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Lesson · Grade 5 · Social Studies

Direct and Representative Democracy

  • Grade 5
  • Social Studies
  • 1 min 2 s
  • British Columbia
  • BC5-SS-14

Two side-by-side cards show the same town question, "Build a park?": in direct democracy the people vote on it themselves, and in representative democracy they elect representatives who vote for everyone. The video adds that people can keep or replace their representatives at the next election and that a referendum lets all voters vote on one big question, then ends on the recap "People rule directly, or through representatives."

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In one sentence

The question this lesson answers

Democracy means rule by the people.

There are two main kinds of democracy, direct and representative.

Transcript

What the lesson says

Democracy means rule by the people.

There are two main kinds of democracy, direct and representative.

Imagine a town deciding whether to build a new park.

In a direct democracy, the people vote on it themselves.

Five vote yes and two vote no, so yes wins.

In a big place, it is hard for everyone to vote on every decision.

So in a representative democracy, people elect representatives to speak for them.

The representatives vote for everyone: two yes and one no.

At the next election, people can keep them or choose new ones.

Most democracies today mainly use representatives.

Sometimes all voters vote on one big question themselves, in a referendum.

In a democracy, people rule directly or through the representatives they elect.

Curriculum

Where this fits

British Columbia, Grade 5

Social Studies, Government and land: participation and representation in Canada's system of governmentBC5-SS-14

Previous: How Governments Pay for Services: TaxesNext: How an Election Works: Ridings, Parties and Votes

The outcomes and strands follow the British Columbia curriculum.

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