Teacher Resources: Lesson Plan
When am I of Legal Age?
Overview
There are many different ages, under many different circumstances, when children cross the limit from juvenile to adult status. In this lesson, students will begin by brainstorming about the age restrictions, such as when they can get a learner's permit or attend rated movies such as PG-13, R. Pupils will look at the U.S. Constitution and the Twenty-sixth Amendment to find out the age requirements for Congress and the presidency along with the national voting age. Then they will divide into teams to conduct research and make a project board display illustrating federal, state, and/or local laws pertaining to age requirements. Each team will present its project board to the class in a concise oral presentation with time for follow-up questions or discussion. As a culminating activity, students will write an opinion paper explaining why they think the current multiple-age system works, or why they think there should be a single, unified age of majority (and if so, what the age should be.)
National Curriculum Standards met by this lesson
For a list of standards that this unit addresses, click here.
Ties to your Curriculum
This lesson ties into Civics/U.S. Government when studying:
- The Constitution
- The Amendment Process: The Twenty-sixth Amendment
- Rights and responsibilities of citizenship
- Federalism: Examples of local, state, and federal authority on issues, some overlapping
This lesson ties into U.S. History when studying:
- The Constitution
- Child Labor
- Reform Movements
Time required
The lesson will take two class periods if research and project assembly are done outside of class.
Materials
- The U.S. Constitution, Articles I.2.2, I.3.3, II.1.5 and the Twenty-sixth Amendment
- Guideposts for Thinking and Discussion: The Supreme Court and Young People (link to
- Project Board (standard tri-fold used in science and history fairs)
The Lesson
Anticipatory Set
- Ask students to brainstorm about age restrictions they encounter in their lives, from movie ratings and admission charges to the age they can drive or get a job.
- Ask students to look in the U.S. Constitution:
- In Article I to determine age restrictions in the House of Representatives (I.2.2) and the Senate (I.3.3)
- In Article II to determine age restrictions on the President (II.1.5)
- In Article III to determine if there are age restrictions on members of the Supreme Court
- In the Twenty-sixth Amendment to determine voting age
- Discuss with students why they think no age limit was placed on the Supreme Court.
Procedures
- Explain to students that they will be dividing into seven teams to investigate current age restrictions that have an impact on their rights and responsibilities as citizens. They will need to check local, state, and/or federal laws that apply. Each team will need to a) conduct research b) prepare a project board and c) make an oral presentation and answer questions about the research. Students may collect copies of statutes or quotations from laws (for example, from websites or government pamphlets), use sample forms or applications, and signage (such as that posted in stores or theaters) to illustrate the project board. They may use illustrations and graphs/charts to organize information and make the project attractive. Each group will need to a) determine the age restrictions which apply and b) determine whether they come from the local, state, or federal government--or a combination of governmental sources. Teams may be self-selected or organized by the teacher. The seven teams are:
- Child labor (agricultural, service, non-hazardous industry, hazardous industrial)
- Selective service registration (draft) and military recruitment
- Vehicular licensing (automobile, motorcycle, commercial vehicles)
- Social issues (passports, curfew laws, age to purchase tobacco or different categories of alcoholic beverages--beer vs. wine/liquor)
- School attendance
- Court issues (juvenile or family court vs. adult criminal court, witness protection measures for children testifying in adult cases, police guidelines for interviewing child witnesses, death penalty)
- Economic issues (age for contracts, credit cards, bank accounts, tax obligations, wills)
- Provide students with some class time to meet as teams, organize their work plan, and post a copy of the work plan.
- Each team will present its project board to the class in a presentation ranging from two to five minutes in length. Question and answer or discussion may follow, with a five-minute limit recommended.
- As a culminating activity, direct students to write an opinion paper explaining why they think the current multiple-age system works or why there should be a single, unified age of majority for young people (and if so, to state what the age should be.) The paper may be in the five-paragraph format.
Assessment
The students' project boards and presentations may be evaluated on a twenty-five point scale (which can be multiplied by four to convert to 100-point scale or for conversion to letter grades) using the following rubric:
|
Excellent (5) |
Good (4) |
Fair (3-2) |
Poor (1) |
No Work (0) |
|
|
Research (5) |
Locates and uses specific information on age limits and governmental rules from a wide range of sources both obvious and unusual No factual errors |
Locates and uses general information and examples on age limits and government rules from obvious sources No factual errors |
Locates and uses general information from a limited number of sources; may lack some age limits or levels of government Few factual errors |
Research is weak, topic coverage is incomplete or unbalanced. May have age limits without reference to government source May contain factual errors |
No research
|
|
Project Board (5) |
Collects all necessary information--age limits and governments involved Creates project board that is correct, clear, informative and attractive |
Collects nearly all necessary information about age limits and governments involved Creates appealing project which has few errors |
Collects most necessary information but may be missing some level of government Creates project that is mainly correct but may lack neatness or precision |
Collects some information but is incomplete Creates project that has multiple errors Project is sloppy or disorganized
|
No work |
|
Oral Skills (5) |
Effective Speaker--tonal variety, speed, volume, clarity |
Minor Problems -- monotone, soft, mumbling too rapid |
Numerous speaking problems or Minimal participation |
Communication lacking, Wanders off Topic |
Does not participate |
|
Group Skills (5) |
Participates in project; shows courtesy and leadership Contributes to the group but does not monopolize it Displays courtesy |
Participates effectively and works cooperatively Displays courtesy |
Does not work cooperatively, but contributes Displays courtesy |
Contributes minimally Displays courtesy |
Does not participate or fails to cooperate with group effort or makes inappropriate remarks |
|
Team presentation (5) |
Knowledge of information is deep; little need to refer to notes Enthusiastic and persuasive relationship with audience |
Above average enthusiasm and audience impact Good knowledge but reliance on notes |
Reads, making little contact with audience Average knowledge |
Reads and makes no contact with audience Limited knowledge and information base |
Does not participate |
The students' opinion papers may be evaluated on a twenty-point scale (which may be multiplied by five to convert to 100-point scale or for conversion to letter grades) using the following rubric:
|
Excellent |
Good |
Fair |
Not Satisfactory |
No Work |
|
|
Comprehension 10 points |
(10) Written assignment presents opinion while demonstrating excellent
|
(9-8) Written assignment presents opinion while demonstrating good
|
(7-6) Written assignment presents opinion while demonstrating fair
|
(5-1) Written assignment provides opinion but with little
|
0 |
|
Technical Writing Skills 10 points |
(10) Written assignment shows excellent
|
(9-8) Written assignment shows good
|
(7-6) Written assignment shows adequate
|
(5-1) Written assignment shows inadequate
|
0 |
Related Works
Federal Government Sources for information on federal and state age requirements may be found at:
- The United States Department of Labor has links to federal and state labor laws pertaining to young people at:
http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/youthlabor/It also has a chart of information about compulsory school attendance by state at:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/programs/whd/state/schoolattend.htm - The United States Department of State has passport information on:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/minors/minors_834.html - Information on custodial bank accounts and taxation at:
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/education/smart-saving/529_saving_sect10.htm
- The United States Selective has information on the draft at:
http://www.sss.gov/QA.HTM
The American Lung Association maintains a list of all state legislated actions on tobacco issues at:
http://slati.lungusa.org/
The Death Penalty Information Center has information on the age at which states try minors as adults at:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=27&did=203
Division of motor vehicles information for all 50 states may be located at:
http://www.dmv.org/
FindLaw has basic information on wills at:
http://estate.findlaw.com/estate-planning/wills/wills-legal.html
Wikipedia has an extensive article on legal drinking ages world-wide at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age
Interdisciplinary Links
American Literature: In Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, young Tom is called to testify at the murder trial of Muff Potter with dangerous consequences, since the real murderer realizes Tom witnessed the killing. The book contains ethnic slurs which may not be acceptable under the guidelines of your school district so teachers need to review the recommended chapters before using them "as is" with students. Ask students to read the entire book, or at least Chapters 9-10, 23-24, and 31-33 and then ask about the tug of war in Tom between his sense of justice and his fear. How did Huckleberry Finn, Tom's friend, use "peer pressure" to keep Tom from speaking up? Why do you think Muff Potter's attorney surprised Tom in court, calling him up to testify without warning him? Why do you think so little was done to protect Tom from Injun Joe in the courtroom and after? Are young witnesses are protected any better today than in the Nineteenth century? Challenge students to update Tom Sawyer into a modern setting and with modernized language.
Language Arts and Writing Composition: Ask students to write a letter to an elected representative at either the local, state, or federal level about a particular age restriction. Students should locate the proper address and form of salutation for the official to whom they are writing. They should write the letter in proper format for a formal letter, with no spelling or grammatical errors. In terms of content, they should clearly express their opinion, whether they support the age restriction or oppose it. They should provide examples to support their opinion. The letter should be respectful and concise. Students may wish to keep in mind that the letters they write may end up in historical collections some day. For examples, visit the National Archives' website at:
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/spring/childrens-letters.html
,or the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library's kid's letters page:
http://www.reaganfoundation.org/programs/lc/kids_letters.asp.