Unit Three Lesson Plans

Lesson 1: Legislative Action Timelines

• Paper
• Magazines or newspapers
• Scissors
• Glue
• Ruler

1. Select a legislative issue to track through the process.
2. Collect headlines and pictures about the issue from newspapers, magazines, interviews, the Internet, etc. Try to include all the steps of the legislative process as it is handled in Juneau.
3. Make a timeline that covers the session.
4. Match each news article and headline to a point on the time line.
5. Give your timeline a title. Write questions to go with your time line!

• See if others can read your time line and answer your questions about how your issue is progressing during this session.
• Discuss the benefits of covering the steps in the legislative process with a time line.

Lesson 2:  Create a Bulletin Board

Processing their collected information is taking data collect one step higher in the learning cycle.

• Newspapers
• magazines
• copies of legislation

1. Have students brainstorm possible issues that will be processed during this legislative session.
2. Working in small groups, have students select an issue they wish to collect opinion articles on.
3. Have groups collect articles, conduct interviews if possible, and conduct internet research nationwide.
4. After allotted time has passed, students are then asked to separate articles into categories of opinions on the issues. Display space is either divided or color-coded to add visual ease for viewers to be able to get a complete picture of each issue as they view the bulletin board.

• If a bulletin board is not available in a highly visible area of the school, a display using dividers or a scrapbook may be usable for this lesson.
• How about taking your display to a mall or other public location for the community to view. Perhaps a box for public comments can be provided. Reading the public comments can be a follow-up lesson.

Lesson 3:  Hands On - the Legislative Process

The time expended in this lesson can be substantial, but could be dramatically cut and tailored to suit any grade level. While the focus may be on the legislative task, time devoted to the functions of writing, research, interviewing, statistical gathering and analysis, public speaking, drawing, and critical thinking skills translate to time well spent.

For the purpose of better explaining the lesson, the topic of this intended legislation involves the safe disposal of hazardous chemicals and wastes which are used and sometimes created in classrooms across our state. The intent will be to create legislation which sets and maintains basic guidelines for schools to follow in Alaska. (Your class needs to develop a legislative issue similar to this for their lesson.)

While brainstorming ideas, it was noted that this issue is considered a "non-threatening" piece of legislation because we believe that each school district in this state feels a responsibility to safely dispose of potentially toxic wastes.

However, there is not at this time, a uniform set of state guidelines to aid school districts in implementing this disposal. Thus, as a result of this lesson students will:

• establish uniform code of safe disposal that would serve as a model for all Alaskan school districts;
• serve as a model for other states to follow if there is no existing code for public educational institutions in their respective areas of jurisdiction;
• develop an understanding of the legislative process and an appreciation of the relationship between the three branches of government ;
• develop this program through an interdisciplinary approach which combines the talents of
• the social studies, language arts, science, math and art departments;
• develop an understanding of the teamwork necessary to design a proposal and follow that proposal to its conclusion.

Students will prepare a bill that uniformly details procedures for the safe disposal of toxic materials from school science laboratories and buildings. The class time spent each day will vary with the ability level of your students and the complexity of the legislation you decide to tackle.

1. Students will need to investigate the existing legislation, Department of Education policy, federal requirements, etc. (social studies)
2. Arrange school visitations by disposal experts or visit disposal sites. (science)
3. Arrange school visitations by legislators regarding the legislative process. (social studies)
4. Create, distribute, collect and compile a survey of representative schools on the existence of toxic wastes and the methods used to dispose of them. (math and English)
5. Arrange for school visitations by judicial representatives to discuss interpretation and enforcement of the students draft of the bill. (social studies)
6. Students write the formal copy of the bill. (English)
7. Students submit the bill to the Legislature through their legislative sponsors. (social studies)
8. Students need to begin the lobby process. (social studies, English, art)
9. Hall displays tracking the bill’s progress are kept current. (social studies and art)
10. Lobby efforts are reevaluated and steps for needed action are developed as needed to adjust to the legislative process.

Other suggested topics could be the farming of moose; developing a road to Nome from Fairbanks; building a railroad spur to help mining development; and school internet capabilities statewide.

Lesson 4: Change Happens

• Reference materials on general history and specific inventions, tools, technology, community needs and hot topics
• Poster board
• Art materials

Write the following terms on the chalkboard:

• transportation
• manufacturing
• movement of goods
• agriculture communication
• education
• health care
• entertainment

Explain to students that their community and state are held together by these activities that we normally take for granted. Each one of these, however, has changed over time, sometimes gradually, sometimes dramatically, as methods, machines, and technology have improved.

• Tell students that they are going to illustrate mini-histories of development and change in one of these areas. To do so, they will use a comic-strip format (that is, a series of illustrated panels). For example, a strip on transportation might begin with a panel showing a dog team and evolve into travel by jet plane. Accompanying text can provide additional information, such as a rough comparison of speed of travel, dates of inventions, how the changes have affected their community or state etc.
• Display students finished strips as a gallery of change. Allow time for students to browse and study each other’s work. Invite other classes, families, and community members to view the strips.

• Some students might concentrate on one specific product or service within a broader area. For example, a student might show how schooling opportunities have changed over time. In medicine, students might show the developments in services available to their community or state.
• You may be able to invite a practitioner in one of these areas or your legislator to class to share the history of the profession, skill, or technology.
• The library may have, or be able to obtain, copies of early catalogs from mail-order houses, such as the 1909 Sears Catalog. Have students compare their contents to the contents of modem-day catalogs.
• Take time to discuss the possible lobbying efforts that were needed to convince communities to accept the modem changes as they were developed.

Lesson 5: Paper Clip Game

1. The student will learn to identify three components of good rules (law): Purpose, Notice, Consistency and Fair Application.
2. The student will learn to equate the lack of good rules with feelings of confusion, frustration and anger.
3. The student will learn to recognize the need for good rules to achieve order and a goal.

• paper clips

1. Divide the class into rows, making sure that one row has more students and that one row has more boys (or girls).
2. Give each student in the front row five paper clips. Then tell them to begin. (Students will exhibit confusion, not knowing what to do. Eventually someone will start doing something.)
3. After a brief period, stop the game. Tell them they may only pass one clip at a time. The object is to pass the clips backward and then forward and the first row to finish wins. Start them over again.
4. After a brief period, stop the game. Tell them the clips must be passed back over the left shoulder and passed forward over the right shoulder. Start them over again.
5. After a brief period, stop the game. Explain that there are too many people in one row and they should have twice as many clips to pass and that there are more girls in one row, so they should have fewer clips to pass. After making these adjustments, start the game over again.
6. Allow the game to now proceed to the end and debrief the students on their feelings and observations. List the student generated responses on the board.

Subsequent discussion of student responses should be related to society’s need for rules of conduct, their purpose, their consistency and their fair application in order to avoid confusion and frustration and achieve goals. Specific examples or rules and laws may be used to further illustrate the points made.

Lesson 6: Possible Consequences of Privacy

In this lesson students will learn to identify some common benefits and costs of privacy. They also will learn that different individuals may have different opinions about whether the right to privacy should be protected in a particular situation.

This lesson examines some of the possible consequences of privacy. Students will classify these consequences as benefits or costs. Later, they will be asked to evaluate positions on issues of privacy by thinking about the consequences of privacy. When they have completed this lesson they should be able to explain some common benefits and costs of privacy and have a better understanding of the complexities embedded in legislation.

• benefits
• Writs of Assistance
• costs
• conformity
• totalitarian
• creativity
• intellectual stimulation

Critical thinking exercise - identifying consequences of privacy

Your class should be divided into small groups. Each group should read the situations below and list the possible consequences of privacy in each situation. Next, the group should classify these consequences as benefits (advantages) or as costs (disadvantages). Each group then should share its lists of benefits and costs with the class.

• Before the American Revolution, English officials in the colonies were able to use general search warrants, called Writs of Assistance, to enter the colonists’ homes at any time and search them for evidence of crimes. Now, our privacy is protected by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Because of the Fourth Amendment, government officials cannot use general search warrants to search for evidence of crimes. Instead, they can only get a warrant if they first convince a judge that there is good reason to believe specific evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. Then, if he or she is convinced, the judge issues a specific search warrant "particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."  Discuss: What abuses of privacy led to the Fourth Amendment?
• Schools keep records on every student. Teachers and counselors write comments about each student in these records. These records are often kept in the principal’s or counselor’s office. Only teachers, counselors, administrators, or a student’s parents may see these records.
• According to the laws in most states, a lawyer may not, under most circumstances, reveal what a client has said to him or her in private.
• When Carol’s grandfather died, she cried and cried at home. But Carol never let her feelings show at school. When Carol’s friends asked her what was bothering her, she just shook her head and didn’t say a thing.

As you can see, privacy may have many different consequences, some of which are benefits and some of which are costs. Some of the most common benefits and costs of privacy are described in the next two sections. As you read these sections of the lesson, think about the benefits and costs that result from privacy in your own life.

Privacy may enable people to be free to think and act as they please without unreasonable and unfair influence or control by others. This freedom may prevent a society from becoming totalitarian, that is, subject to complete control by a dictator or ruling party. For example: In the privacy of their homes, people may feel free to speak with their family and friends about ideas and beliefs that may not be popular with others. Talking with family and friends may lead to new ideas and thoughts. How might privacy protect freedom of belief and thought?

If people respect each other’s privacy, they can feel secure in their persons, homes, beliefs, and relationships. For example: If your friends respect your privacy, you can feel secure that they will not bother you when you want to be alone, or embarrass you by repeating your personal thoughts and opinions to others.

Privacy may enable people to keep to themselves such things as ideas, plans, inventions, and ways of accomplishing goals or making products. This may help them in creating and selling new products and competing with others. For example: Suppose you designed a T-shirt that you thought would sell well and make a lot of money for you. Keeping your idea secret until you had created the T-shirts and had them ready for sale would protect your idea from being taken by others. How might privacy help people protect their plans and ideas?

Without privacy, the pressure to be like others might stop an individual from forming his own values, beliefs and opinions. For example: Living in a large family or group with no privacy might make someone feel he or she has to go along with whatever the group or its leaders consider correct beliefs and behavior. How can privacy remove the pressure to conform to others’ views?

Privacy may be necessary for creative thought or work. For example: Suppose you were writing a story, and someone was looking over your shoulder at everything you wrote. You might feel as though you were being judged, or worry about what the person would think of your story. Or suppose people were talking near you or asking you questions. You might find it difficult to concentrate. How might privacy help people be creative?

Privacy is essential for the development of warm and affectionate relationships with other people. For example: People are not likely to develop close friendships and share their innermost thoughts and feelings with others unless they can do so in private. How can privacy help people develop close friendships?

Critical thinking exercise - examining benefits of privacy

Work with at least one other person to write answers to the following questions. Include examples of real or imaginary situations to explain or illustrate your ideas. --"

• Do you think privacy is really necessary for people to develop close friendships? Why or why not?
• What pressures to be like other people are found in your school and community? In what way does having privacy free you from those pressures and enable you to develop your own thoughts, feelings, and lifestyle?
• How would you feel if you did not have a right to privacy in your personal possessions, or if people did not respect your wishes when you wanted to be alone?
• How does privacy help you to be creative?

Too much privacy can result in people being cut off from others. It can lead to loneliness and to poor relations with others. For example: Suppose a person lived alone and rarely interacted with others. Being alone almost all the time might make the person feel uncomfortable dealing with people. Do you think too much privacy can lead to loneliness?

People correct errors in their thinking and learn new ideas and ways of doing things by interacting with other people. Too much privacy can result in failure to exchange ideas and to learn from others. For example: Suppose a person never discussed his or her thoughts with others. It would be difficult for the person to become aware of errors in his or her thinking. It also would be difficult for the person to learn new ideas, and other people would never benefit from the person’s ideas and information. How might privacy interfere with intellectual growth?

Privacy may prevent unlawful behavior from being discovered and punished. For example: If there are private places where people are not watched, they can go there to commit crimes or to hide evidence of their crimes. How might privacy create opportunities for crime?

Maintaining privacy may increase the cost of doing things. For example: Building homes with separate rooms to provide privacy costs more than building a single large room.

Privacy enables people to do things that cannot be observed by others. As a result, there may be no way to hold them responsible for wrongdoing. For example: If they are not being supervised, people might take shortcuts in doing their work, or cheat on a test, or steal. Other people might never discover what has been done, or there may be no way to prove who is responsible.

Critical thinking exercise - Examining costs of privacy

Work with at least one other person to write answers to the following questions. Include examples of real or imaginary situations to explain or illustrate your ideas.

• Can too much privacy make it difficult to be creative? Explain your answer.
• How might privacy lead to difficulties in developing friendships and in relating to other people?
• In what ways does privacy increase the cost of doing things?
• Do you think privacy makes it possible for people to commit crimes and not get caught? Why or why not?
• Do you think privacy makes it more difficult to hold people responsible for their actions? Why or why not?

• Identify an issue of privacy in the news media, or make up your own example. Prepare a chart which lists the consequences of maintaining privacy in the situation, and identify these consequences as benefits or costs. Be prepared to explain the issue to your class. Is there a need for legislation related to this issue? What are the current state laws relating to it?
• Working with your teacher, invite a law enforcement officer or an attorney to class to discuss their ideas about the benefits and costs of privacy. Prepare a list of questions to ask.

Lesson 7: Jack - Criminal or Victim?

One hour or up to 1 week depending on interest and your time constraints.

• The learner will work in small and large groups to solve a problem.
• The learner will analyze the story to determine if Jack is a criminal or a victim. What rights does he have?
• The learner will determine which crimes, if any, have been committed based on present day laws. Whose rights have been violated?

A common version of Jack in the Beanstalk for each student or one copy for every two students to share.

• Read Jack in the Beanstalk.
• In small groups, examine Jack’s behavior and the behavior of other characters to answer questions such as: Why did Jack climb the beanstalk the third time? Is Jack honest with his Mother?
• In a large group, discuss possible crimes in the case and list the suspects.
• In a large group, act as a Grand Jury.

The class acts as the Grand Jury to determine if a crime(s) has been committed. If Jack or any other character is bound over for trial, proceed with the trial. One half of the class can be the defense, one half can be the prosecution. Use local resources to build both cases. Try to involve your police, safety officers, attorneys, judges, magistrates, social service workers, parents, etc. Have a simulation of the trial. Video tape the events for memories.

Can you think of other examples of literature that can be used in a similar lesson? If you teach the same subject more than one period a day you could select a different book for each class.

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