CIVICS

Fun with a capital F!

Trish Brennan Trish.brennan@dpcdsb.org

A Village Idiot

Ancient Greece Democracy Only citizens can participate in the

political system > attend public meetings to discuss infrastructure, war, etc…> vote on public issues such as whether to build (infrastructure) or engage in war, etc…

…and what percent of Athenians are actual citizens?

the work of the Guardians must aim ‘to promote the happiness ... of the whole community’

Included in the inferior portion are ‘children, women and slaves’, and ‘the less reputable majority of so-called free men’

= 90% of the population = 10% of the population were citizens

Source: Plato, The Republic. Editors Betty Radic and Robert Baldick. London: Whitefriars Press, Ltd, 1964

So who are the village idiots?

The children? The women?? The slaves??? The citizens???? Which ones? A village idiot is any citizen who has

the right and ability to participate in the political system and they do nothing with this right.

Day 1-5 Village Idiot concept Get voice heard; Right to complain BUT

complain to the right person > which level of government

Muslim Canadians take Civics 101 article

Weekend crash course set up to gain same knowledge that they missed in high school (new course in 2001)

parallel what Muslim Cdns looked to gain; same reasons for all.

Troll County story Deflate cynics of ‘all government is

useless’ categorize how we solve problems of

Trolls Definitions: Civics, Government, Values,Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs),Democracy, constitutional monarchy,

autocracy, absolute monarchy, dictatorship > play hangman

Troll County

Problems encountered by the Trolls

How do the Trolls solve

the problem?(if at all)

How we solve this problem in 2012?

(government dept/ministry)

Fire No one helps

Call 9-1-1

Decision-making processes

Negotiation Mediation Arbitration Conciliation Concensus

In small group, give best guess to figure each

Word Illustration Definition

Brief history of right to vote

Not overnight process Timeline of disenfranchisement to

getting franchise to vote Class privilege> landowning privilege economic barrier > workers barrier >

gender barrier > race barrier

History of enfranchisement in Canada

Not easy and not automatic; right to vote was a struggle to break financial, class, gender and race barriers

1867- BNA Act allows land-owning men 21+ the right to vote

1885- Non-landowning men 21+ gain right to vote 1916- Prairie women gain the right to vote in

provincial elections; 1917 federal right. 1947- Chinese-Canadians earn right to vote 1960- Aboriginal peoples gain the right to voteSource: Gordon, Doug, et. al. Civics Now. Toronto: Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Ltd, 2006

1. Political spectrum – 3.5 wks2. Canada’s gov’t -2.5 wks3. Law in Canada – 2-3 days4. Global issues- throughout the course; current political events5. Culminating Task-2 weeksFinal exam** fit in reading daily newspapersfor stories as examples of concepts and points of discussion

Approximate breakdown of the 9 week course

Political spectrum Day 3: Define values of Left, Moderate

and Right Day 4: Outline note-making; one page

side per day, per system over next 6 days, Left to Right= 3 pages

> System, where it is along the line, definition, example (article, film clip,…), pros/cons (aim for 3 minimum for each side) > slideshow of political spectrum

Examples, clips, articles; Days 4-9Communism The Gods Must Be Crazy

Socialism Tommy Douglas bio, Layton

Liberalism clips/ articles > Trudeau, Martin, Chretien

Conservatism

News articles > Harper, Harris, Mulroney,…

Capitalism Deconstruct Monopoly; Rich Uncle Pennybags; why banned in USSR?

Fascism=======Pre-test

Dictators in history; Swing Kids====================30 Days “Minimum Wage” episodeSicko

Day 10: Cut & pasteFun with a capital F

* Cut & paste personal political spectrum

Computer lab access? Create on-screen

& print Great quick & ready

reference page for rest of the course

IEP memory aidCommunism Socialism Liberalism Conservatism Capitalism Fascism

Political spectrum: Cut and paste

1.Fold paper in half to establish its CENTRE.2.Correctly print the name of the 6 political systems at the bottom of the sheet (Communism>Fascism)3.Identify politicians using the word bank of names to help you and correctly place each photo and symbol along the spectrum after cutting it out.4.DO NOT GLUE until I have approved it.5.Print (spelling counts!) or glue their name below their photo. Saddam Hussein Rich Uncle Pennybags Mitt Romney Elizabeth May Karl MarxAugusto Pinochet Mahmoud Ahmidinajad Tommy Douglas Bob Rae George Bush Benito Mussolini & Adolf Hitler Barack Obama Thomas Mulcair Pierre Trudeau Vladimir Lenin Stephen Harper Martin Luther King Jr. Fidel Castro Khalahari Bushman Jack Layton McCain/Palin

Unit 1 wrap-up

Bingo Review games> Race competition, taboo, Who am I? Unit 1 Test

Unit 2 Canadian Government 3 Levels of Government – Day 1 3 Branches of Government> Grid of Levels and Branches – Day 2 Cut & paste of current politicians according

to level of government- Day 3 Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Day 4 Definitions (throughout) Day 5/6 – Charter of R&F > skits Review games Unit 2 test

Maps of electoral districts

Contact for free riding maps to keep posted in classroom as a visual reference point:

Elections Canada Elections Ontario Use statistics of past elections to

demonstrate voting trends, provincial weights to win (i.e. ONT, QC), shifting of political spectrum with accumulating the right-sided parties

Levels w/ BranchesLegislative

BranchJudicial Branch

Executive Branch

Federal Level

Provincial Level

Municipal Level

Legislative Branch

Judicial Branch

Executive Branch

Federal Level

QueenGovernor General

SenateParliament (MPs)

Supreme Court of CanadaCivil

Criminal

QueenGovernor General

Prime MinisterCabinet

Civil Service

Provincial Level

QueenLieutenant Governor

-Provincial Legislature

(MPPs)

Supreme Court of… (Province)

CivilCriminal

QueenLieutenant Governor

PremierCabinet

Civil Service

Municipal Level

---

City Council

City courts (city infractions)

MayorMayor’s Executive

3 LEVEL of GOVERNMENTcut & paste

PROVINCIAL LEVEL

MUNICIPAL LEVEL

FEDERAL LEVEL

MPPs, Ministry and Colouring!Colour seating plan according to political party colours:Conservative: ____________________________Liberal: ____________________________NDP: ____________________________

Who is the Premier of Ontario?____________________________In which party does he belong? __________________________Which # is his seat? __________ (circle him) =============================Find the MPP for Brampton-Springdale and circle (hint: in cabinet)Name: ______________________Seat#: _______Party: ________________________

After colouring analyze your sheet: Does the Premier lead a majority or a minority government in Ontario? _____________________________How do you know this by looking at your seating plan? _____________________________

Who is the Leader of the Opposition? _________________________(circle them on seating plan)In which party does he/she belong? ___________________________ In which seat # are they sitting? _____________________________In which political party?

Who is the Leader of the Other Opposition?_____________________________circle them on seating plan)In which party does he/she belong? ________ In which seat # are they sitting? _____________________________In which political party?

Who is the Minister of Education? _________________________(circle them on seating plan)In Who is the Minister of Health?______________________________ Which party does he/she belong? ___________________________ In which seat # are they sitting? _____________________________

PROVINCIAL SEATING PLAN

MPs, Ministry and colouring!

Colour seating plan according to political party colours:Conservative: ____________________________Liberal: ____________________________NDP: ____________________________Green:____________________________(leave Bloc Quebecois blank)

Who is the Prime Minister of Canada?____________________________In which party is this Prime Minister? __________________________Which # is his seat? __________ (circle him) =============================Find the MP for Brampton-Springdale and circle.Name: ______________________Seat#: _______Party: ________________________

After colouring analyze your sheet: Does the Prime Minister lead a majority or a minority government? _____________________________How do you know this by looking at your seating plan? _____________________________

Who is the Leader of the Opposition? _________________________(circle them on seating plan)In which party does he/she belong? ___________________________ In which seat # are they sitting? _____________________________

Using your Who’s Who sheet, look for and circle the 3 Leaders of Other Opposition on the seating plan? _____________________________Name: ____________Seat #: ______In which parties does he/she belong? ___________________________

Name: ____________Seat #: ______In which parties does he/she belong? ___________________________Name: ____________Seat #: ______In which parties does he/she belong? ___________________________

FEDERAL SEATING PLAN

Governor GeneralLieutenant GovernorSpeaker of the HousePrime Minister Premier Leader of OppositionLeader of Other OppositionCabinet/MinistryMayorMayor’s Executive Council City CouncillorDeputation

Constituency/Constituent Opposition critic Shadow cabinet Caucus Majority government Minority government Member of

Parliament (M.P.) Member of Provincial

Parliament (M.P.P.) (M.L.A.) Member of

Legislative Assembly

Mock Parliament

Set up classroom in legislative formation (same as colouring layout)

Step-by-step passing bill into law > read provincial level > reenact federal level by assigning

roles by lottery > Prime Minister, Gov. Gen, Senate,

Leader of Opposition, Leader of Other Opposition, etc…

Mock ParliamentStudents to suggest ideas for new law, amend or abolish existing law

Introduction in either the House of Commons or the Senate 1st Reading: This step is not an actual reading but rather a first presentation of the

Bill. This step authorizes the printing of the Bill and allocates it a number: C-# for House bills and S-# for Senate bills.

2nd Reading: The principle of the bill is debated. Once the principle is adopted, the Bill is referred to parliamentary committees for further study.

Committee: A committee hears witnesses, examines the bill clause by clause and submits a report with or without amendments

Report Stage: Additional amendments to the bill may be moved, debated and voted on.

3rd Reading: This reading is the last opportunity for the House to amend the bill. Following this review, the bill is printed for the last time.

Sent to the Upper House (if the bill was passed by the Lower House/House of Commons), it is then referred to the Senate). Have the power to amend and delay.

Royal Assent: The Governor General or a deputy gives the bill Royal Assent in the Senate when the bill has been passed in exactly the same form by both Houses. It is assigned a Chapter number (e.g., Bill C-7 became Chapter 1 of the Statutes of Canada, 2000). The bill will then become law and comes into force on the day of Assent, unless otherwise provided in the bill itself.

Source: http://www.fedpubs.com/subject/law/statutes.htm

Assign roles by lottery or election

Governor General

Senate

BLOC QUEBECOIS Daniel Paille -

Leader of Other Opposition

Bloc Quebecois

LIBERAL

Immigration Critic

LIBERAL

Bob Rae

Leader of the

Other Opposition

NDP

Finance Critic 

GREEN PARTYElizabeth MayLeader of Other Opposition

Conservative PartyStephen HarperPrime Minister Minister of Finance

Minister of Immigration

Speaker of the House

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CH37-4-3-2002E.pdf

Clarify 7 main subsections of the document

Have students split into groups of 3 or 4; Issue different Right/Freedom to each group to create a skit

After skit, rest of class to guess the Right/Freedom presented

Rights and Responsibilities

Right to vote…Responsibility to: …register on the voters’ list …research each of the candidates

and their platform Freedom of speech…Responsibility to: …uphold the law; not discriminate

against other groups

Sicinius: What is the city but the people?

Citizens:True, the people are the city.

-Coriolanus, Act III, Sc. I.Source: shakespeare.mit.edu/coriolanus/coriolanus.3.1.html

On-line video clips to inspire civic involvement:

TED Talks: Antidote to Apathy> Great message about civic

involvement Toronto Spoke: Deputation City politics: getting one’s voice heard

Wrap-up and Unit 2 test

Citizenship Test (for fun, not for marks) Review games Unit 2 test

Culminating Task

Introduce concept of letters of constructive complaint

Directing letter to right level of government Letter 1: Provincial or Federal (depending on

issue)> Problem + solution by expert in that field >

print off website info e.g. environmental issue > David Suzuki, climatecrisis.net

Letter 2: Municipal issue; emphasize that the student is the expert since this is their neighbourhood

Law Unit Day 1: All notes on Civil Law and Criminal

Law Day 2: Law booklet based on real

cases in the newspaper; use notes to assess law in specific case in Canadian civil or criminal law

Day 3: Quiz (on paper or Smartboard, overhead)

Law booklet Mini-Law Booklet Create an information booklet to depict examples of criminal and civil law based on a report or article in the newspaper. To begin: (1) Observe how to create the six-sided booklet (2) Find an article in the newspaper that discusses an offence (report of a crime, report of a court trial, etc…) – do not

spend more than 20 minutes doing this.   Page 1: This is the cover which needs to indicate the topic of your info book. Include the MLA info at the bottom right-hand corner: Teacher’s name Course code Due Date Student’s name   Page 2: Define both Civil Law and Criminal Law, in your own words   Page 3: i)What is the issue discussed in this article? ii) Which type of law (civil OR criminal) is involved in your article? Briefly explain why it is an example of this type of law.   Page 4: >If Civil: Under which branch would it be tried and describe why. How did you come to this conclusion based on the

information in the article. >If Criminal: Is it a summary or indictable offence and briefly describe why. How did you come to this conclusion based

on the information in the article. What is the Actus Reus?   Page 5: Who is/will be the plaintiff/prosecutor in this case? Explain why. Who is/will be the defendant/accused in this case?

Explain why.   Page 6: Could Mens Rea be proved in this case? Even if this is not discussed in the article, give your explanation of how Mens Rea

could be proved.

Exam Review

Island simulation: ‘Lord of the Flies’ concept of landing on an island without hope of leaving. In small groups, students use all concepts from term’s notes to develop a place name, flag, political system, laws, penalties, etc…

Review games

Review Games

‘Taboo’ concept game: Jar of terms, political names; class split into 2 teams; students play to their team; 1-minute clock.

Race and scrawl; first correctly spelled response gets the point. Works well with 2 or 3 teams.

Good for unit test or exam reviews

Websites and links worth visiting http://www.parl.gc.ca/ParlBusiness/House/SeatingPlan/SeatingPlan.pdf http://www.ontla.on.ca/members/supporting-content/files/

MPPSeatingPlan_September2012.pdf

Charter of Rights & Freedoms: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CH37-4-3-2002E.pdf

Student Vote: studentvote.ca Civix Canada: civix.ca RaBit: Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto National Post- special offer Proportional Representation: Fairvote.ca TED Talks: “Antidote to Apathy” City hall e.g. Deputation: “Toronto Spoke: Dave Meslin”

Websites and links for students to help them with ideas or solutions to write letters

TEA/Toronto Environmental Alliance: torontoenvironment.org

Care2Action: thepetitionsite.com Global issues: avaaz.org climatecrisis.net davidsuzuki.org greenpeace.org Federal gov’t: canada.gc.ca Provincial gov’t: ontario.ca Trillium organ donation: giftoflife.on.ca 1.800.668.POST: for free National Post papers for

school year (PDF ad) Elections Canada, Elections Ontario

Class trip suggestions

Book a tour at your city hall Book a tour at Queen’s Park (better if

legislature is sitting to see question period)

Sources Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, accessed November2, 2012,

publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CH37-4-3-2002E.pdf Gordon, Doug, Jack McFadden, Jennifer Watt. Civics Now. Toronto: Nelson, a

division of Thomson Canada Ltd, 2006 Kahn, Carole. Becoming Political: Comparative Perspectives on Citizenship

Education. Albany: SUNY Press, 1998. Ozman, Howard A. and Samuel M. Craver. Philosophical Foundations of Education.

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1999. Plato. The Republic. Editors Betty Radic and Robert Baldick. London: Whitefriars

Press, Ltd, 1964.