The Tikkun Project
Lesson
10
Seeing Democracy at Work: A Visit to City Hall or Queen's Park
Concept
Watching real decisions being made, and meeting the people who make them, shows students that government is run by people they can reach, and can turn an official into an ally for their plan.
Focus Question
Where and how are decisions about our issue made, and who there could help us make our change?
Knowledge & Understanding Goals
Social Studies, People and Environments Strand B — The Role of Government and Responsible Citizenship, Grade 5: Demonstrate an understanding of the roles and key responsibilities of citizens and of the different levels of government in Canada. (B3, overall expectation)
Language, Strand B (Oral and Non-Verbal Communication), Grade 5: Identify the purpose and audience for speaking in formal and informal contexts, and use appropriate speaking strategies. (B1.3)
Language, Strand B (Oral and Non-Verbal Communication), Grade 5: Use effective listening skills, including asking questions to encourage elaboration. (B1.1)
Thinking & Learning Skills
ATL — Communication: Speaking to a formal audience; listening actively in a public meeting.
ATL — Critical Thinking: Revising understanding based on new information from the visit.
Learner Profile: Communicators, Risk-Takers.
Context
Follows Lesson 9's issue selection and comes before the plan is finalized in Designing the Action Plan (Lesson 11). Lesson 8 brought an expert into the classroom; this lesson takes students into the place where decisions are made. Students arrive with a chosen issue and a draft ask. They leave having seen how a debate, vote or deputation actually works, having heard why someone chose to run for office and, ideally, with an official who has agreed to advise or support their plan.
Lesson Outline
BOOKING THE VISIT
Book as early in the unit as possible, ideally before students choose their issue, since meeting days and officials' schedules fill quickly. The visit itself should fall after Lesson 9 and before plans are finalized in Lesson 11. Choose the level that best matches the class's issues, using Lesson 3's roles chart: Toronto City Hall for municipal issues, or Queen's Park (the Legislative Assembly of Ontario) for provincial ones. Check the council or legislature calendar so the class can watch a real council meeting, committee meeting or Question Period from the public gallery. Contact the school's own city councillor or MPP in advance and ask for 20–30 minutes with the class. Share the Critical Challenge and the class's chosen issue(s) ahead of time so the official can come prepared. If an in-person visit isn't possible, a virtual meeting with the official plus a livestream of a council meeting or Question Period is an acceptable alternative.
PREPARING THE PITCH
Each group prepares a one-minute pitch: the issue, why it matters (drawing on their evidence from Lesson 9), and their draft ask. Groups also prepare two or three questions, revised against the powerful-question criteria from Lesson 8. Include at least one question about the official's own path, such as "Why did you decide to run for office?" or "What would you tell a student who wants to make a change?"
WATCHING GOVERNMENT AT WORK
While observing the meeting or Question Period, students use a simple observation organizer: What is being decided? Who is speaking, and what is their role? How is the decision being made: debate, a vote, a question to a minister, or a deputation from a member of the public? Assign a listening role to each student in a group (topic, roles, or process) so everyone has a focused task, then combine notes afterward. If the visit is at City Hall, point out that members of the public, including students, can register to speak to a committee; this is a possible route for the class's own action.
MEETING THE OFFICIAL
Groups deliver their pitches and ask their questions. Make sure the conversation covers: How would an issue like ours reach council or the legislature? Who would need to agree, and how long might it take? What would make our plan more likely to succeed? Close by asking whether the official, or their office, would be willing to advise, support or help advocate for the class's plan.
DEBRIEF: SHOULD OUR PLAN CHANGE? Back at school, groups compare notes and revisit their chosen issue with the new information. If an official offered support for one issue, does that change which issue now has the best chance of success? Record the specific advice each group received; it feeds directly into Designing the Action Plan (Lesson 11). Each group writes a short thank-you letter to the official that restates their ask. This is an authentic first piece of advocacy writing, and it keeps the connection open.
Notes for Teaching and Evaluation
Field experience: seeing a real meeting in the room where decisions are made makes the structures from Lessons 3 and 5 concrete in a way a description can't, and meeting an official in person shows students that government is run by people they can reach.
One-minute pitch: distilling the issue, evidence and ask before the plan is finalized means the official responds to something specific, not a general concern.
Listening roles during observation: a formal meeting is long, and a single focused task keeps every student engaged. Combining the roles afterward rebuilds the full picture, as in a jigsaw.
Revisiting the issue after the visit is deliberate: a problem an official can help move forward may now be a stronger choice than one that seemed more urgent but has no clear path to change.
Booking: reach out early. Council and legislature calendars and officials' schedules fill quickly.