First Term Lesson Note for Week Eight
Class : Primary Four
Subject : Civic Education
Topic : Democracy
Duration : 40 Minutes
Period : Single Period
Reference Book :
- Civic Education for Primary Schools, Book 4.
- Lagos State Unified schemes of work for Upper Primary, (Primary 4 – 6).
- Online Resources
Instructional Material : Chart showing the meaning of democracy and pictures
Learning Objectives : By the end of the lesson learners will be able to
i. Explain the Meaning of democracy
ii. Explain the Meaning of parliamentary e.g where executive is not fully separated from the legislative
iii. Meaning of presidential headed by an elected president
Instructional material/Reference material: Textbook, charts and pictures
Building Background /connection to prior knowledge: Learners are familiar with the term democracy
Content:
Democracy can be defined as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. 8
Democratic government is also referred to as the Constitutional government. It is called Constitutional government because the government is ruled or executed by the use of constitution as a guide.
It can also be called democratic government because it is a government that is formed through elections. It has a fixed tenure of office which means that the government spends a specific period of four years when elected.
In Nigeria, elections are held every four years. The 1999 Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution states clearly that elections are to be held every four years to change government. Nigeria thus practices constitutional or democratic government.
Kinds of constitutional government
Constitutional government could either be presidential or Parliamentary . The features of parliamentary government and presidential government are as follows:
Parliamentary government :
1. This system of government is headed by the prime minister.
2. The executive and the legislative arms of government are not separated. They are fused.
3. The prime minister, who is the head of the executive, is also a member of the legislature.
4. The Lord Chancellor in Britain, where this system of government is practiced, is a member of the three arms of government.
5. There is no separation of powers in this system of government. Britain is a good example of countries practising the parliamentary system.
Presidential government
1. This form of government is headed by a president elected by the people.
2. He rules for a fixed period, e.g. four years or five years.
3. The three arms of government are separate in their composition. That is one person cannot belong to two arms of government at the same time.
4. There is separation of powers in this system of government. Nigeria is practising this system of government.
Presentation Steps :
Step 1 : Revises the previous lesson with the learners by asking them questions orally.
Step 2 : He/ she introduces the new topic by defining democracy and explains its concept
Step 3 : Identify the types of democratic government
Step 4 : State the features of parliamentary and presidential system of government.
Evaluation:
1. Explain the meaning of government.
2. Explain traditional form of government.
3. What is constitutional form of government?
4. Identify three differences between the traditional and constitutional forms of government.
5. What is oligarchy?
Conclusion : At the end of the lesson, learners were able to answer the questions correctly.