Power League

Teacher Guide

More league ideas

If you don't want to use the leagues set up on the website, you can create your own. Here are some suggestions:

School council vote

League question:
"Who would you prefer was in the school council?"

League items include:
Class members or school members.

Subject:
Citizenship

Lesson idea:
The lesson should focus on what qualities make a useful member of the school council. Is it someone who has strong opinions, is good at making themselves heard, is good at listening to other people, changes their mind depending on the evidence, or has an imaginative approach to problem–solving?

School menu

League question:
"What would you like to see on the school menu?"

League items include:
Egg and chips, vegetable lasagne, spaghetti bolognaise, steak and kidney pudding, macaroni cheese — anything you want.

Subject:
Design & Technology

Lesson idea:
Discuss what we want from food. Is it more important for food to be nutritious or enjoyable? How do you strike a balance between the two? How do you cater for the needs of everybody?

Respected careers

League question:
"Which career do you respect the most?"

League items include:
Doctors, teachers, nurses, social workers, computer programmers, sewage workers, journalists, marketers, television presenters, lawyers, firefighters, police officers, engineers, novelists. The teacher could draw up the list or ask for suggestions from the class.

Subject:
PSHE

Lesson idea:
Discuss what makes a profession worthy of respect. Is it the qualifications you need to do it? Is it the amount of money earned? Is it the benefits it provides to other people? Discuss the qualifications you need for different jobs. What is this person's daily work like? Which jobs have more status? Is this different to other countries?

Healthy eating/healthy lifestyle

League question:
"Which is the bigger positive influence on a healthy lifestyle?"

League items include:
Newspapers and magazines, advertising, the farming lobby, government, supermarkets, gyms, globalisation.

Subject:
Geography, science, health and social care.

Lesson idea:
Discuss what influences what we decide to eat and drink. Is it the differing costs of certain foods? Is it the easy availability of all kinds of food? Is it advertising? Is it the desire of supermarkets to provide cheap foods for consumers? Is it that farmers want the best price for their produce? Is it pressure from magazines to be thin? Is it the ability to transport food across the globe? How are these different factors related?

Biggest influence

League question:
"Which influences you more in your daily life?"

League items include:
Friends, parents, teachers, television, newspapers, books, magazines, religion, the internet.

Subject:
Citizenship or religious studies

Lesson idea:
Discuss where we get our main ideas about ethics and morality. Are friends more influential than parents? Are parents more influential than teachers? Why? If everyone in your circle of friends was doing something your parents had taught you was wrong, would you still do it?

Local government decisions

League question:
"What is the biggest problem in your local community?"

League items include:
Recycling, community cohesion, crime, addiction, rubbish collection, speeding, public transport.

Subject:
Citizenship

Lesson idea:
Discuss what we mean by community. What keeps a community together? Are all the things listed important to all members of the community or just some? Are some community members more vulnerable than others? Why? Can you and should you devise policies that benefit both the more vulnerable and satisfy the majority of people in the community? How can you do that?

Next term's topics

League question:
"Which would you rather learn about next term?"

League items include:
Teacher can provide a list of possible subjects, or the students can draw up their own list.

Subject:
Can be used in a variety of subjects, including citizenship, English and RE.

Lesson idea:
The lesson can take in the wider issue of what is worth studying and why.

Controversial ideas

League question:
"Which ideas do you find the most controversial?"

League items include:
Blood sports, animal vivisection, euthanasia, guns, cloning, home schooling.

Subject:
Citizenship, PSHE, science, history.

Lesson idea:
Discuss what makes an idea controversial. What subjects arouse the strongest feelings, and why? Why do your classmates have strong feelings about different things from you?

Next: Further resources