Italy Scuola secondaria di primo grado – classe 3ª Civic education
Chapters: 3
1. Constitution
Respect, legality and belonging · Institutions and active citizenship · Health and wellbeing
- What Is a Constitution? Rules, Rights and Duties – A constitution is the highest law of a country. It says how the state is organised, who holds power and how, and what rights and duties citizens have. Legal rules differ from other rules (game, family, school, manners) because the state makes them and enforces them with courts and penalties. All laws form a pyramid: the constitution at the top, then acts of parliament, then regulations and local rules; a lower rule that conflicts with a higher one can be struck down. Most constitutions are hard to change (rigid), protecting core values such as equality, freedom, solidarity and the right and duty to work.
- Systems of Government: Branches, Checks and Balances – Every modern state divides power among three branches: the legislature makes laws, the executive carries them out and the judiciary interprets them. Checks and balances let each branch limit the others. Democracies arrange the legislature and executive in different ways. In a parliamentary system the government comes from parliament and must keep its confidence (UK, India, Germany). In a presidential system people elect the president and the legislature separately for fixed terms (USA, Brazil). A semi-presidential system shares power between an elected president and a prime minister who answers to parliament (France). Other forms include monarchies and Switzerland's committee system.
- Healthy Lifestyle: Daily Habits That Keep You Well – A healthy lifestyle is a set of daily habits: a balanced diet from five food groups, enough water, 9–11 hours of sleep for school-age children and about 8–10 for teenagers, at least 60 minutes of activity a day, good posture, safe food handling and avoiding tobacco, alcohol and drugs. These habits lower the risk of lifestyle (non-communicable) diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.
- Hygiene and Sanitation – Health means feeling well in body, mind and social life, not just having no disease. We can see health in signs (indicators) like weight for age, energy, sleep and how often we fall ill. Poor food causes malnutrition: under-nutrition (too little food or nutrients) or over-nutrition (too much, leading to obesity). Hygiene means clean habits that stop germs: personal hygiene (body, hands, teeth, clothes), food hygiene (clean, covered, well-cooked food) and environmental hygiene (clean surroundings, covered bins, no still water, toilets). Sanitation means safe disposal of waste and sewage. Drinking water must be made safe by boiling, filtering, chlorine or other methods.
2. Economic development and sustainability
Growth, work and environment · Heritage, savings and legality
- Sustainability – Sustainability means meeting our needs today without taking away the ability of future people to meet theirs. It rests on three pillars — environment, society and economy. A resource is used sustainably when we use it no faster than it renews. Today humanity uses about 1.7 Earths' worth of resources a year, and this use is very unequal. Stewardship, careful planning and spatial tools like GIS help us move towards sustainability.
- Smart Ways to Manage Your Finances – Inflation makes prices rise, so the same money buys less. Money kept in a bank earns interest: simple interest is paid only on the original amount, while compound interest also earns interest on earlier interest, so it grows faster over time. A budget plans income into needs, wants and savings. Savings are kept safe; investments can grow but carry risk, and higher possible returns mean higher risk. Insurance shares risk among many people. Income tax is paid on income above a limit, at rates that rise with income.
3. Digital citizenship
Using digital information and communication responsibly
- Digital Footprints and Netiquette – A digital footprint is the trail of data we leave online. Active footprints are shared on purpose (posts, comments, forms); passive footprints are collected without us noticing (cookies, browsing history, location, IP address). Footprints are hard to erase and can be seen by others later. We live in a digital society where learning, banking, shopping and government services are online; a responsible user of it is a digital citizen (netizen). Net etiquette means being ethical (respect copyright, share reliable information), respectful (privacy, diversity, no bullying) and responsible (avoid oversharing, don't feed trolls). Communication etiquette asks us to be precise, polite and credible; social media etiquette asks us to choose passwords and privacy settings wisely, think before uploading, and verify before sharing.