What Is a Law?

 

Social Studies: Civics & Government, U.S. History

Skills & Strategies: Main Idea

• Grade: 4

We can better understand the law when we understand our communities. Laws teach us how to behave properly and inform us of the rules we all must follow. So first, we need to know what a law is, who makes the laws, and how laws are made. Let’s get started!

Imagine that you and your family are sitting down to play a game. First, you would need to know the rules. Someone in your family would read the rules of the game aloud. Then, you would clearly understand how to play. The rules, just like laws, tell us how to play fairly and how to make sure that everyone is treated in the same way.

Every country has its own set of laws, and each is unique to that country. For example, in the United States, the law is that drivers must drive on the right side of the road. In England, on the other hand, the law is that drivers must drive on the left side of the road. If you and your family are traveling to England, you can see how knowing the law can keep you safe.

a street in a U.S. city

a street in London, England

Vocabulary Activity

Word Changer

Words have different forms when we use them in different ways. Move the right vocabulary word to each blank. See if and how the word changes to fit the sentence! 

Congratulation

Anna's teacher was telling the class about some of the  in their state. She told the class that it is a law that children must go to school until they are sixteen. 

Maya's grandmother wants Maya and her brother to behave  in church. 

The kangaroo is  to Australia. 

Comprehension Questions

1.

What do laws teach us? 

1. how to become a citizen 
2. how to behave properly 
3. how to make money 
4. how to learn to read 

2.

What does the author compare laws to? 

1. getting suspended at school 
2. a traffic light 
3. the rules of a game 
4. your parents’ rules 

3.

People living in different parts of the world have different laws to follow.

What evidence from the passage supports this conclusion?

1. “Every country has its own set of laws, and each is unique to that country.” 
2. “Laws teach us how to behave properly and inform us of the rules we all must follow.” 
3. “We can better understand the law when we understand our communities.” 
4. “Someone in your family would read the rules of the game aloud.” 

4.

What advice might you give someone traveling to a new country with different laws? 

1. to act the same way they would in their home country 
2. to re-read the U.S. Constitution 
3. to learn about the country’s laws before they go there 
4. to try to guess what the country’s laws are 

5.

What is the main idea of this passage? 

1. Laws are rules that tell us how to behave, and they are different in different places. 
2. Laws are like the rules in a game that you sit down to play with your family. 
3. Laws are made by the government to protect people in their country. 
4. We can understand laws better by understanding our communities better.