Lesson Name

Date Taught
Goals
Literacy Goals

Objectives

Pre-Requisite
Knowledge and Skills
Materials, Equipment,
Supplies, Technology,
Preparation

What is a Law? Discussion Activity

2/24/2015
Time Allotted for
45 min.
Lesson
HS.27 Students will examine functions and processes of the
U.S. government.
Goal 5 (CCSSELA-Literacy.CCRA.R7)
Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media
and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as
in words.
After small group and whole-class discussion, students will
be able to explain what a law is and analyze the
characteristics of what makes a legitimate law, as measured
by their participation in the discussion and completion of their
worksheet.
Students will evaluate the information presented in the
reading and in the podcast to help them write their opinion on
a discussion question, as measured by their responses on
their worksheet.
How to discuss with peers
How to summarize a peers opinion
Materials/Supplies:
News articles handout
Student activity worksheet
Equipment/Technology:
Computer with speakers
NPR broadcast podcast
Class roster to identify who speaks

Intelligence
Visual
X Verbal

X Logical
X Kinesthetic
Accommodations

Preparation:
Thorough knowledge of the articles/issues
Teacher-prepared questions to help drive discussion if
necessary
Multiple Intelligences and Entry Points
Entry Point(s)
Intelligence
Entry Point(s)
X Interpersonal
Students must
talk to one
another.
Students must talk
X Intrapersonal
Students must
to both partners
decide what
and the group as a
their own
whole
opinions are.
Students must
Naturalistic
make a decision
about their opinion
Moving from one
Musical
side of the room to
another
Accommodation for students needing additional support will
be provided during class, by helping students decode the

Modifications

Anticipatory Set,
Motivation, or Hook

Teaching

articles that provide the necessary background information.

The worksheet will help students form more complex
opinions and share their own opinions in smaller doses
before they are asked to share with the class. Modeling the
procedure for discussion will help students know more
confidently how to participate in the activity.
Students who require additional structure for discussion
could be assigned a discussion partner who could help them
through the discussion.
Procedure
Students should be directed to copy the worksheet template
into their notebook as they enter the classroom.
The teacher will use several silly laws as a humorous hook,
getting the students interested in the subject of laws. Use this
as a way to frame the question of why do we have laws
possible reasons silly laws might actually make sense.
Students should have the worksheet template copied into
their notebooks.
The teacher will begin the lesson by briefly discussing silly
laws, transitioning the students into thinking about how laws
are made and the reasoning that goes into the creation of
new laws.
Students are divided into groups of three. If desired, students
could receive differentiated instruction in this way, by pairing
students together deliberately depending on instructor goals.
The teacher will read the first article, pausing for brief
reflection-based questions to guide student thinking and
clarifying any unusual vocabulary.
Write the first question on the board. Prompt students to copy
it into the appropriate spot on their worksheet. Have them
take 30 seconds just to think about what their answer might
be. Give them time to write once their thinking time is up
(approx.. 2 minutes).
Next, the teacher will model how the discussion will happen
and how they should switch between partners. Use other
adults in the room or students as available or appropriate for
energy level. Briefly, the teacher will help the students
brainstorm what appropriate responses among partners
might look like.
The first student will be directed to share their opinion. The
other two students will paraphrase that student in their first
partner response box. Students should check with the
speaker to ensure that they have the correct information
written down. The teacher times them through this (Approx.

2-3 minutes).
Students will then fill in their final box based on their final
opinion, now that they have heard what others think. They
should make an effort to make their response more complex,
giving a fuller picture of their thoughts that is more reasoned.
Repeat until students have all shared and all boxes are filled
in.
Discuss with students how whole-group discussion will go.
(In this case, I had students new to discussion, so I provided
them with a list of helper phrases on the board in case they
didnt know where to start, and we talked about the
expectations given how new they were to the process.)
Draw student names from a hat or cup, asking students to
share their responses and reply to classmates. Summarize
student opinions, help guide discussion, but try to let the
students play a dominant role. If necessary, provide
additional thoughts or questions to get them thinking.
Repeat process with second issue.
Independent Application
Group Application
Closure
Formative Assessment
Summative Assessment

Students must decide their reactions to the questions

independently and defend their opinions on their own on their
worksheets.
The majority of the class revolves around group interaction,
both in the form of partner interactions and whole-class
discussion.
Teacher will summarize take-away ideas for the day.
Assessment
Teachers notes on student participation during the
discussion and student completion of their worksheet act as
the formative assessment.
There is no summative assessment for this lesson.

Resource Links:
Can Body Cameras Civilize Police Encounters?, NPR, found at:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/09/05/345784091/can-body-cameras-civilize-policeencounters
Police Departments Issuing Body Cameras Discover Drawbacks, NPR, found at:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2015/01/22/379095338/how-police-body-camera-videosare-perceived-can-be-complicated
Walking While Looking Down at a Cellphone: Bad Idea, Newsela, found at:
https://newsela.com/articles/distracted-walkers/id/6440/

Can Body Cameras Civilize Police Encounters? (NPR 1)

- Some researchers say that using body cameras can change police behavior.
- Dr. White: Rialto study says: Officers who wore cameras experienced changes in a
few ways
-- Drop in complaints against officers wearing cameras. (88-90%)
-- Officer use of force drops. Not as large of a drop, but still large.
* Suggestion is that wearing cameras changes dynamics of interaction with
civilians.
* Has a civilizing effect officers are less likely to engage in rude or
inappropriate behavior, and citizens are less likely to be
aggressive/resistant
- Downsides:
-- Privacy: citizens have expectation of privacy that might be violated.
-- Some situations are possibly not OK to record. (Interviews with children, sexual
assault survivors.)
-- Some people might not want to talk to officers openly on camera (informants,
assault victims). This can end up as a public document.
-- Police privacy. When are cameras on/off? When can supervisors view
footage? Where will you store footage?
- As many as 5,000 departments have adopted the cameras, so technology is
expanding.
-- Some reports suggest that these departments are only using the cameras
sometimes.
* Cameras have to work consistently, etc.
Police Departments Issuing Body Cameras Discover Drawbacks (NPR 2)
- Benefits of body cameras are not totally guaranteed, so departments that rushed to
buy are facing consequences.
- Rialto study may be flawed (Alex Sutherland):
-- One study, may be flawed.
* Was a small department, police chief very involved. If you didnt have
these things, would the result have been the same?
-- May have been influenced by:
* Police received verbal warnings about being recorded. Were they more
careful?
* Cameras are new, interesting, easily noticed. Once the newness wore
off, would things go back to normal?
-- Need more studies in more places. Public money = need to know more.
- May influence police morale/attitudes.
-- Should cops worry that people arent going to trust them? Or do cops who
have done nothing wrong have nothing to worry about?
- Cops have different perspectives.
-- Different experiences mean that cops can perceive incidents differently.
-- Difference in the way police see the world unconscious behavior, etc.

Texting While Walking is Becoming More Dangerous

WASHINGTON Every year, thousands of people are injured as they walk in the city. Many of these
pedestrian injuries are caused by people who are distracted by their cellphones, studies show.
Walkers using their cellphones stroll into traffic. They crash into trees. They fall off bridges and curbs.
They even walk into wet cement.
Many cities want to make their neighborhoods more walkable. Neighborhoods good for walking
can attract young people who may not have a car. At the same time, cities are trying to make the
streets safer for pedestrians. They are giving tickets to distracted walkers and are making cars slow
down.
More People Are Hurt Every Year
The number of pedestrian injuries caused by cellphone use is rising. It is up 35 percent since
2010, according to information from hospital emergency rooms.
Cities and states share the same goal of reducing injuries and deaths for walkers. Yet they have very
different plans to fix the problem.
In Utah and New Jersey, people can get tickets for texting while walking. New York City now
has lower speed limits, partly to make traffic less dangerous for distracted walkers.
We have to design streets for the way people actually behave, and behavior is changing, said
Noah Budnick of Transportation Alternatives. If youre looking at a phone when youre walking
around, that shouldnt mean death. So we have to design forgiving streets.
In New York City, the new speed limits are 20 miles per hour (mph) in Central Park and 25
mph in the rest of the city unless it says otherwise. The city has also blocked off more streets for
pedestrian plazas, where cars are not allowed.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx has given $1.6 million to Louisville, Kentucky;
New York City and Philadelphia for walker-safety programs.
Weve got to encourage people to have an awareness that this problem is a real problem,
Foxx said last year.
Special Sidewalk Lanes
In 2012, 78,000 pedestrians were injured, the highest number since 2001. Walking deaths
have been rising since 2009. In 2012, 4,700 walkers were killed.
Some states are focusing on stopping distracted walkers. Walkers who text in Utah can face a
$50 fine. Police in New Jersey gave tickets to people using phones while walking into traffic.
Philadelphia had a different plan. They made a joke of it. On April Fools Day in 2012, the city painted
e-lanes on sidewalks. These lanes were reserved for people staring at their phones.
Some people interviewed by the city thought the lanes were serious, and a good idea.
"Itll keep most of those bozos out of my way, one cellphone user said.
San Francisco has promised to spend $50 million for its Walk First program. The city will
examine high injury areas to determine why they are so dangerous for walkers.
The Dangers Of Texting While Walking
Drivers using cellphones also add to the danger, researchers say. A distracted driver and a
distracted walker can be a dangerous combination. In a survey, half of walkers admitted to talking on
the phone while crossing the street. One out of 4 said they text or email while crossing the street,
even though they know it is dangerous.
Dr. Dietrich Jehle of the University of Buffalo started studying walking injuries while he was an
emergency room doctor. He estimates that 1 in 10 pedestrian injuries is now related to distracted
walking. Jehle has also found that distracted walking causes more injuries than distracted driving.
Texting is the most dangerous thing for a walker to do, Jehle found. Texting is more dangerous
than listening to music or talking on the phone, he says. While talking on the phone is a distraction,
texting is much more dangerous because you cant see the path in front of you, Jehle said.

Question 1: ______________________________________________________________________
I think.

Partner #1 thinks.

Partner #2 thinks.

My final opinion.

Question 2: ______________________________________________________________________
I think.

Partner #1 thinks.

Partner #2 thinks.

My final opinion.

1
- Student did not fill
in all boxes.
- Student does not
answer questions.
- Student does not
attempt to reexplain their
reasoning in the
second personal
opinion box.

2
- All boxes are filled
in with complete
opinions.
- Student answers
question, but
response shows
little complexity or
reasoning.

3
- All boxes are filled
in with complete
opinions.
- Student answers
questions, and
displays reasoning.
- Second opinion
shows evidence of
attempt to increase
complexity of
reasoning.

4
- All boxes are filled
in with complete
opinion.
- Student answers
questions, provides
reasoning.
- Second opinion
shows an evolution
of reasoning and an
inclusion of
additional
information/provides
reasoning if a
change of opinion.

3/9/15&

Silly&Laws&in&the&United&States&
In&Georgia,&it&is&against&the&law&to&use&profanity&in&
front&of&a&corpse.&
In&Paulding,&Ohio,&police&ocers&are&allowed&to&
bite&a&dog&if&they&think&it&will&calm&a&dog&down.&
In&Texas,&its&illegal&to&sell&your&eyeballs.&&
In&Washington,&you&can&be&arrested&or&ned&for&
harassing&Bigfoot.&
In&Memphis,&Tennessee,&women&arent&allowed&
to&drive&a&car&unless&a&man&walks&in&front&of&them&
waving&a&red&ag.&&

QuesPon&#1&
&
Explain&why&sidewalk&lanes&are&a&good&
or&a&bad&idea.&

QuesPon&#2&
Explain&why&police&ocers&should&or&
should&not&be&required&to&wear&body&
cameras.&

1&