LIVING WITH THE LAW… Social Studies in action Why We Have Rules and Laws! Curriculum Strands   Social Studies: Social Organisation & Process Language: Listening, Speaking Reading and Writing Links to: Levels 3-5 Mathematics, Art & Craft Essential Understandings We have many sets of rules including: school rules road rules rules for games and sports Rules are made for a reason. As New Zealanders our Parliament makes rules that make it easier for us all to live together. We call these rules laws. We are more likely to obey rules if we gave a say in making them. Thinking About Rules What is a rule? Have pupils give examples they are familiar with? Groups brainstorm and report back. - what rules do we have at home? - what rules do we have in our classroom? - what rules do we have at school? Pupils list as many rules as they can think of under each category. Pupils discuss and report back on the following… - why were the rules made? - who made the rules? - how helpful are these rules? Under the Spotlight Have groups put classroom rules under closer scrutiny by listing the consequences of breaking each rule, eg what if we all shouted out instead of putting up our hands to answer questions? Are there some classroom rules that need changing, or even scrapping? Debate: ‘We are more likely to obey rules if we have had a say in making them’. Is this a true statement? Why? Time to Update Our Rules? Develop the idea that rules can fall into certain categories, eg - for helping people work together - for keeping us safe - for taking care of and using equipment - for coping with emergencies When ‘circumstances’ change we often need to update, change or even delete old rules. Can the pupils give any classroom/school examples, eg ‘we made time sharing rules for the new classroom computer’ Groups divide classroom rules into the above categories. Each group takes a category and improves, deletes or adds rules as they think appropriate? Groups report back justifying their decisions. What does the class think? Take a vote to decide whether or not to adopt each rule for the class. Too Many Rules? It is likely that the pupils will have far too many rules listed. Can they see any problems this will pose? Have pupils revisit their adopted rules to make them simple to remember and easy to follow. Publish and display list of rules. Activities & Challenges Play a board or card game where one person does not have to obey the rules (they can cheat!). Discuss reactions and feelings. Can you make up a game that has no rules? Think about all the rules you have at home and anaylse them as a table. Are there any family rules that you think are silly or there is no reason for?Write down why you think they are silly. Discuss them with your family. There is one television set in your home. Members of your family are different ages and have different interests. Come up with a set of television watching rules that will be as fair as possible for all members of the family. In your own words, write a paragraph about the reasons for home rules. Rules & Laws … What's the Difference? Do the pupils know the difference between a rule and a law? Have pupils give an example of a rule at home, eg Rule… We are not allowed to fight with the dog inside our house. Who probably made the rule? Why was it made? What happens if we break it? Is our rule true of all houses in New Zealand? Law… Everyone riding a bike on the road has to wear a cycle helmet. Who made the law about cycle helmets? Who has to obey this law? Why was it made? What happens if we break it? (Ask the Police) Pupils brainstorm and list as many laws as possible that all New Zealanders have to obey, eg traffic, theft, safety, boating,… Identify good reasons for each law listed. Through discussion, develop the idea that laws are simply rules that make it easier for all of us in a community to live together. Who makes our laws? A Lawless Scenario Alien beings from outer space have landed and zapped the people of New Zealand with a memory loss beam. We all wake up and forget we have laws. You are a newspaper reporter from Australia who has just flown in to the country. Write a report for your newspaper on what you found. Making a Timeline Pupils construct a timeline for a day listing all the rules and laws that they came face to face with from waking up to the time they went to bed … eg getting up at seven am washing the dishes stopping at traffic signals attending school keeping off the grass … Design a Living with the Law Poster Each pupil designs a poster to support laws in our community that help us live together in a better way…eg Illustration of the law in action (child wearing a seatbelt). Caption … We support this law because … Make into an assembly hall wall display. Do you have a lesson you would like to share with other teachers? Simply email us an attached Word, Works or PDF file and we will add it to our library. Don't forget to include your name and school so we can acknowledge your work. Click on the email icon below.