Free teaching materials about the elections

Contents of the trial lesson

The trial lesson “The government of the Netherlands” from Welcome to the Netherlands gives students an accessible insight into how the Netherlands is organized politically and administratively. The lesson covers the role of the king and the government, the composition and tasks of parliament (Senate and House of Representatives), and government at the national, provincial, and municipal levels. It also covers the three branches of government – legislative, executive, and judicial – and their separation. In addition, students learn about political parties, the differences between left and right, and between progressive and conservative thinking. The lesson then explains how elections work in the Netherlands: who is eligible to vote, how often elections are held, and which levels of government (municipality, province, water board, national, and European) are elected. Finally, students learn about active and passive voting rights and referendums. The lesson ties in with current events and helps students better understand how Dutch democracy works.

Level: from level A2

Length: 9 pages

Duration: 120 to 180 minutes. If you want to spend less time on the lesson, you can choose to skip some assignments. For example, you can skip the assignments on active and passive voting rights and referendums and continue with assignment 10.