Laws Lesson Plan

SUBJECT: Government
TOPIC: Laws
GRADE LEVEL:
CREATORS: Carlita Brown, Lisa Campbell, Odessia McCray, Kim McQueen, Christian Winston

Objective

For students to understand the importance of law, the process of how a law originates, and the steps required for an idea to become an actual law.

Rationale

Students should understand the importance and process of our laws.

Materials

Anticipatory Set

Complete the worksheet Could It Really Be A Law

Procedure

Conduct a KWL discussion on our laws.
Complete the Could It Really Be A Law worksheet.
Check the worksheet as a group.
Break the class down into four groups.
Have each group choose an interest group and have them author one self serving law for their group.
The laws will then be posted for the class.
The class will recognize the need for compromise and make the necessary compromises together.
The class will watch the School House rock video.

Evaluation

Do the students have a better understanding of how a law originates?

Did the students understand the reason and need for the compromises?

Name:

Read the following and decide if it really could have been an actual law

In Oregon it is against the law to pump your own gas.
In Georgia it is against the law to slap someone on the back.
It is against the law to have a frog jumping contest in Boston.
In New York it is a misdemeanor to arrest a dead man.
A woman may not drive while wearing a bathrobe in California.
It is against the law to imitate criminals in Florida.
In Oklahoma it is against the law for three or more dogs to meet on someone's property without a permit.
It is not against the law to tell your children to go to bed.
It is against the law to dance to the "Star Spangled Banner."
It is a crime to blow your nose in public in Maine.

Bibliography

Derret, J. Martin, J. An Introduction to Legal System. New York: Praeger, 1968.

Bastiat, F., The Law. New York: Irvington-on-Hudson, 1950.

Allen, K., Law in the Making. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1930.

"Law," New World Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1972.

School House Rock: American Rock. Detroit Public Library