Class: Primary 5
Subject: Civic Education
Topic: Civil society
(meaning and characteristics)
Duration : 40 minutes
Period : Single Period
Reference Book :
Civic Education for Nigerian Primary Schools , Book 5.
Lagos State Unified Schemes of Work for Primary Schools (Primary 4 – 6)
Online Resources
Instructional Material : Chart showing some objectives of Civil Society and examples.
Learning Objectives : By the end of the lesson learners will be able to :
i. Define Civil Society and list examples
ii. Identify and mentions some of the objectives of Civil Society.
iii. State characteristics of civil society.
Content :
A civil society is a collection of people who work together to ensure good governance in the society.
The main objectives of these group is to:
I) Ensure good governance;
II) Check abuses by governments, groups or individuals through advocacy, moral instructions, etc;
III) Mobilize for social and political awareness and participation.
Civil societies constitute different organizations such as non-governmental organizations, community groups, religious organizations, trade unions, religious and professional associations, etc.
Examples of social groups in Nigeria are:
1. Human Rights Watch;
2. Campaign for Democracy
3. Nigerian Red Cross
4. National Council of Women Societies (NCWS)
5. National Democratic Coalition ( NADECO)
6. Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC)
7. Civil Liberties Organisation(CLO), etc.
Characteristics of civil societies.
The following are characteristics of civil society groups:
1. They are always checking abuses
2. They actively participate in social issues.
3. They provide a political platform for people.
4. They provide training on developmental issues.
5. They create awareness on issues of interest through conferences, campaigns, etc.
Presentation Steps :
Step 1 : Revision of the previous topic taught with the learners to arouse their interests.
Step 2 : Introduces the new topic by defining civil society and mentions some examples.
Step 3 : State characteristics of civil Societies and identifies their main objectives.
Evaluation :
Answer the following questions:
1. Explain the term, civil society.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. State two objectives of a civil society.
I. ___________________________________________
II. __________________________________________
3. Mention two examples of social groups in Nigeria.
i. _______________________________________
ii. ________________________________________
4. Identify three characteristics of civil societies.
i. ____________________________________________
ii. ___________________________________________
iii. __________________________________________
Conclusion : Teacher marks the learners notebooks and makes some corrections where necessary.