Comparing Voting Systems - whiteboard resource

Resources quick links

• Compare the vote worksheet for students
• Compare the vote whiteboard resource level 1
• Teachers' walkthrough guide level 1
• Compare the vote whiteboard resource level 2
• Teachers' walkthrough guide level 2
• Compare the vote whiteboard resource level 3
• Teachers' walkthrough guide level 3

Description

This resource includes a quick-comparison tool for a range of voting systems, short videos looking at EU and US elections, succinct explanations of key terms and system features and downloadable worksheets for students.

Three levels of difficulty allow you to tailor the activities to suit your students.

Time required: 30 minutes

Learning outcomes

This resource covers key A Level Government and Politics learning outcomes and is also suitable for some students at key stage 4.

At level one, students will learn to:

• Compare the first past the post voting system with a proportional system (the party list system
• Understand the additional member system
• Explore common outcomes of using different voting systems, including coalition or single-party  governments, and representation of smaller parties
• Understand the practicalities of how voting systems work, including constituency sizes, number of representatives per constituency, what happens on polling day, and how the winner(s) are chosen
• Learn where different voting systems are used in practice, in different countries and around the UK

At level two, students will also learn to:

• Compare the alternative vote with the other voting systems above
• Learn about the alternative vote plus system
• Compare UK and EU electoral systems

At level three, students will also learn to:

• Compare the single transferable vote (STV) with the other voting systems above
• Learn how the quota works in the STV system
• Compare UK and US electoral systems

Practical information

This classroom presentation tool is optimised for use on interactive whiteboards. It requires Flash Player 9 or above and Javascript to be enabled.

Walkthrough guides are available to download below, to help you make the most of the resource. Turn straight to section 5 in the PDF to find the relevant instructions.

After launching the whiteboard resource, you can also access other activities relating to elections and voting through the main menu at the side of the resource.

Supporting resources

Compare the Vote Level 1

Compare the First Past the Post and Proportional Representation (Party List System) voting systems.

Download

Compare the Vote Level 2

Compare the First Past the Post, Proportional Representation (Party List System) and Alternative Vote electoral systems.

Download

Compare the Vote Level 3

Compare the First Past the Post, Alternative Vote, Party List System and Single Transferable Vote electoral systems.

Download

Compare the Vote Worksheet for Students

A quick-reference guide to the differences between voting systems and an activity for students to compare how they work.

Download

pdf file - 260 KB
PDF download

Walkthrough Guide Level 1

A practical guide for teachers about how to use the Level 1 Compare the Vote activity.

Download

Walkthrough Guide Level 2

A practical guide for teachers about how to use the Level 2 Compare the Vote activity.

Download

Walkthrough Guide Level 3

A practical guide for teachers about how to use the Level 3 Compare the Vote activity.

Download