Why does society need rules and laws?
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe what rules and laws are, where they come from and why they are important.
Key learning points
- Rules are guidelines that tell you what is and isn't allowed, they may change in different settings e.g. home, school.
- Laws are rules which apply to everyone, all the time, they are created by parliament.
- Magna Carta was the first document to put in writing the principle that the king is not above the law.
- Rules and laws are there to protect us, keep the peace and make sure everyone is treated fairly.
Keywords
Community - a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common
Society - people living together in an ordered community
Rules - a set of guidelines that tell people what is and what is not allowed
Laws - rules, usually made by parliament, that are used to order the way in which a society behaves
Common misconception
Rules are the same for everyone.
Rules may be different in different settings and situations, for example, you may have different rules at school and home. Laws are the same for everyone.
Teacher tip
Help students understand why rules and laws are important by engaging them in creating their own society.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Name the active citizen who was associated with the other well-known active citizen, Rosa Parks.
Q2.True or false? Marcus Rashford is an active citizen who campaigns to end food poverty.
Q3.Match the different methods for creating social change to the correct definition.
Q4.Which of the following are ways young people can practise active citizenship?
Q5.Which of the following skills is not necessary when being an active citizen?
Q6.Match the active citizen to the type of social change they wanted to create.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is the correct definition of rules?
Q2.Which of the following are reasons why we have rules and laws?
Q3.True or false? A judge or magistrate is allowed to pick whatever punishment they see fit.
Q4.Match the word to its correct definition.
Q5.True or false? Magna Carta was issued in 1215 and was the first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government was not above the law.
Q6.Which of the following people or groups could be impacted when rules or laws are broken?
To help you plan your 7 citizenship lesson on: Why does society need rules and laws?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 citizenship lesson on: Why does society need rules and laws?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 citizenship lessons from the Citizenship - what's it all about? unit, dive into the full secondary citizenship curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.