Lesson video

Hello everybody, my name is Ms. Wyatt and welcome to today's lesson on "Why does society need rules and laws?" from the unit "Citizenship: what's it all about?" I'm really looking forward to working with you today.

Some of the learning will be new, but I'm here to help you.

By the end of the lesson, you will be able to describe what rules and laws are, where they come from, and why they are important.

The keywords that we will be using in today's lesson are community, society, rules, and laws.

A community is a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.

You are part of a community.

Society is the people living together in an ordered community.

Rules are a set of guidelines that tell people what is and what is not allowed.

And laws are like rules.

They're usually made by Parliament and they're used to order the way in which a society behaves.

Today's lesson on "Why does society need rules and laws?" is going to be broken up into three parts, the first part being "What is the purpose of rules?" If you are ready, let's go.

Being a citizen of a country means a person has rights and responsibilities within that country.

Rights and responsibilities are made possible when people work together in a community or in a society.

Now having rules is a big part of this.

Andeep says, "Society is people living together in an ordered community." And Jun says, "Community is a group of people living together in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common." Rules exist in all areas of life.

For example, they exist in schools.

Think about what kind of rules exist in your school.

In homes.

Do you have any particular rules in your home that are perhaps different to your school? They exist in workplaces, hobbies like sports clubs, community groups.

Now rules are a set of guidelines that tell people what is and what isn't allowed.

They might be different for each place.

For example, like I said, home rules might be different from your school rules.

Now let's check our understanding so far.

Read the statements and try and work out which of these statements is true.

So A says, "Rules tell people what is and what isn't allowed." B says, "Rules are the same wherever you go." And C says, "Rules are a set of guidelines." So which of these statements are true? Pause the video and make your decision.

Okay, if we said A, "Rules tell people what is and what isn't allowed," and C, "Rules are a set of guidelines," we would be right.

Well done, everybody.

Rules are not the same wherever you go, you probably know this from experience.

Rules are there to protect us.

They're there to keep the peace and make sure everybody is treated fairly.

When rules aren't followed, this can lead to an unfair treatment, unrest and people's safety being put at risk.

People who break rules may face consequences from their community.

Let's check our understanding again.

Which one of these statements are true? Is it, "Rules are there to keep the peace"? "Rules are there to protect us and keep us safe." "Rules are there so people feel like they are important." Or, "Rules are made to make sure everyone is treated fairly." Again, pause the video and make your choice.

Okay, hopefully we said "Rules are there to keep the peace." Have a think to yourself, why might rules be there to keep the peace? If we didn't have rules, why might it not be so peaceful? Have a think to yourself about that for a second.

"Rules are made to protect us and keep us safe." "Rules are there so people feel like they're important"? That's not true.

And, "Rules are there to make sure everybody is treated fairly." If you got that correct, well done, you guys.

Now what I would like us to do is write four rules for either at home, at school, maybe some clubs that you participate in, or wider society.

Once you've done that, I would like you to think about what might be the consequences if those rules did not exist.

So, as an example, we might choose school rules.

We might say one of the rules in school is that you keep your mobile phone away.

The consequence is, if that rule did not exist, people, pupils, sorry, would be distracted and therefore they cannot learn.

So you could use this as an example to start you off, but remember you need to write four rules for either at home, school, a club, or wider society.

Remember to tell us what the consequences of those rules would be if they didn't exist.

I'm looking forward to seeing your answers.

Pause the video and have a go at the task, good luck.

Well done, everybody.

So, if we have chosen school rules, they might look like this.

So we've said mobile phones away in class, otherwise you'll get distracted.

Another rule in school could be that there is to be no running on the corridors.

And a consequence would be that, well, if people do run, they're going to fall, or they might get hurt.

Another rule would be to respect the school property.

This is because you would damage it if you didn't, and also it is very expensive to repair.

And another rule we might have written down is no chewing gum.

This is because it's very dirty and unhygienic.

Maybe you wrote down some of the school rules the same as I did.

If you chose sports club rules, they might look like what I have done also.

So you might say you should follow the instructions of the referee, and the consequence is that players do what they want and therefore it makes it an unsafe game.

You might have said each team wears a matching kit.

Well, if you didn't, you wouldn't know who is on what team and the game would get very confusing.

We might say, well, we are only to tackle safely if our sport involves that.

This is because it's a danger to other players and it becomes unsafe.

I wonder if you've got any of the sports club rules the same as me.

Your home rules might look a little bit like mine also.

So, for example, there's the rule of asking before borrowing.

This is because things get lost and they get damaged, or it leads to arguments.

You have to put rubbish in the bin.

If you don't put rubbish in the bin, it becomes very dirty and unhygienic.

You have to share household jobs.

This is because, well, if you didn't, nothing would get done.

And also, finally, be home by agreed time.

This is so it doesn't cause any worry.

I wonder if you got any of the same as me.

We have now discovered and explored what the purpose of rules is.

We are now going to look at, "Where did laws come from?" Laws are rules usually made by Parliament that are used to order the way in which a society behaves.

It is also one of our keywords.

Laws are rules that everyone has to follow.

Jun says, "Parliament is the body that makes up the laws in the UK.

It's made up of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the monarch, which is the Queen or the King." So let's check our understanding of our definition of laws.

Which one is correct? Is it, "Laws are rules usually made by Parliament that are used to order the way society behaves"? Or is it, "Laws are rules usually made by Parliament that are used to order the way in which a single community behaves"? Or is it, "Laws are suggestions usually made by Parliament that are used to order the way in which communities behave"? Pause the video and make your decision.

Hopefully we said A, "Laws are rules usually made by Parliament that are used to order the way society behaves." B and C are referring to a single community or communities as a whole.

We need to remember that they apply to society.

Well done if you got it correct.

Laws have existed in communities and wider society for centuries.

This means a very long time.

In the past, most laws were not written down and would be passed from person to person by word of mouth.

Only laws relating to very serious offences like murder were written down by the king and his advisors.

Historically, in the UK, the monarch had total power and could not be held accountable for their actions.

Now this changed in 1215 when the barons and landowners challenged King John's power.

They forced King John to sign a document known as the Magna Carta.

Now I want you to have a think for me.

Why do you think that the monarch had total power and couldn't be held accountable for their actions? And also I want you to think, how do you think that made other people feel that weren't part of the monarchy? Okay, let's have a go at completing these sentences.

So, "Before 1215, the monarch had total blank and was not held accountable for their actions." "Before 1215, most rules and laws were only passed on by another blank." Can you fill in the gaps of this sentence? Hopefully we said, "Before 1215, the monarch had total power and was not held accountable for their actions." And then said, "Before 1215, most rules and laws were only passed on by word of mouth." If you got that correct, well done, you.

Now we touched on the Magna Carta just before that check for understanding.

Now the Magna Carta was the first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government were not above the law.

Now, Magna Carta is Latin for great charter.

Its purpose was to hold everyone, including the monarch, accountable for their actions, and to give the barons and landowners more say.

I asked you to think before about how you think it would've made everybody else apart from the government and the king, how do you think that would've made people feel knowing that the king and his government, they're above the law, but for us, we have different rules.

Now, some of the laws we now have were solidified in Magna Carta and are still valid today.

For example, we have the right to a trial by jury.

Magna Carta is important because it aimed to create equality and fairness so that nobody was above the law.

I would like us to read through the statements and try and find out which ones are true.

Is it A, "Equality and fairness were the main aims of the Magna Carta"? "Magna Carta made everyone accountable for their actions." Or, "Magna Carta was written down so that every citizen could read it for themselves." Pause the video and make your choice.

It is "Equality and fairness were the main aims of the Magna Carta," "Magna Carta made everyone accountable for their actions," but not "Magna Carta was written down so that every citizen could read it for themselves." That one's not true.

Magna Carta was written down to formalise the law and make it apply to all.

But only around 250 copies were made.

The majority of citizens at this time would not have been educated enough to read it.

That's why C is incorrect.

Okay, I would like us to have a go at matching the word or the phrase to its correct definition.

So you can draw lines to these or you could choose to write it out.

So pause the video here and have a go at matching the word or phrase to its correct definition, good luck.

Well done, everybody.

Hopefully we have managed to match the word or the phrase to the correct definition.

We're gonna start with laws.

So, laws, we should have got, "a set of rules, usually made by the government, that a society must follow." Word of mouth.

We should have seen that it matches to "how most laws were passed on before they were written down." Now I'm gonna jump to trial by jury.

Trial by jury means "a right given by the great charter that still exists today," is what we still follow today.

Okay, now Parliament.

"The main group responsible for making laws." Monarch, "used to have total power, was unaccountable for actions," 'cause they were above the law.

And then that leads us with Magna Carta, which was "the first document to put into writing that the king and his government were not above the law." Well done if you got that correct.

We have now looked at both parts of our lesson and we're onto the final part, so well done, everybody.

It's great efforts, let's keep these up.

We are now gonna look at, "Why do we need rules and laws?" So rules are created and enforced by individuals, communities, and groups.

They may be different for different people.

For example, this could be to do with age.

A 5-year-old may not be allowed to stay up as a 16-year-old.

Rules may be different in different places.

For instance, home rules may not be the same as school rules, and different countries have different rules and laws.

Laws are created by Parliament and enforced by the police.

Now they apply to everyone all the time.

They are the same across the UK.

For example, the law is the same whether you live in Leeds or London.

But someone in Leeds, in comparison to London, they might have different rules for their own house.

But the law is to apply to everybody the exact same across the UK.

Sofia says, "Parliament is the part of the government that debates and makes laws.

It's made up of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the monarch." Now, rules and laws exist for the same reasons.

Sam says, "They're there to protect us.

They're there to keep the peace." And Jacob says, "And it's also to make sure everybody is treated fairly." When laws and rules are broken, it does impact citizens, communities, and society as a whole.

Think about it.

When a rule is broken in school, what happens? When you might accidentally break a rule at home, what happens? Now when a law is broken, that is going to massively impact the community and the society.

Okay, let's track.

Which of these might be reasons why rules vary for different people? Is it age? Is it your name? Or is it medical or additional needs? Pause the video and make your choice.

Okay, so, age and medical or additional needs are some of the reasons why rules do vary for different people.

Some clubs are only for people with additional needs or disabilities, and a person's home chores may be different depending on their age.

Well done if you got those correct.

Okay, we're gonna have a look at some examples of laws now.

So, the first one we're gonna look at comes from the Food Safety Act of 1990 and Natasha's Law in 2021.

Now this law means that food has to be labelled, it has to be advertised and presented in a way that is not false or misleading.

They must provide a full ingredient list with allergen labelling on all pre-packed foods.

Now the protection that we get because of this law means that we get what we expected.

You pick up a cheese sandwich, you know it's gonna be a cheese sandwich because of how it is labelled and presented.

It is also important that people follow this law because of dietary needs.

Some people stick to a halal diet, some people follow a kosher diet, some people are vegetarian, some people are vegan.

There is also the reason of allergies.

It could be life threatening if food is not labelled correctly.

And it ensures companies act more responsibility.

Another example of a law comes from the Noise Act of 1996.

Now this means noise between the hours of 11:00 p.

m.

and 7:00 a.

m.

must be kept low.

The protection that this law gives us as a society means that it protects our right to sleep, which, if interrupted, it could affect our work or our study or our health.

It helps protects people's physical and mental health.

it protects enjoyment and peace in your own home, and it applies to all homes, businesses, and retail.

Another example of a law comes from the Car Seat Act of 2006 and 2017.

So children under 12 and/or under 135 centimetres tall must use an EU-approved car seat when travelling in a vehicle.

Backless booster seats are no longer approved for children under 22 kilogrammes and under 125 centimetres.

Now the reasons for this is protection, so children are better protected when travelling, they're less likely to be injured in a crash.

The EU-approved car seats meet high safety standards, people know they are buying safer seats.

Drivers will face fines or court if children are not in appropriate car seats, and therefore they are more likely to follow the law.

So let's check this.

Which statements are true? Is it, "Laws apply to everyone equally"? "The police enforce the law, they don't make it." "Natasha's Law was passed in 2021." And, "Parliament makes the law." Pause the video and make your decision.

Okay, so, we know that laws apply to everybody equally.

We also know that the police enforce the law, but they don't make it.

We also know that Natasha's Law was passed in 2021, which refers to our dietary needs.

And we also know that Parliament makes the law.

So all of the statements are true.

Well done if you got that right.

There may be consequences when breaking a rule, and the seriousness of the consequence may vary.

So a parent might stop their child going out with friends because they kept coming home late, or a player might be sent off the sports field because they made an unsafe tackle, or a pupil may be asked to leave the classroom because they were disrespectful to other people.

It is a criminal offence to break laws.

The legal consequences are already set by law and the seriousness of the consequence would be decided by a judge or magistrate in court.

For example, a person may be given a community service order for persistent graffiti, and a person may be banned from driving because they drove a vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol.

A person may be imprisoned for being violent towards others.

So when rules and laws are broken, there are consequences.

A person may also face consequences from the community if they break a law.

For example, a doctor might lose their licence if they're found guilty of committing a crime.

A delivery driver may lose their job if they receive a criminal conviction for driving offences.

If we didn't have rules and laws, people could do what they want without punishment.

There would be no legal consequences.

There would be no justice for those harmed by others, people would just get away with things.

People could feel unsafe as the police could not stop crime from being committed and we would live in an unstable society.

It would be very unsafe.

So let's check our understanding.

A judge or magistrate has the power to give out any consequence they want.

Is that true or false? Pause for a second and think.

It's false.

Why is it false? Well, a judge or magistrate can give consequences from a list of agreed ones set by the law, but they cannot just give out any consequence they want or they fancy.

Okay, Izzy and Laura have been discussing the following statement, which is, "A world without laws and rules is better than a world with laws and rules." What I would like us to do is read through why Laura and Izzy think there should be or there shouldn't be rules and laws, and then we're going to have a go at deciding on at least two reasons why we agree with either Izzy or Laura.

So I'll read to you first what Laura thinks.

She said, "If there were no rules or laws, I would get to do what I want whenever I want.

I would have complete freedom.

I don't want to be told what to do." So some of you might be thinking, "I agree with Laura." And if that's true, I would like you to write down at least two reasons why you agree with her.

Now, Izzy says, "You need rules and laws for safety.

Without them, people could steal, hurt others, and be treated unfairly.

Nobody could stop them.

People need to trust in each other.

Having rules and laws helps with this." Now some of you will be agreeing with Izzy, so I would like you to read back through the statement, read back through what Laura and Izzy think, and then give at least two reasons why you agree with either Izzy or Laura.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, if we agreed with Laura, we might say, well, rules and laws feel like an invasion of my privacy and I should be able to do what I want to do.

I'm a good person, so I don't need rules to tell me how to behave.

You might already know that.

Rules are different in different places, they're not consistent, and it doesn't feel fair to make some people do one thing and others do something else.

I wonder if you got any of those reasons.

If you agreed with Izzy, you might say, well, most people are respectful, but there those who aren't and they push boundaries.

Rules and laws let people do the things that they want but without hurting other people, so they're there as guidelines.

Without the law, no one would actually know what the right thing is.

There wouldn't be punishments for those who have hurt others and there wouldn't be justice for victims of crime.

I wonder if you thought of any others or the same as me.

Well done, everybody.

Great efforts.

I would like you to imagine that you have been stranded on a desert island.

You are with nine of your classmates.

You are the only inhabitants of the island, and you have to find a way to live and survive with each other.

I would like for you to decide upon a list of 10 rules that you would put in place to help you all survive.

Now you must include at least two rules for justice, two rules for protection, and two rules to keep the peace.

So 10 rules altogether that you would put in place to help you and nine other classmates that have been stranded on this desert island.

How are you going to find a way to live and survive with each other? Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, everybody.

Now, we might have included some of these answers.

We might have said, well, one of the rules that we're gonna put in place is that everyone gets equal food.

All items belong to the island.

All properties and items at camp will be respected and looked after.

Everyone has a vote for who will be the leader.

Everyone has responsibilities, therefore we're all pulling our weight.

If a person breaks the rules, they have to spend time outside the camp.

And if a person breaks the rules, they have to make it up to the other person they harmed.

You might have completely different rules to me, or you might have some of the ones that I have also said.

Well done, everybody.

Really, really good.

We have now come to the end of our lesson, so I'm gonna summarise for us what we have learned today.

We should have learned that rules are guidelines which tell people what is and what isn't allowed.

If rules are broken, the consequences may be decided by the community, which then enforces the rules.

Laws are written by Parliament and enforced by the police.

Everyone must follow the law.

Consequences are decided by judges on magistrates in court.

Rules and laws are there to protect us, keep the peace, and make sure everyone is treated fairly.

And the Magna Carta was the first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government were not above the law.

Thank you, everybody, for your efforts today.

I hope you enjoyed learning as much I did today and you've taken a lot from why society needs rules and laws.

Thank you, everybody.