1. “Is not voting more of a statement or a sign of a lack of interest?”
To have on the screen as students walk in to introduce them to the theme – then ask for a couple of contributions from around the room to begin the session.
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2. General
Elections
Teacher edit to suit

3. Purpose of the day To gain a better understanding of:
How a general election works, including the people and processes involved
The role and work of a Member of Parliament

4. Parliament is made up of:
Monarch
House of Commons
House of Lords
Parliament makes and changes laws, debates important issues and checks the work of the Government, e.g. how they are spending taxes and whether they are keeping to the promises made at election time.
Parliament is made up of three parts, the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch.
Members of the House of Commons are called MPs or ‘Members of Parliament’. There are 650 in total. They are elected - this happens at a general election.
Members of the House of Lords are often called Peers. There are around 800 in total. They are unelected – they are nominated for being very good in their field e.g. medicine, business, charity work, art, etc.
Monarch – our King or Queen.

5. A little bit more detail to get us started…
What work does Parliament do?
How is Parliament different to government?
Click on the images to watch the video.
Ask students to discuss the questions with the person sitting next to them.

6. What is a general election?
A general election is an opportunity for people in every part of the UK to vote for their local MP. A general election usually takes place every five years.
There is normally a choice of several candidates in each constituency, some of which are the local candidates for national political parties.
People can only vote for one of the candidates and the candidate that receives most votes becomes their MP.

7. After a general election…
The candidate that wins the most votes will represent their local constituency in the House of Commons. The party with the most MPs forms the Government and the leader of that party becomes the Prime Minister.
People can only vote for one of the candidates and the candidate that receives most votes becomes their local MP.
The party with the most MPs forms the Government and the leader of the winning party becomes the Prime Minister.

8. Now let’s look at how a general election works…
What happens on the day of a general election?
How many constituencies are there?
Click on the images to watch the video. Ask students to discuss the questions with the person sitting next to them.

9. Get Involved!
Contact your local MP or a member of the House of Lords about an issue that is important to you
Visit Parliament and watch a debate
Start or sign a petition
Give evidence to a select committee
Inform students that there are many different ways that they can get involved with Parliament:
Contact an MP or Peer, invite them to your school
Visit Parliament and watch a debate in one of the Chambers
Start or sign a petition
Give written or oral evidence to a select committee

10. Structure of the day
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Fill out and edit the grid to suit your day.
Don’t forget that the sessions are interchangeable – after the first session half the cohort could start session 2 and half start session 3.
Grey and white boxes represent each cohort on the grid.