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Student Vote – Ontario 2011 |
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Lesson 1: Government
and Democracy
OBJECTIVE
Students will learn about the concept of government and
of the different types of government that exist around
the world.
KEY WORDS
government, autocracy, oligarchy, democracy,
constitutional monarchy, representative democracy
QUESTIONS TO BE EXPLORED DURING THIS LESSON
• What are different ways a decision can be made?
• What is government?
• What types of government exist around the world?
• What is democracy?
• How do other forms of government compare to
democracy?
• Why is democracy important?
•
•
How happy were you with the decision made?
Why?
What kind of feeling developed within the group?
Explain.
Discussion: 10 min
What types of decisions need to be made for
people living in a country (e.g., education/schools,
transportation/roads, heath care/hospitals)? Who makes
these decisions? What would happen if there was no
government?
Due to the complex nature of needs in a country,
government is responsible for making decisions and
regulations for the people. Without government, there
would be disorder and conflict, and nothing would be
accomplished in an organized way.
RESOURCES
1.1: Worksheet - Who Should Decide?
TEACHING STRATEGIES
Hook: 20–25 min
1. Explain to the class that they are to choose three
toppings for Friday’s pizza party.
2. Brainstorm a few suggestions for this fun activity on
the board.
3. Split the class into three groups and have them sit
together. Explain to the class that each group will
use a different type of decision-making process to
determine a choice for the pizza toppings.
Group 1 — Only one person (i.e., the tallest person)
will choose the pizza toppings (Autocratic).
Group 2 — Only a select few (i.e., only boys or only
girls) may be involved in choosing the pizza toppings
(Oligarchic).
Group 3 — All group members will vote on choosing
the pizza toppings (Democratic).
While groups are making their choice for the pizza
toppings, observe how each group is functioning and
make notes. These notes will be used for discussion
following the activity.
Teacher note: Group 1 may become unruly as most members
of the group will lack a voice — but this will make for a
productive discussion afterwards.
4. Bring the class back to the big group and discuss
each group’s experience. Ask the following discussion
questions:
• How did this activity work in your group?
• How quickly was a decision made?
Instruction: 10 min
1. Explain that there are different types of government
in the world who make decisions for their people in
different ways. The different kinds of government can
be compared by looking at how power is shared (and
the type of rights and freedoms the citizens have).
2. Review the following types of government and
provide examples of each. (Connect the type of
government to the decision making models in the
Hook activity)
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| Lesson 1: Government and Democracy
a) Autocracy (only one person) – One person
possesses all the power (e.g., Libya, North Korea).
b) Oligarchy (only a select few) – Power is held by a
small privileged group (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
many African nations).
c) Democracy (all people share power) – Power is
held by all the people (e.g., Canada, United States,
Japan, Germany, England).
Teacher note: Most democracies are representative
democracies — where individuals are elected on behalf of
the people to represent them. Canada is a representative
democracy.
Discussion: 10 min
As a class, create a list of advantages and disadvantages
for a democratic, oligarchic and authoritarian
government. Relate it back to the Hook activity.
Debrief: 10 min
Have a brief closing discussion about government
and democracy. Alternatively, ask students to write a
reflection in their election scrapbook.
• What type of government exists in Canada?
• What type of government do you believe is the best?
Why?
• Why is democracy important?
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
A. Consider the scenarios in Worksheet 1.1 to further
explore the advantages and disadvantages of decisionmaking models in a range of settings.
B. Use media and news stories to discuss global fights
for democracy (e.g., 2011 Egyptian revolution and Arab
Spring across the Middle East).
C. Ask students to write a story about a country without
a government. What would happen if there were no
leaders, laws or programs to help citizens realize shared
goals?
BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS
What is government?
The people and institutions put in place to run or govern
a country, state, province or community.
How are governments distinguished?
There are different government systems around the
world. They are distinguished by the allocation of power
and the types of rights and freedoms afforded their
citizens.
Autocracy: A system of government run by a ruler with
total power and authority over all aspects of life. This
ruler is called a dictator and often has the support of the
military. People living under authoritarian rule do not
have individual rights and freedoms.
Oligarchy: A form of government system in which power
rests with a small number of people, generally the people
who are rich and more powerful than the others (due to
bloodlines or wealth). People living under oligarchic rule
have some rights and freedoms.
Democracy: A system of government in which power is
retained by all the people. Citizens have access to power
and they also have guaranteed rights and freedoms. Since
it is not practical to have every citizen contribute to every
decision that needs to be made, representatives are
usually selected by the people to make decisions on their
behalf. This is called a representative democracy.
What type of government do we have in Canada?
Canada is a parliamentary democracy, which is a type
of representative democracy. It is also a constitutional
monarchy in that the Queen is our head of state. A
constitutional monarchy can be either a democracy or
autocracy.