Summary
Democracy is one of the oldest forms of government out there, going all the way back to ancient Athens. In fact, the word itself is Greek! But democracy has evolved since the Athenian experiment. Athens had a direct democracy, meaning everyone voted on every question. Most modern countries have a representative democracy, or a republic, where people vote for leaders who handle the day-to-day running of the country. Press "play" to find out why more than half the world has some form of democracy!
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
A few questions to talk through after watching Democracy:
- What is one new thing you learned about democracy?
- Can you explain it to a partner in your own words?
- Where might you see this in the real world?
- What is one question you still have?
Quick work-a-long
Try it:
- Write one sentence explaining democracy.
- Draw or give one example of your own.