Starter quiz
- Match each country to their type of political system.
- USA⇔democracy ✓
- Saudi Arabia⇔monarchy ✓
- North Korea⇔dictatorship ✓
- Which of these roles does the UK Prime Minister fulfil?
- serving as the UK’s Head of State
- controlling the judiciary and court rulings
- selecting the next monarch
- leading the Government and making key policy decisions ✓
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- The Prime Minister select members of their ______, who are then referred to as Ministers.
- 'Cabinet' ✓
- Which of these statements about the UK Prime Minister is accurate?
- The Prime Minister works in the House of Lords.
- The Prime Minister can be removed by Parliament. ✓
- The Prime Minister has a fixed term in office.
- The Prime Minister serves as Speaker of the House of Commons.
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- Match each branch to the relevant real-world institutions in the UK and US.
- legislative branch⇔UK Parliament / US Congress ✓
- executive branch⇔UK Prime Minister / US President ✓
- judicial branch⇔UK Supreme Court / US Supreme Court ✓
- Which of these statements in true?
- The UK Prime Minister is not elected by the public; the US President is. ✓
- The US President is not the Head of State; the UK Prime Minister is.
- The UK Prime Minister can veto ideas for new laws; the US President cannot.
- The US President is cannot select judges; the UK Prime Minister can.
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Exit quiz
- In the UK, Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected using the ______ system.
- 'First-Past-The-Post' ✓
- Match the voting system with its description.
- mixed-member system⇔selects district candidates and party seats ✓
- First-Past-The-Post⇔the candidate with the most votes wins; no majority is required ✓
- Proportional Representation⇔seats given determined by the percentage of votes each party receives ✓
- What is one benefit of a mixed member electoral system?
- It makes elections quicker and simpler.
- It only allows major parties to win seats.
- It ensures that every vote counts. ✓
- It always produces a single-party government.
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- Which of these countries uses the Proportional Representation system?
- Jamaica
- India
- Germany
- Greece ✓
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- How are the number of Electoral College electors for each US state determined?
- each state gets an equal number of electors
- based on the state’s population size and congressional representation ✓
- as a percentage of the state's economy
- according to voter turnout in previous elections
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- Which of these statements about the election of a US President is accurate?
- A candidate may win without receiving 50% of the public's votes. ✓
- A candidate must win the vote in a majority of states to be declared the winner.
- Electoral College electors are forced to agree with the results of their state.
- Candidates may only run for the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- There are two main voting systems: First Past The Post and Proportional Representation, although other variations exist.
- Different countries use different election systems.
- Some countries use mixed systems, combining various election types.
- The US electoral college is used for presidential elections in the USA.
Common misconception
Elections are the same across the world.
Elections run differently and follow different systems in indvidual countries.
Keywords
First past the post (fptp) - the voting system used in the UK to elect members of some local councils and Members of Parliament, whereby the candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins
Proportional representation - an electoral system where political parties get a number of seats in Parliament that matches the percentage of votes they receive in an election
Election - the voting process to elect a person for a public position
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