SUBJECT: Government
TOPIC: Laws
GRADE LEVEL:
CREATORS: Cathy Baril, Janel Blevins, Dina Boswell, Lisa Coleman, Dan Love
 

Goal

To have students appreciate the importance of rules and laws within a society and to recognize the process by which these laws are created and implemented.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Justify the necessity for laws.
• Recognize which laws we live under.
• Demonstrate how a law comes into existence.

Materials

• The Rules and Laws I Follow handout
• Could It Really Be a Law? handout
• Vocabulary Match handout
• visual aid bulletin board
• Schoolhouse Rock video I'm Just a Bill

Procedure

1. Lead students in an introductory discussion focusing on building and activating prior knowledge about rules and laws.
2. Review with students their responses to the previously assigned homework sheet The Rules and Laws I Follow.
3. Have students classify their responses in one of three categories - School Rules, Home Rules, Society Rules.
4. Introduce the Could It Really Be a Law? handout
5. Have students complete this handout in groups.
6. Lead class discussion focusing on the importance of groups to establish unique laws and rules to govern. These may seem silly, but they were important to somebody sometime.
7. Using the visual aid, demonstrate the process by which a law comes into existence. Introduce the related vocabulary throughout this demonstration. Ask open-ended questions to monitor comprehension.
8. Show the Schoolhouse Rock Video as a reinforcement for this concept.

Evaluation

Students will demonstrate successful completion of the objectives by:

• Participatig in class discussions.
• Completing the handouts.
• Answering questions during the discussions.
• Independently completing the Vocabulary Match assignment of relevant terms.

Name: 

Name:

1. In Oregon it is against the law to pump your own gas.
2. In Georgia it is against the law to slap someone on the back.
3. In Detroit it is against the law to fall asleep in the bathtub.
4. It is against the law to have a frog jumping contest in Boston.
5. In Ann Arbor it is against the law to walk on any public street, alley, or park.
6. In New York it is a misdemeanor to arrest a dead man.
7. A woman may not drive while wearing a bathrobe in California.
8. It is against the law to imitate criminals in Florida.
9. In Oklahoma it is against the law for three or more dogs to meet on someone's property without a permit.
10. In Michigan it is against the law for a barbershop to be open on Sundays.
11. It is not against the law to tell your children to go to bed.
12. It is against the law to dance to the "Star Spangled Banner."
13. It is against the law in Michigan to participate in sports on Sundays- the fine is $5.00.
14. It is a crime to blow your nose in public in Maine.
15. In Michigan there is a law that says drinking cups must be available at public drinking fountains.

Name: 

1.		Executive	A.	An institution that makes, interprets and enforces laws at the federal, state and local levels.
2.		History	B.	To refuse to admit or approve.
3.		Majority	C.	A written idea for a new law.
4.		Judicial	D.	The rules used to govern a country, state or social group.
5.		Compromise	E.	This branch of government enforces the law.
6.		Laws	F.	A permanent written record of the past.
7.		Legislature	G.	A settlement of differences; give and take.
8.		Amendment	H.	An amount greater than half of the total.
9.		Bill	I.	This branch of government interprets the law.
10.		Constitution	J.	To provide order and protect people's rights and welfare.
11.		Veto	K.	A change added to improve an existing law.
12.		Government	L.	This branch of government makes/creates laws.

Sources

Fritz, J. (1987) Shh, we're writing the Constitution. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Kochaturoff, G. (1992) Michigan. Salt Lake City: Grubbs Smith Publisher.

Lewis, F. (1966) Learning about Michigan's government. Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale Educational Publishers.

Wohe, T. (1995) Schoolhouse rock. America rocks. Stamford. CT: Scholastic Rock, Inc.

Wolff, J. (1995) The Constitution. USA: Instructional Fair, Inc.

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