Overview
The Make a Difference in a Day resource pack has been created for teachers who want to deliver a drop down day with children focusing on making a difference to a community space that’s important to them.
This free package of resources comprises:
- Set of teachers’ notes;
- PowerPoint slides;
- Pupil workbook;
- Social action activity suggestions;
- Stimulus pictures.
Taken together, the resources lead children through a mini community project focused on an issue identified as a local concern, such as tackling the problem of air pollution caused by traffic, protecting local biodiversity, improving access to community buildings or tackling issues of litter and plastic pollution.
Make a Difference in a Day is designed to be used with either the whole school, a year group, or a single class. It’s primarily pitched at key stage 2 pupils, but can be adapted for younger – or older – pupils.
The production of this resource was made possible through generous funding from the Co-op Community Foundation Community Spaces programme, which encourages and supports young people to identify and improve community spaces near them for the benefit of other young people and the wider community.
Suggested next steps:
- Browse case studies of youth-led action;
- Check out the free online course Social Action in Community Spaces;
- After your drop down experience, progress to the full Make a Difference Challenge.
More Lessons resources
More than One Friend
In this lesson about friendship, pupils will follow the story of Digby who is upset when his best friend Anna starts spending a lot of time with someone else. Pupils…
How Can I Make a Difference?
In this lesson pupils will think about how they can plan a social action project. They will be led through key steps by following the example of the Go-Givers. …
The Government and the Economy
By the end of the lesson students will: Understand key economic terms including taxation, welfare benefits, public spending and the budget; Assess the impact of changes to taxation and welfare…
More Community resources
All at Sea: a story about fairness and the rule of law
During this lesson pupils use the story ‘All at Sea’ to explore how a group of citizens should organise a new society under a challenging set of circumstances. Each chapter…
Brexit: Part 1 – Referendum
Pupils will be given a brief introduction to the European Union. They will learn about why people’s opinions about the EU are divided and the results of the EU referendum.…
Being Part of a School Community
During this lesson pupils recap what we mean by the term active citizen. They consider what qualities and skills an active citizen should have and explore how these skills and…
More Social Action/Active Citizenship resources
What is Philanthropy?
In this lesson pupils will learn about the meaning of the word philanthropy through looking at real life examples. They will consider why philanthropy is important and what motivates philanthropists.…
Inspirational People – Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole
This assembly is an introduction to the lives of Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. You may like to run it in conjunction with the lesson ‘Inspirational People.’ To access…
Family Life
In this lesson pupils will think about what it means to be part of a family and how they can make a positive difference in their family life. Pupils will be…
More KS2 (ages 7-11) resources
Preventing Infectious Diseases
This lesson should be delivered as a follow-up to the lesson ‘What is an infectious disease?’ In this lesson pupils will recap their knowledge of infectious diseases, they will then…
Citizenship and the Wider World
During this lesson pupils consider what it means to be a global citizen and what rights and responsibilities come with this. They consider a range of global issues; analysing…