Explore the importance of rules in a community with the engaging first lesson of this series on the US government. To begin, children play a paper clip game that requires them to make up their own rules as they go, after which the class discusses fairness and the difference between good rules and bad rules.

Concepts

following rules, the united states constitution

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Additional Tags

rule making, following rules, creating rules, making laws, Government, constitution, social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Break students into small groups to play the paper clip game and talk about their experiences, before holding a whole-class discussion about rules
• Encourage students to record the rules they come up with for the paper clip game, having each group share their ideas with the class

Pros

• Offers suggestions for adapting the lesson based on the needs of your class
• A list of questions are provided for guiding a class discussion about the importance of rules
• Includes a series of supplemental Brain Break activities for maintaining the engagement of young learners

Cons

• None