As a Humanities or Social Sciences high school or undergraduate teacher, you can use this set of computer-based tools to teach about the Constitution of a country, the components of a nation’s Constitution, and the recognition that climate change is a fundamental constitutional issue for certain nations. This lesson plan uses the Constitution of Bhutan as an example.
Bhutan transitioned from a monarchy led state to a democratic nation recently and adopted its constitution in 2008. By perusing the Constitution of Bhutan, you can teach your students about various parts of a nation’s Constitution including the preamble, the fundamental rights and duties of a citizen, and principles of state policy amongst others. This lesson plan includes a tool to study the constitutions of different nations and to compare their national policies on various issues like climate, climate change and the environment. In the Constitution of Bhutan, the promotion of Gross National Happiness (GNH) is a principle of state policy and this lesson plan will enable your students to understand how Bhutan’s GNH is threatened by climate change.
Thus, the use of this lesson plan allows you to integrate the teaching of a climate science topic with a core topic in History/Civics in the Humanities or Social Sciences.
The tools in this lesson plan will enable students to:
| Grade Level | Undergraduate |
| Discipline | Humanities, Social Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Human Rights, Environmental Justice, Cultural Studies, Political Science, Public Policy, Monarchy, Democracy, Constitution Articles of the Constitution, the Preamble to the Constitution Parliament, Government, Citizenship Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights Principles of State Policy, Rules of Governance Gross National Happiness, Poverty, Environmental Policy |
| Climate Topic | Policy, Politics and Environmental Governance |
| Location | Global, Asia, Bhutan |
| Language(s) | English, Some tools are also in Arabic, Spanish |
| Access | Online / Offline |
| Approximate Time Required | 60-70 min |
| Share | |
| Resource Download |
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
Video micro-lecture (~6.5 min)
Use this video micro-lecture, ‘What is a Constitution?’ by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), to introduce the concept of a Constitution and explain why it is fundamentally for every nation to have it. Explain how the Constitution defines the aims and ideals of the nation that it represents. Use the tool to introduce the different parts of the constitution such as the Preamble, the Articles of the Constitution, the State Policies, the pillars of democracy- Parliament, Government and Judiciary, citizenship, fundamental rights and duties of every citizen and the rules of governance.
Reading (20 min)
Use the document, “The Constitution of The Kingdom of Bhutan” by the National Council of Bhutan, as an example to describe the different parts of a country’s constitution.
Go through every section to give a brief overview of Bhutan’s Constitution. Use the reading to discuss with your students, what they perceive are the aims and ideals of the Bhutanese people. Draw attention to Article 5 that pertains to the Environment and discuss the fundamental duty of every citizen and the Royal Government to protect the natural environment of Bhutan, conserve its rich biodiversity, and prevent its ecological degradation: and thereby, ‘ensure a safe and healthy environment’. Use this point to bring focus to the Preamble that pledges to ‘enhance the unity, happiness and well-being of the people for all time’. Discuss how this pledge ties into the Principles of State Policy outlined in Article 9, no. 2- ‘The State shall strive to promote…Gross National Happiness’.
Video and Associated Reading (20 min)
Use the news report, ‘Climate change threatens Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness’ by Jim Crabtree, Environment News Service to discuss the findings of a 2011 report published by the Gross National Happiness Commission Secretariat and UNDP, on the impact of climate change on Bhutan’s GNH.
Classroom/ Laboratory Activity (20 min)
Explore the website, ‘CONSTITUTE’, by Comparative Constitutions Project, University of Texas, Austin, to study almost 200 different national constitutions. The tool is also available in Arabic or Spanish for around 50 constitutions.
Use the tool to discuss the constitution of a nation or to compare policies between constitutions- for example, the environment or climate policies. Use the navigation tools to ‘quickly find relevant passages’ for a particular topic, ‘filter searches’ for specific regions or time periods, ‘read excerpts in List or Compare view’ and ‘pin for further analysis’. The documents are available to be downloaded, exported to Google Docs or rendered in PDF.
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| 1 | Reading | A paper, “Forest ecosystem services and the pillars of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness” published by Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) that describes the ‘Environment’ as one of the four pillars of Bhutan’s GNH. Go to the Reading |
| 2 | Lesson Plan | A lesson plan, ‘Poverty and Climate: An Inextricable Link’ by the Trans-disciplinary Research Oriented Pedagogy for Improving Climate Studies and Understanding (TROP ICSU) Project, to explain the strong link between poverty and climate change. Go to the TROP ICSU Lesson Plan |
| 1 | Micro-lecture (video), “What is a Constitution?” | Presented by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). |
| 2 | Reading, “The Constitution of The Kingdom of Bhutan” | Provided by the National Council of Bhutan. |
| 3 | Video and Associated Reading; “Climate change threatens Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness” | Video by the UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative. Report by Jim Crabtree, Environment News Service Climate Change Country Profile for Bhutan, provided by UNDP |
| 4 | Classroom/Laboratory Activity; “CONSTITUTE” | Provided by Comparative Constitutions Project, University of Texas, Austin. |
| 5 | Additional Resources | A paper, “Forest ecosystem services and the pillars of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness” by Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) A lesson plan, “Poverty and Climate: An Inextricable Link” by the Trans-disciplinary Research Oriented Pedagogy for Improving Climate Studies and Understanding (TROP ICSU) Project |
| 6 | Images(s) | TROP ICSU |
| Grade Level | Undergraduate |
| Discipline | Humanities, Social Sciences |
| Topic(s) in Discipline | Monarchy, Democracy, Constitution Articles of the Constitution, the Preamble to the Constitution Parliament, Government, Citizenship Fundamental Duties, Fundamental Rights Principles of State Policy, Rules of Governance Gross National Happiness, Poverty, Environmental Policy |
| Climate Topic | Policies, Politics and Environmental Governance |
| Location | Global |
| Language(s) | English, Some tools are also in Arabic, Spanish |
| Access | Online / Offline |
| Approximate Time Required | 60-70 min |
| Share | |
| Resource Download |
Here is a step-by-step guide to using this lesson plan in the classroom/laboratory. We have suggested these steps as a possible plan of action. You may customize the lesson plan according to your preferences and requirements.
Video micro-lecture (~6.5 min)
Use this video micro-lecture, ‘What is a Constitution?’ by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), to introduce the concept of a Constitution and explain why it is fundamentally for every nation to have it. Explain how the Constitution defines the aims and ideals of the nation that it represents. Use the tool to introduce the different parts of the constitution such as the Preamble, the Articles of the Constitution, the State Policies, the pillars of democracy- Parliament, Government and Judiciary, citizenship, fundamental rights and duties of every citizen and the rules of governance.
Reading (20 min)
Use the document, “The Constitution of The Kingdom of Bhutan” by the National Council of Bhutan, as an example to describe the different parts of a country’s constitution.
Go through every section to give a brief overview of Bhutan’s Constitution. Use the reading to discuss with your students, what they perceive are the aims and ideals of the Bhutanese people. Draw attention to Article 5 that pertains to the Environment and discuss the fundamental duty of every citizen and the Royal Government to protect the natural environment of Bhutan, conserve its rich biodiversity, and prevent its ecological degradation: and thereby, ‘ensure a safe and healthy environment’. Use this point to bring focus to the Preamble that pledges to ‘enhance the unity, happiness and well-being of the people for all time’. Discuss how this pledge ties into the Principles of State Policy outlined in Article 9, no. 2- ‘The State shall strive to promote…Gross National Happiness’.
Video and Associated Reading (20 min)
Use the news report, ‘Climate change threatens Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness’ by Surekha Subarwal and Sonam Tsoki Tenzin of the UNDP to discuss the findings of a 2011 report published by the Gross National Happiness Commission Secretariat and UNDP, on the impact of climate change on Bhutan’s GNH.
Classroom/ Laboratory Activity (20 min)
Explore the website, ‘CONSTITUTE’, by Comparative Constitutions Project, University of Texas, Austin, to study almost 200 different national constitutions. The tool is also available in Arabic or Spanish for around 50 constitutions.
Use the tool to discuss the constitution of a nation or to compare policies between constitutions- for example, the environment or climate policies. Use the navigation tools to ‘quickly find relevant passages’ for a particular topic, ‘filter searches’ for specific regions or time periods, ‘read excerpts in List or Compare view’ and ‘pin for further analysis’. The documents are available to be downloaded, exported to Google Docs or rendered in PDF.
Suggested questions/assignments for learning evaluation
Use the tools and the concepts learned so far to discuss and determine answers to the following questions:
Use this lesson plan to help your students find answers to:
| 1 | Reading | A paper, “Forest ecosystem services and the pillars of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness” published by Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) that describes the ‘Environment’ as one of the four pillars of Bhutan’s GNH. Go to the Reading |
| 2 | Reading | A Bhutan National Human Development Report, ‘TEN YEARS OF DEMOCRACY IN BHUTAN’ by the UNDP and the Parliament of the Kingdom of Bhutan that showcases human development in Bhutan under democratic governance, through the perspective of achieving Gross National Happiness and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Go to the Reading |
| 3 | Lesson Plan | A lesson plan, ‘Poverty and Climate: An Inextricable Link’ by the Trans-disciplinary Research Oriented Pedagogy for Improving Climate Studies and Understanding (TROP ICSU) Project, to explain the strong link between poverty and climate change. Go to the TROP ICSU Lesson Plan |
| 1 | Micro-lecture (video), “What is a Constitution?” | Presented by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). |
| 2 | Reading, “The Constitution of The Kingdom of Bhutan” | Provided by the National Council of Bhutan. |
| 3 | Video and Associated Reading; “Climate change threatens Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness” | Video by the UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative. Write-up by Surekha Subarwal and Sonam Tsoki Tenzin, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). |
| 4 | Classroom/Laboratory Activity; “CONSTITUTE” | Provided by Comparative Constitutions Project, University of Texas, Austin. |
| 5 | Additional Resources |
A paper, “Forest ecosystem services and the pillars of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness” by Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) A report, “Ten Years of Democracy in Bhutan” by the UNDP and the Parliament of the Kingdom of Bhutan A lesson plan, “Poverty and Climate: An Inextricable Link” by the Trans-disciplinary Research Oriented Pedagogy for Improving Climate Studies and Understanding (TROP ICSU) Project |
| 6 | Images(s) | TROP ICSU |
