This suite of resources, ideal for key stage 4 and 5 students, explores the House of Lords through fast-moving animations, Day in the Life videos, opportunities for open debate and the chance to try out hands-on activities.
The resources aim to pose questions to students as well as answer them, and further young people’s information and guidance, enabling them to discover the House of Lords as it is today, how it was in the past and how it may develop in the future.
The films and activities are excellent aids for those studying Citizenship, History, Politics and Government, and are also great ways to develop a deeper understanding of the institution itself. They will further serve to develop critical thinking, public speaking and political literacy skills, among others.
What? Explore the history of the House of Lords and how it has evolved over time.
Who? Meet the members of the House of Lords and find out about the routes into the House.
How? Discover how the House of Lords undertakes its many functions and responsibilities.
In the classroom
Choose one, two or all three themes depending on the interests of your class and the time available – What? Who? or How?
Each theme can be explored in the classroom in one or two lessons by taking the following four steps:
- Jump Start: watch the Jump Start animations with your class to set the scene for your lesson. These fast-moving, three minute films are packed with information to get your students thinking. You’ll find questions and topics included in each supporting pack to run follow-up classroom discussions.
- Get Active by using the hands-on activities which include full instructions and worksheets. Each one challenges your students to put into practise some of the real-life House of Lords roles and activities explored in the Jump Start animations, from ‘Create your own Bill’ (How?) to ‘Hold a Committee’ (What?) and ‘Nominate a Peer’ (Who?)
- Public Pops: kick off further debates by watching the Public Pops films, which show members of the public sharing their own opinions on the House of Lords. Use the prompt information and debate cards in each pack to direct effective follow-up debates.
- A Day in the Life: watch these films to hear members and staff of the House of Lords tell you about their roles and responsibilities in their own words. Use the films to bring about final thoughts and wider discussions about the role of the Lords, and you could use the questions in the pack to prompt a class-wide debate or set one as an essay question.
Find out more
You’ll find useful links to lots more relevant information and resources in each pack. For all other questions, useful links and topical news take a look at the House of Lords web pages
Order a free DVD
Schools can order a free copy of our House of Lords videos to accompany the online resources. To order a copy of the videos please email us providing your name, school name and postal address. One DVD will be allocated per school.
Let us know what you think
We’d love to hear what you think of the new House of Lords resources. Let us know what works for you or any suggestions for developments or additions you’d like us to consider making by emailing Parliament's Education Service