Principles, Values and Identity in Modern Britain
What holds a society together, and what makes you who you are? Explore the rights and duties of citizens, and how identity is shaped, including the idea that we each hold more than one identity.
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Free interactive practice at using the material, which is what the marks are for.
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What holds society together?
Millions of people live together in modern Britain. What holds a society together? Partly a set of shared principles and values, and partly a balance of rights and duties. This module looks at the rights and duties that citizens have, and at what shapes who we are: our identity.
Rights and duties words
Four ideas run through this module:
Rights and duties
Rights and duties go together. A right for one person often means a duty for others.
Match each kind of right
- Human right
- Legal right
- Moral right
- Political right
- A basic right every person has, simply for being human
- A right set out in law that can be enforced in court
- A right based on ideas of fairness and of right and wrong
- A right to take part in politics, such as voting
Which kind of right?
The right to vote in an election is an example of which kind of right?
- A political right
- A moral right
- A shopping right
- Not a right at all
Who are you?
Your identity is your sense of who you are. It is shaped by many things: your family, where you live, your nationality, your culture, your beliefs and your interests. Most people have multiple identities at once. You might be a sibling, a student, a Londoner, British and a global citizen, all at the same time.
Match each level of identity
- Individual
- Group
- National
- Global
- Who you are as a single, unique person
- Belonging to a group, such as a family, team or community
- Identifying with a nation, such as feeling British
- Seeing yourself as part of the wider world
What shapes identity?
Select the TWO things that can shape who a person is.
- Their culture and traditions
- The community they live in
- The weather on the day they were born
- Their shoe size
Widening circles
Put these levels of identity in order, from the closest to you outward to the widest.
- You as a single individual
- The groups you belong to, like family and friends
- The nation you identify with
- The whole world, as a global citizen
Citizens in words
Something a citizen is entitled to is a _____, and something they are expected to do is a _____. A right set out in law is a _____ right. The sense of who you are is your _____. Most people hold _____ identities at the same time.
Rights, duties and identity
Tap the TWO statements that are TRUE.
- A right for one person often creates a duty for others.
- A person can hold several identities at the same time.
- The right to vote is a moral right, not a political one.
- Everyone has exactly one single identity.
- A duty is something you are entitled to receive.
Apply it
Use what you know to answer each one. Choose each time.
- A citizen has the right to a fair trial in court. What kind of right is this?
- Priya says she is a daughter, a student, a Mancunian and British. What does this show?
- Everyone has the right to free speech, but a duty comes with it. What is that duty?
Rights and who we are
Explain what is meant by rights and duties, using an example, and explain how a person can hold more than one identity at the same time.
- Explain the difference between a right and a duty
- Give an example of a right and the duty that goes with it
- Explain what is meant by identity
- Give an example of a person holding multiple identities