5th grade - checks and balances

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Home : 2002 : February : 27

5th grade - checks and balances
By Melissa

We had great fun roleplaying this one day. It also help my fifth graders review basic classroom, cafeteria, and playground rules at the same time. Here's what I did:

I started off by having each row of kids decide on
"laws" for the classroom, cafeteria, and playground. Row 1 did "laws" for the classroom. Row 2 did cafeteria. Row 3 did the playground.
I set a timer and asked each row to write rules for the assigned topic. At the end of the time, I had a "legislator" from "Congress" come up to the front of the room to read what the kids had written. This legislator read the laws aloud, then placed

her signature on them to approve them. Next, I had the entire class act as Supreme Court. Were the laws "constitutional?" Were they fair? This was a great activity, and the kids had fun with it.