PRIMARY 4 FIRST TERM LESSON NOTES CIVIC EDUCATION

PRY 4 CIVIC IST TERM ENOTE

Week: 1st 

Class: primary 4

Topic: Our values

Behavioural objectives: At the end of the lesson pupils should be able to explain the following Concepts:

 (a) Meaning of cultural diversity
(b) Developing right attitude to cultural diversity e.g. respect other people’s ways of life, honesty and tolerance

Instructional material/Reference material: Text book, charts and pictures.

Building Background /connection to prior knowledge: Pupils are familiar with the topic.

Content:

CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Cultural diversity means differences in our ways of life. The differences in our ways of life could be in the areas of marriage, religion, feeding, language, greetings, tradition, etc. Our attitude towards cultural diversity must be in the following ways:

1. We must learn to tolerate other people’s ways of life i.e. their culture.
2. We must respect their ways of life.
3. We must accept them.
4. We must appreciate the good qualities in our different cultures.
5. We need to mix with people who hold different views and who have different cultural backgrounds.

Evaluation:

1. What is cultural diversity?

Week: 2nd

Class: primary 4

Topic: Respect for other people’s culture

Behavioural objectives: At the end of the lesson pupils should be explain respect for other people’s value in relation to:

(a) Importance of listening to other people’s view
(b) How can we respect other people’s view, beliefs and traditions. 

(c) What do we gain by listening to other people’s view, e.g. harmony, peace, tolerance. 

Instructional material/Reference material: Textbook, charts and pictures.

Building Background /connection to prior knowledge: Pupils are familiar with the topic.

Content:

Respect for other people’s values

Why we must listen to other people’s views

We must listen to other people’s views because for the following reasons:

1. We may learn certain things from the views of other people.
2. It will help us to avoid making wrong decisions or judgement about others.
3. It will help us to relate with understanding with others.
4. We need to listen to others because they are also human beings.
5. They are citizens of our country or another country.
6. Other people have a right to express their views, which may be different from our own.
7. We could share ideas.
8. We must show that we consider other people’s views important.
9. It will make them feel accepted in our midst.

Reasons why we must respect other people’s views, beliefs and tradition

The following are some of the reasons why we must respect other people’s views, beliefs and tradition:

1. There will be peace and harmony in society because conflicts and misunderstanding will be avoided.
2. People will feel safe and happy in society.
3. There will be peaceful co-existence in the community.
4. There will be cooperation and friendliness among the citizens.
5. The government will be able to perform its duties when there is peace in society.
6. People will be able to live without fear in any part of the country.
7. Citizens will be free to work without fear in any part of Nigeria no matter where they come from.
8. It gives us an opportunity to learn from one another.
9. The basic law of our country (the Constitution) allows everybody to practise the religion of their choice. It is therefore their right to hold any religious belief.
10. Religious crises will be avoided if we respect other people’s religious beliefs and tradition.

How to respect other people’s views, beliefs and traditions

It is important to respect other people’s views, beliefs and traditions. Nigeria is a large country made up of many ethnic groups with different cultural backgrounds. These cultural groups have their own beliefs and traditions. We live together in the same community and work together too. At times we attend schools together in spite of our differences. We therefore need to respect other people’s beliefs and traditions if we are to live peacefully with one another. We can do this in the following ways:

1. Tolerance: There is need to make room for our differences. It will be easy to tolerate and be friends with other people who are not like us, when we understand that we cannot all hold the same religious and traditional beliefs.
2. Understanding: There will be peace if we show understanding. We should accept other people the way they are, instead of emphasing the differences between us.
3. Appreciating differences: We respect other people’s views, beliefs and traditions if we appreciate the good qualities which are in these beliefs and traditions.
4. Learning about the differences: We can show respect by deliberately showing interest in learning about the views, religious beliefs and traditions which are different from ours.

Evaluation

1. How can you respect and tolerate other people’s culture?
2. Why must we listen to other people’s views?
3. Give four reasons why we must respect and tolerate other people’s views, beliefs and traditions.

Week: 3rd

Class: primary 4

Topic: Community leadership

Behavioural objectives: At the end of the lesson pupils should be able to:
a) Define community leadership e.g. Oba, Emir or Eze
b) List the duties of traditional rulers.

Instructional material/Reference material: Textbook, Charts and pictures

Building Background /connection to prior knowledge: Pupils are familiar with the topic

Content:

Community Leadership

Traditional leadership

Every home, school or society has a person who controls and directs the affairs of the people. In our classroom, there is a class captain or class monitor who ensures that there is peace. The person who directs and controls others is therefore a leader.

In our local communities, where the customs and traditions of the people form the basic way of life, there is also somebody who is in charge of the affairs of the people based on the customs and tradition. The person is the head and therefore, the leader.

Traditional leadership therefore means leadership based on the customs and traditions of the people. When a person controls a group of people according to the tradition and customs, such a person is called the traditional leader or ruler.

Examples of traditional leaders in our society are the Emir of Ka no, Oba of

Lagos, Alaafin of Oyo, Obi of Onitsha, and Olu of Ikeja.

Duties of traditional rulers

Traditional rulers perform the following duties:

1. They maintain the traditional laws and customs of the people. They ensure that such customs do not die.
2. They are the custodians of the customs and traditions of the people.

They are a symbol of the customs and traditions of the people.

3. They maintain peace in their communities.
4. They help to unite the people living in their domain, to ensure peace.
5. They settle disputes or disagreements among the people in their domain.
6. They organise their people and community in self-help projects for the development of their community.

A traditional leader holding a meeting with his people

Evaluation

1. Who is a traditional leader?
2. Write two names of traditional leaders in your community.
3. List three duties of a traditional ruler.
4. Give four reasons why traditional leadership is important.

Week: 4th

Class: primary 4

Topic: Communalism

Behavioural objectives: At the end of the lesson pupils should be able to:
a) Define communalism
b) List ways by which we promote the spirit of communalism e.g. togetherness, love, co-operation, dialogue, sharing.

Instructional material/Reference material: Textbook, charts and pictures

Building Background /connection to prior knowledge: pupils are familiar with the topic.

Content:

Communalism

Communalism is a system in which members of a community come together and do things collectively in the interest of the community. Communalism exists in our traditional societies, where assistance or help is given to individual members of the community. In a communal society, there is a high level of togetherness and unity. Harmony is a strong feature of such a community. Progress, peace and love can also be clearly seen in that type of society.

Attributes of communalism

The following are the attributes of communalism. That is, these are the things you will see in a communal society:

1. Togetherness: This means doing things collectively as one body for the interest of all.
2. Love: In a communal society, there is love and deep interest for one another.

The people protect the interests of one another.

3. Co-operation: People work together, helping each other, in order to achieve the goals of the community.
4. Justice and fair play: In a communal society, the principle of justice and fair play exists. It means people are treated fairly when matters concerning them and other members of society are handled.
5. Sharing: Members of a communal society see themselves as one, and, because of the love in the community, they share things with one another.
6. Dialogue: Issues affecting the community are discussed before decisions are taken in the best interest of all.

Evaluation

1. How can the spirit of communalism be promoted in our society?

Week: 5th

Class: primary 4

Topic: Types of Government

Behavioural objectives: At the end of the lesson pupils should be able to explain the
a) Meaning of government e.g. traditional form of government, constitutional (presidential orparliamentary form of government

Instructional material/Reference material: Textbook, charts and pictures

Building Background /connection to prior knowledge: Pupils are familiar with the topic.

Content:

Types of Government

These are various forms of government. Some of them are:
Traditional government
This is a form of government that is controlled or headed by a traditional ruler. Traditional leaders are the custodians of local traditions and customs. Therefore, their government is based on the traditions and customs of the people of their area. Traditional government or leadership began a long time ago when people began to live together in communities and possess common culture and tradition. Traditional rulers in different parts of our country, Nigeria are known by some titles such as Obi, Eze, Igwe – Igboland

Oba, Baale – Yorubaland
Emir – Hausaland
Before the colonisation of Nigeria by the British, traditional rulers ruled in all parts of the country and had a lot of power. However after the

Evaluation: 

1. Define traditional government
2. Mention ten traditional leaders in your community

Week: 6th

Class: primary 4

Topic: Difference between traditional and constitutional form of government

Behavioural objectives: At the end of the lesson pupils should be able to differentiate between traditional and constitutional form of government.

Instructional material/Reference material: Textbook, Charts and pictures

Building Background /connection to prior knowledge: pupils are familiar with the topic.

Content:

Differences between traditional and constitutional forms of government
Constitutional form of government
1. There is a fixed tenure of office. It means there is a definite period of time the government will spend. It could be four or five years.
2. This government rules according to the provisions of the constitution. It is what the law of the land says that the government must follow when in Power

3. Government i.e. the president, prime minister, and governors are elected by the people. They come to power through periodic elections–– elections are held at regular periods.
4. The government can also be removed by the people through election.
   5. This is a modern form of government.
   Traditional form of government
   1. This government has no fixed tenure. Rulership in this form of government is hereditary. The position is transferred from parents to children and from generation to generation.
   2. This government rules according to the tradition and customs of the people. For instance, legal limitations to the powers of the monarch did not exist in ancient times, but they do in modern constitutional government.
   3. Most traditional governments are dynasties. Only people from a particular family can have claim to the throne, i.e become rulers.
   4. The king or monarch may not leave the throne except through death or abdication, i.e. being forced to leave, which was not common in those days.
   5. It is perhaps the oldest form of government.

Evaluation: 

1. Explain the meaning of government.
2. Explain traditional form of government.
3. What is constitutional form of government?
4. Identify three differences between the traditional and constitutional forms

Week: 7th

Class: primary 4

Topic: Democracy

Behavioural objectives:
a) Meaning of democracy
b) Meaning of parliamentary e.g where executive is not fully separated from the legislative
c) Meaning of presidential headed by an elected president

Instructional material/Reference material: Textbook, charts and pictures

Building Background /connection to prior knowledge: Pupils are familiar with the topic

Content:

Constitutional/democratic government
Constitutional government can be regarded as government based on the constitution of the country. It can also be called democratic government. It is a government that is formed through elections. It has a fixed tenure of office which means that the government spends a specific period when elected.
In Nigeria, elections are held every four years. The 1999 Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution states clearly that elections are to be held every four years to change government. Nigeria thus practises constitutional or democratic government

Kinds of constitutional government
A constitutional government could either be presidential or parliamentary.
The features of parliamentary government and presidential government are as follows:
Parliamentary government
1. This system of government is headed by the prime minister.
2. The executive and the legislative arms of government are not separated. They are fused.
3. The prime minister, who is the head of the executive, is also a member of the legislature.

4. The Lord Chancellor in Britain, where this system of government is practised, is a member of the three arms of government.
   5. There is no separation of powers in this system of government. Britain is a good example of countries practising the parliamentary system.
   Presidential government
   1. This form of government is headed by a president elected by the people.
   2. He rules for a fixed period, e.g. four years or five years.
   3. The three arms of government are separate in their composition. That is one person cannot belong to two arms of government at the same time.
   4. There is separation of powers in this system of government. Nigeria is practising this system of government.

Evaluation: 

1. Explain the meaning of government.
2. Explain traditional form of government.
3. What is constitutional form of government?
4. Identify three differences between the traditional and constitutional forms of government.
5. What is oligarchy?

[mediator_tech]

CIVIC EDUCATION FIRST TERM EXAMINATION PRIMARY 4

Week: 8th

Class: primary 4

Topic: Local Government

Behavioural objectives: At the end of the lesson pupils should be able to:
a) Meaning of local government
b) Duties of local government e.g. provision of social amenities such as market schools, pipe borne water e.t.c
Instructional material/Reference material: Textbook, Charts and pictures

Building Background /connection to prior knowledge: Pupils are familiar with topic.

Content: The local government
The meaning of local government
The local government is the last or third level of government in a federation like Nigeria. The levels of government in a federation are the Federal, State and Local governments.
The local government is a body of people who control public affairs at the grassroots. It can also be called the nearest or closest government to the people in any community.
Duties of the local government
1. It maintains law and order in the community.
2. It collects rates and gives licenses for bicycles, trucks, canoes, wheelbarrows, carts, television sets, radio sets, etc.
3. It constructs and maintains local roads called Trunk C roads.
4. It maintains drains, parks, open spaces and other public facilities, such as recreation centres.
5. It names roads and streets, and also numbers homes.
6. It registers births, deaths and marriages.
7. It provides and maintains health services, e.g. dispensaries, health centres and maternity centres.
8. It establishes and maintains cemetries and homes for the homeless.
9. It provides other social amenities, like water and market stalls.

Evaluation: 

1. Explain the meaning of government.
2. Explain traditional form of government.

Week: 9th

Class: primary 4

Topic: State Government

Behavioural objectives: At the end of the lesson pupils should be able to explain the following:
a) Meaning and composition of state government-body of people who control the public affairs of many local government
b) The three tiers of government

Instructional material/Reference material: Textbook, charts and pictures

Building Background /connection to prior knowledge : Pupils are familiar with the topic

Content:

The meaning of state government
The state government is the body of people who control the public affairs of many local government areas. A state is bigger than a local government because it is made up of many local government areas. In Lagos State, there are twenty local government areas, according to the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Some of the local governments are Ikeja, Mainland, Ojo, Epe, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, Agege, and Badagry.
Composition of state government
The government of a state is headed by a governor. The governor is assisted by a deputy governor. There are also commissioners who head different ministries. Each state has her capital. The capital of Lagos State, for example, is Ikeja. The capital of Ondo State is Akure, and the capital of Delta State is Asaba. There are thirty-six states in Nigeria.

Evaluation: 

1. State the meaning of state government.
2. What is the composition of a state government?
3. Mention the three tiers of government.

Week: 10th

Class: primary 4

Topic: The role of state government to the people (e.g. building of roads, provision of jobs for people)

Behavioural objectives: At the end of the lesson pupils should be able to:

1. List the roles of state government to the people.

Instructional material/Reference material: Textbook, Charts and pictures

Building Background /connection to prior knowledge: pupils are familiar with the topic.

Content:

The role of state government to the people (e.g. building of roads, provision of jobs for people)

Importance of the state government

1. It builds roads that are called Trunk B roads.
   2. It provides jobs for the people in the state through programmes that encourage economic activities.
   3. It maintains law and order in the state.
   4. It provides social amenities such as electricity, water, and transportation.
   5. It is the responsibility of state government to ensure justice in the statethrough the judiciary

Evaluation:

1. Explain the roles of the state government to the people.

Week: 11th

Class: primary 4

Topic: A) problem facing the state government
B) State motto and their meaning e.g. (Lagos center of Excellence)

Behavioural objectives: At the end of the lesson; pupils should be able to:

1. State the problems facing the state government.
2. Mention state motto and their meaning. 

Instructional material/Reference material: Textbook, charts and pictures

Building Background /connection to prior knowledge: Pupils are familiar with the topic

Content:

Problems of state governments in Nigeria.

Some of the problems facing state governments in Nigeria are as follows:
1. Corruption: Many officials of state governments in Nigeria are corrupt. They spend government money as if it belongs to them.
2. Finance: Many of the states depend solely on monthly allocations from the federal government. They cannot generate enough money within the state to execute projects.
3. Ethnic/religious differences: Some states still experience communal clashes because of differences in the religious and ethnic beliefs of the people. This does not promote unity and development.
4. Lack of social development: Many states do not have adequate social amenities like water, electricity, roads and schools; and they lack adequate funds to provide these.

5. Conflict/disagreement: Many states clash with the federal government, especially states whose ruling political parties are different from that of the government at the federal level. These conflicts delay progress in the states that are affected. The federal government may delay the release of benefits to such states.

State mottos

A motto is a short sentence or statement which shows the aims, belief, of pattern of behaviour of a person or group. The motto of Lagos State, for example, is ‘Centre of Excellence.’
The mottos of the 36 states of Nigeria
1. Abia State – God’s Own State
2. Adamawa State – Highest Peak of the Nation
3. Akwa Ibom State – Promised Land
4. Anambra State – Home for All
5. Bauchi State – Pearl of Tourism
6. Bayelsa State – Glory of All Lands
7. Benue State – Food Basket of the Nation

8. Borno State – Home of Peace
   9. Cross River State – The People’s Paradise
   10. Delta State – The Big Heart
   11. Ebonyi State – Salt of the Nation
   12. Edo State – The Heartbeat of Nigeria
   13. Ekiti State – The Fountain of Knowledge
   14. Enugu State – Coal City State
9. Gombe State – Jewel of Savannah
   16. Imo State – Land of Hope
   17. Jigawa State – The New World
   18. Kaduna State – Liberal State
   19. Kano State – Centre of Commerce
   20. Katsina State – Home of Hospitality
   21. Kebbi State – Land of Equity
   22. Kogi State – Confluence State
   23. Kwara State – State of Harmony
   24. Lagos State – Centre of Excellence
   25. Nassarawa State – Home of Solid Mineral
10. Niger State – Power State
    27. Ogun State – Gateway State
    28. Ondo State – Sunshine State
    29 Osun State – State of the Living Spring
    30. Oyo State – Pacesetter
    31. Plateau State – Home of Peace and Tourism
    32. Rivers State – Treasure Base of the Nation
    33. Sokoto State – Seat of the Caliphate
    34. Taraba State – Nature’s Gift to the Nation
    35. Yobe State – The Young Shall Grow
    36. Zamfara State – Home of Agricultural Products
    Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) – Centre of Unity

Evaluation:

1. State the meaning of state government.
2. What is the composition of a state government?
3. Mention the three tiers of government.
4. Explain the roles of the state government to the people.
5. Mention two problems of state governments.
6. Explain the meaning of state motto.
7. What is the motto of your state?

[mediator_tech]

1. “Primary 4 First Term Civic Education Lesson Notes”
2. “Civic Education Lesson Notes for Primary 4 First Term”
3. “Primary 4 Civic Education Curriculum Notes”
4. “Key Concepts in Primary 4 Civic Education Lessons”
5. “Teaching Resources for Primary 4 Civic Education First Term”

PRIMARY 5 FIRST TERM LESSON NOTES CIVIC EDUCATION