselves. You saw that changing what you say matters can change which option leads. You each named the option you would back and the one the class was likely to pick, and you agreed the option we backed. Next you will lay that option out across the weeks it will really take.
Unlock the full learning experience
You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.
This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2025. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.