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
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…
My Community
During this lesson pupils consider what we mean by the word community and are challenged to think about all the different community groups they belong to and how it feels…
Online Opinions
During this lesson pupils explore why people see different results when searching for information online. Pupils find out about filter bubbles and consider what impact these have on peoples thoughts…
More Community resources
Migration of People
To help you engage your students in the topic of migration Young Citizens have developed a flexible teaching resource...
How to share learning with your peers
Originally designed to be a companion pack for the Democracy Ambassadors programme, this handy toolkit will support students who...
More Social Action/Active Citizenship resources
Martin Luther King: Sacrificing All for the Dream
This lesson looks at discrimination against African Americans in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement and how Martin Luther King achieved change through peaceful…
Plastic Pollution (KS1)
During this lesson children explore the environmental effects of plastic pollution by carrying out a number of experiments. They then go on to consider how they can take action against…
Using Technology for Good
In this lesson pupils will consider the multiple uses of technology and how technology can be used to solve problems. Pupils will be introduced to the example of Trevor Baylis,…
More KS2 (ages 7-11) resources
Democracy (Part 1): What is a General Election?
This lesson forms the first part of a three-part unit on Democracy. Pupils explore the meaning of ‘democracy’, and the ways in which citizens can participate in democratic life in…
What is a Charity?
Pupils learn about the reasons why charities are created. They will be introduced to the main features of a charity and have the opportunity to research the work of a…
Design a Community Centre
In this lesson pupils will consider the varying needs and interests of a range of fictional characters and design a community centre and activity programme that matches their requirements. …