Background | Classroom applications | Internet resources | Appendix
Chapter
6
Rules and Laws
Classroom Applications
The following 50-minute lesson plan highlights select issues related to the theme of this chapter: Rules and laws. Teachers are encouraged to adapt the lesson to meet the language and content learning needs of their students. Adjustments can easily be made so that the lesson matches the needs of lower or higher proficiency English language learners.
Create a "Laws and Purposes" handout for each pair of students in class (Appendix A). There are 18 laws suggested in Appendix A; an ideal number of laws for students to work with is seven, plus an example that can be used to model the activity. Choose the seven most provocative, unusual, or interesting laws from those suggested when you create your handout, or create entries of your own. Include the example below as your model entry. The handout can be adapted to different proficiency levels by using more or fewer laws from the list and by adjusting the vocabulary. A suggested format follows:
Law and Purpose
Is it fair?
Is it useful?
Is it necessary?
- A person may not cross the street unless there is a crosswalk (no jaywalking).
Purpose _____________________
. . . Make one copy of the "New Country Rules and Laws" handout for each group of students that will be working together during Activity 2 (Appendix B).Student grouping decisions:
During Activity 2, students will work in pairs. For Activity 3, students will work in larger groups. If appropriate, make up tentative lists of group members for Activity 3 before class. To promote as much discussion as possible, groups should have no more than six participants each. Make last minute adjustments when it is determined which students are actually in class.
Consider the vocabulary that students need to know to complete the lesson successfully. Determine which vocabulary items the students already know and which items they will need to be introduced to. Some important terms and their definitions are included in a glossary in Appendix C. Items listed in the glossary are underlined the first time they are mentioned in the lesson plan.
Warm Up Activity (approximately 5 minutes)
Purpose:
Procedures:
- Write "Rules" and "Laws" on opposite sides of the board.
- Ask students to think for a moment about the differences between rules and laws (e.g., legal distinction and criminal punishment). Ask for volunteers to describe or define each of the words. List their explanations, noting key words, under the appropriate word on the board.
Transition from Warm Up to Activity #1
Tell students that they will be exploring issues about rules and laws in society.
Activity #1 (approximately 10 minutes)Purpose:
To provide students with opportunities to use English in a meaningful way
To introduce students to the concept of rules in relation to their daily lives
To give students a chance to analyze the intended purpose of rules that affects them
Procedures:
- Ask the class if it is "rules" or "laws" that exist at home and among their family members (the answer should be "rules"). Ask who makes the rules in their houses.
- Give an example of one rule that you had to live by when you were growing up (e.g., I had to be home by 11:00 p.m., I could not yell at my parents, I had to clean my room). Ask students to write down 3 rules that they have to live by in their parents' houses. While they are doing this, write the word "rule" at the top of the board, on the left side; write the word "purpose" at the top of the board, on the right side.
- Have volunteers explain one of the rules on their lists. Write each of the rules, in a shortened form, on the left side of the board under the heading "rule."
- After listing 4 or 5 rules on the blackboard, ask the class to suggest what the intended purpose of each rule is. List the shortened purposes on the right, next to the appropriate rules on the board. Ask whether students think the rule is effective in achieving its purpose.
Purpose:
To provide students with opportunities to use English in a meaningful way
To provide students with opportunities to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different laws
To reinforce key vocabulary and concepts associated with the theme of the lesson
Procedures:
- Ask students to work in pairs. Hand out one copy of the "Laws and Purposes" worksheet to each pair of students. Tell the class that this is a list of actual laws, not rules, from several countries; violators of the laws are either fined or jailed.
- Ask a volunteer to read the first law on the list. Ask the class to identify the purpose of the law. Have them write the purpose in the appropriate space on the worksheet. Possible student answers might include to save lives and to prevent traffic accidents.
- Ask each pair to evaluate the first law on the handout by discussing and then answering the three questions listed to the right of the law on the handout (Is it fair? Is it useful? Is it necessary?). Remind them to consider the purpose of the law and its effectiveness in achieving that purpose. Ask for volunteers to report on group decisions.
- Ask pairs to complete the worksheet with their partners in the same way they worked on the first law. Emphasize the need for discussion and agreement with their partners.
- Ask for volunteers to report on the law that they found most interesting, controversial, difficult, or easy to evaluate.
Activity #3 (approximately 15 minutes)
Purpose:
To reinforce key vocabulary and concepts associated with the theme of the lesson
Procedures:
Cool Down Activity (approximately 5 minutes)
Purpose:
To provide some closure to the lesson
To give students an opportunity to discuss and reflect on the relevance of the lesson
Procedures:
- Ask students to identify three elements that should be considered when laws are created. List these on the board.
- Ask students the following question: Why is it important to understand the intended purposes of rules and laws? List abbreviated responses on the board.
Possible Extensions to Lesson