Blog
New blog for AS and A2 Government and Politics launched
Jim Riley
23rd October 2012
Welcome to a new blog on AS and A2 Government and Politics. The aim of this blog will be to develop resources for AS and A2 Government and Politics. In particular I shall be concentrating on British Government and also Political Ideologies, as I teach these for Edexcel. However, I shall also be including other resources, including some material on citizenship for keystages 3 and 4 (I'm a citizenship author, see below) as well as some commentary on current events.
Right, a bit about me first.My name's Simon Sharpe-Foster. I'm the head of Politics at Birmingham Metropolitan College, an FE college located with campuses across Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield. I'm also a former local government Councillor, where I used to be the Deputy Leader of a Majority Group. I also occasionally work as an associate examiner for Edexcel marking AS and A2 Government and Politics scripts. I'm also an author for HarperCollins Educational, where I've written a number of books on Citizenship. Previously I worked as a Political Consultant for 10 years for MPs and PPCs up and down the country, and with parties from Croatia, Poland and the USA internationally.
OK - NOW FOR THE RESOURCES. I'm starting with pressure groups today, as I've just been sharing these with a colleague on twitter (@brumpolitics on twitter if you want to follow me there). So without further ado, here's 8 resources for students and teachers studying AS Politics to enrich your lessons:
1) What is a pressure group – short student video using Greenpeace as an example - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wSSaLWvZD8
2) What is a pressure group – BBC Scotland definition – short video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/pressure-groups/5620.html
3) Insider pressure groups 3.47 in length - http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/insider-pressure-groups/4048.html
4) Outsider pressure groups 1.47 in length - http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/outsider-pressure-groups/4049.html
5) G20 protest video – useful for new social movement – 5.08 in length: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/demonstrations-at-the-london-g20-summit/6856.html
6) Example of a successful trade union campaign 3.50 in length - http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/trade-unions-at-kvaerner-govan/5621.html
7) Stretch activity on Jeremy Hunt and Lobbying – Read article and decide whether lobbying is good for democracy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17829360
8) Discussion article for a debate – should the police be allowed to strike? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17476976