Your Assembly Workbook

The National Assembly for Wales is made up of 60 Assembly Members from across Wales. They are elected by the people of Wales to represent them and their communities, make laws for Wales and to ensure the Welsh Government is doing its job properly. National Assembly for Wales Commission Copyright 2015 The text of this document may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing that it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading or derogatory context. The material must be acknowledged as copyright of the National Assembly for Wales Commission and the title of the document specified.

Table of Contents Introduction... 1 Activity 01 Getting started... 1 Activity 02 How has politics affected your day?... 3 Activity 03 Your Assembly Members... 4 Activity 04 Powers of the Assembly... 5 Activity 05 Voting... 6 Activity 06 Where you live and your community... 9 Activity 07 Idea for a new Welsh law... 10 Notes... 11 Notes... 12

Introduction To complete the workbook you will need to use some of the resources from our Your Assembly website including the A day in Wales mural and our Your Assembly Making Laws for Wales, Your Assembly About the Assembly booklets. These can be found on the publications page of our website. www.yourassembly.org/resources Activity 01 Getting started 01. Please look, read and start your research using our booklets. Try to get used to and understand some of the new and possibly unfamiliar words that are part of day to day life in the National Assembly for Wales. Use the booklet to explain what these words mean. Word Meaning Devolution Committee Plenary Presiding Officer Bills 1

02. How are the 21 Powers of the Assembly represented in the A day in Wales mural picture. In the booklet Your Assembly What is the Assembly? look at the list of 21 subjects the National Assembly for Wales can make laws about. List 4 subjects from the 21 and show how they appear in the A day in Wales mural picture in words and as a drawing. Subject Words Drawing 2

Activity 02 How has politics affected your day? 03. Have any of the 21 Powers of the Assembly had an effect on your life today? Explain how. Breakfast Your journey At School / college During a meal break Your free time Part time job 3

Activity 03 Your Assembly Members Use the interactive map on the main National Assembly for Wales website to answer the questions below via the link below: www.asssembly.wales/members 01. How many Assembly Members (AMs) can speak for you and your community in the National Assembly for Wales? 02. Below write the name of each Assembly Member (AM) who speaks for you and your community in the National Assembly for Wales and which political party each belongs to. 4

Activity 04 Powers of the Assembly 01. Look again at the list - Powers of the Assembly in the booklet. Decide your personal Top 5. List them in order of importance. 02. Why have you ranked them in this order? 03. Briefly explain why they are important to you now or could be important to you in the future. 5

Activity 05 Voting 01. Why do so few young people vote in an election? What do you think are the reasons? List three. 02. Ask two of your friends what they think. Friend 1 Friend 2 6

03. Ask two adults what they think. Adult 1 Adult 2 04. Create one of the following: an eye catching poster or a short video live action or animation or a song or rap or poem or create a script featuring a conversation between 2 or 3 people that you think would help to boost the number of young people who would take part and vote in an election. 7

05. At the moment on election day you can:- Go out and vote in person at a polling station Ask someone else to vote on your behalf (a proxy vote) Have a postal vote to send in before the day of the election Can you think of 3 new or different ways of voting that would encourage more people to want to vote? 06. Create a short questionnaire and ask your fellow students, friends or family which one of your 3 new voting ideas listed above they would support and why. You can record the results and comments below. Idea Why? 8

Activity 06 Where you live and your community 01. What s the best thing about where you live? 02. What s the biggest problem in your area? 03. If you were an Assembly Member speaking up for the people in your community and for Wales what would you change or improve in your area? 9

Activity 07 Idea for a new Welsh law What idea for a new Welsh Law would you like to see passed by the National Assembly for Wales? Remember it has to be something connected to the subjects on the list of 21 Powers of the Assembly in the booklet. You may want to chat with others if they think that the National Assembly for Wales should have more powers. Also refer to the booklet Your Assembly Making Laws for Wales. Make a note of the new Welsh Law you would like the Assembly to make and some of the comments made by others about your idea. 01. Your idea for a new Welsh Law. 02. Comments made about your idea for new Welsh Law. 10

Notes 11

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