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Citizenship at key stage 4 (Year 10-11)
Unit 04: How and why are laws made?
Section 1: Why do we need laws?
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Objectives |
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- about the reasons for laws and the different types of law
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Activities |
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Outcomes |
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Children: |
- Working in small groups, pupils imagine that they are going to share a flat or house. They consider a range of situations and decide what they would do in each case, eg two of them are smokers, the others are not - the non-smokers do not want smoking in the house, but the smokers do; one of them practises a musical instrument late at night, but the others want quiet so they can sleep; one of them damaged another's property and refuses to buy a replacement. Pupils identify the issues and points of conflict that arise in each situation. They record what they would do in each situation and what rules they agree should be used for any similar situation in the future.
- The groups feed back their decisions and the reasons for them to the whole class. As a class the pupils discuss whether the rules they have come up with can be categorised, eg rules to settle disputes, to ensure safety, to achieve fairness, to enforce rules and order, to protect rights. Can their rules be related to either criminal or civil law?
- Ask the class to discuss what might happen if laws and rules were not implemented. Ask questions to help structure the discussion, eg what role do the police and courts play in the way that the law is put into practice? What might happen if the police went on strike, as they did in 1919? Would people be more inclined to break the law?
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- understand the reasons why societies have laws
- recognise the difference between criminal law and civil law
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Points to note |
- This section builds on key stage 3 introductory unit 1 'Citizenship - what's it all about?', which considers school rules, and rights and responsibilities in democratic communities.
- It may be helpful to point out that laws, having a social dimension, are not fixed and may be changed in response to the circumstances of a particular group, eg laws relating to consumer issues, the environment and employment.
- Criminal law covers behaviour that is thought to be so serious that organisations such as the police, Trading Standards authorities and the Health and Safety Executive take on the job of investigating the offence. With enough evidence the suspect individual or organisation will be charged and the case brought to a magistrates', youth or Crown court. If the party is found guilty, some form of punishment is normally imposed.
- Civil laws are designed to settle disagreements between individuals or groups and cover a wide range of activities, eg employment disputes, tenancies, divorce, buying and selling goods. Such matters are normally brought to court or a tribunal by one of the parties concerned, and usually the police are not involved.
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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of
activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by
moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.
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