Year 8 - Citizenship
How have our political rights changed over time?
Why was the struggle for the vote important today?
Study Hub
Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
Pupils analyse how political rights have changed over time considering important campaigns such as the fight for female suffrage. They examine why voting matters and consider what role they can have in democracy prior to being eligible to vote.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe what political rights are and how they have changed over time.
Key Notes
- Political rights are the rights people have and may use in a democracy.
- The fight for political rights in the UK has been a long one.
- One of the biggest changes has been in relation to suffrage.
Vocabulary To Learn
- right: something we are entitled to by law
- democracy: a system of government in which citizens vote in regular, fair elections for representatives who then make laws and decisions on their behalf
- suffrage: the right to vote
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- All men had the right to vote before 1918.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Political rights are the rights people have and may use in a democracy. The fight for political rights in the UK has been a long one.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'right'
something we are entitled to by law.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: All men had the right to vote before 1918. Correction: Approximately 40% of men could not vote before 1918.
More Lessons In This Unit
- How can we exercise democratic rights without a vote? Study Guide
- How did the Chartists affect the political rights we have today? Study Guide
- Should 16- and 17-year-olds be allowed to vote in elections? Study Guide
- Which methods were most successful in the fight for female suffrage? Study Guide
- Why does voting matter? Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 8 Citizenship guide library.