Rioting is a form of direct action. Direct actions is defined as political action which happens outside normal political channels. Direct action is often therefore associated with New Social Movements who have little influence over normal political processes. Direct action can be peaceful and lawful for instance demonstrations, sit ins, and boycotts. However it is frequently illegal and can take the form of rioting, vandalism and terrorism. The most serious form of direct actions is the urban riot.
In this lesson you will investigate sociological explanations of urban riots and then assess the validity of these ideas against some research you will do on actual events.

Lesson Development
1. 'Find Someone Who' Revision Exercise
2. Rally Robin - all the ways a person can participate in British politics then Stand and Share
3. Rally Coach the Causes of Riots Interactive diagram embedded below - summarise AND evaluate
4. In your new pairs collect emprical evidence of actual riots from this page and explain which theoretical explanation from the earlier exercise best explains what happened - record your answer on a large piece of sugar paper