Our current hot lesson
	The Facebook generation Students explore the definitions of identity, cohesion and community. They engage in a class debate about the effects of modern technology upon communities and think about ways in which identity, cohesion and community are changing within the Facebook generation.

The government has for the first time published its MPs’ expenses accounts. Although the engine behind this change has been scandal and outrage, it is a significant step forward for democracy. Citizenship teachers can make their own filthy profit from the affair by downloading our lesson MPs' expenses [Making economic decisions]. Students discuss the kind of expenses that MPs have claimed for in the past.They compare differing viewpoints about MPs’ expenses and also explain their own views about the issue. By doing so they consider issues of fairness, justice and what constitutes appropriate public spending.

The aftermath of the European elections has propelled the BNP to the political foreground. This raises all sorts of issues, ranging from freedom of speech, through diversity and inclusion, proportional representation and the consequences of democracy. It is an appropriate time to remind ourselves what aspects of life make up our nation’s culture. In What is our national culture? [National, regional, ethnic and religious cultures], students use poetry and other means to reaffirm modern British culture in all its diversity.

The new Obama climate change report seems to be taking global warming seriously and mapping out more realistic targets to reverse a possible catastrophe. In the face of huge global challenges such as these it is important that we emphasise not only personal responsibility but also the possibility of change – that individual acts add up. In a lively lesson for Year 7, How can we live a more sustainable life? [Sustainability], students explore the concept of sustainability through a TV interview for the imaginary Green Teen TV.

Kim Richardson
Citizenship editor