What are symbols of democracy, and why do they matter? How can a limerick help us to kickstart this debate? Lesson plan for Years 5-7. Duration 30-40 minutes or as an assembly. Accompanies ‘DEN of ENQUIRY’ podcast ‘Big Ben, Symbol of Democracy’ free to download on Apple, Google, Spotify, Radio Public and Breaker. Duration 15minutes. www.rollickingpolitics.co.uk @RollickingP (Twitter) #youthpoliticalliteracy #artsintegration #citizenshipeducation #politics4kids

Why do we need governments? What would happen if governments did not exist? ‘Bun Fight’ is a 30-40minute PSHE or CE lesson free to download for Years 5&6 that can be adapted for an assembly. It uses an original poem with a simple rhythm and rhyming scheme that explores what could have happened if no one was in charge during our national lockdowns. For more information, see our DEN of ENQUIRY podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/27m8OPsRfodvJgCFf1OhyY or @RollickingP (Twitter) or www.rollickingpolitics.co.uk

‘Lockdown Liberty’ by Miranda Duffy is a short, interactive, performance poem about individual liberty. For Years 6 and 7. Supports PSHE/CE as fun and immersive. Lesson duration is 30-40minutes. Learning objective: to understand the difference between freedom and individual liberty by using our recent lockdown experiences to explore our rights, responsibilities and wellbeing. Five activities/discussion points are integrated into the poem as part of the lesson; details are included in the accompanying resource notes. About Rollicking Politics: we use an arts-led approach to engage students with democracy, the rule of law, and individual liberty. This approach enables students to connect with big concepts in creative ways, and encourages confident questioning and critical thinking skills. rollickingpolitics.co.uk

Years 5-7 and the cost of the pandemic? 'Talk to the hand (‘cos the face needs feeding)’ is a poem written as light verse to kickstart conversations about the importance - and difficulty - of engaging with tricky topics such as our individual liberty and the national debt. The poem needs to be read out loud to make sense as it is written in the style of a conversation. A list of questions to ask start a debate is included in the notes. There are further two in-class challenges: firstly, to fill in the gaps of the conversation, and secondly, a media literacy challenge to find out the cost of the pandemic and what the money has spent on - but sources have to be credible and stand up to scrutiny! The poem is read and explained on the Den of Enquiry podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/27m8OPsRfodvJgCFf1OhyY Lesson duration up to 40 minutes although could be adapted for an assembly.

‘Democracy Rocks’ by Miranda Duffy is a short poem (sonnet) that can be acted out by students to help them understand the core concepts of a democracy. Aimed at Years 6 and 7. Lesson duration 30-40 minutes. Can also be used as the basis of an assembly. Learning objectives: to encourage students to think how much more there is to democracy than simply a vote or election. The lesson is FREE to download, and includes two pages of teachers’ notes with a process to follow to get the most out of session. Arts-led Citizenship Education offers an interactive and fun way for students to access concepts such as democracy and the rule of law. The poem uses a simple rhyming scheme and uses the iambic pentameter - the form that is most aligned to our natural speech, hence is the easiest to absorb and perform.