Penny K. Zhitomi
The purpose of this family law unit is to provide my 6th-grade students with a better understanding of the laws that affect them as citizens and the limits on their rights as children. With this unit as a model, my class will study the legislative and judicial processes that affect all laws created to protect and safeguard children from harm. This unit will focus on four legal issues which I feel will be of high interest for my students: compulsory education, juvenile curfews, refusal by parents to authorize medical care, and protection of children from inadequate parents. These issues and pertinent cases will be read and studied extensively as the students prepare both mock trials and mock legislative debates.
The timeframe for this unit will be six weeks. This unit effectively integrates social studies, state and local government, public speaking, creative writing, communications skills, as well as dramatic skills. This unit is recommended for grades five and up. Field trips to the state capitol, local courthouse, and even a state representative’s office are possibilities for this unit. If you have any further questions regarding this unit, please feel free to contact me at Nathan Hale School.
(Recommended for Social Studies, State Government, Law/Family Law, Public Speaking/Communications, grades 5 and up)
Key Words
Students’ Rights Law Children’s Family Juvenile Curfews
