D2.Civ.12.6-8: Assessing Rules and Laws, Actual and Proposed, as Solutions to Public Problems
In plain English: D2.Civ.12.6-8 is the C3 Framework civics indicator for grades 6-8 that asks students to assess specific rules and laws, both actual and proposed, as ways to address public problems. Students judge whether a rule aims at the cause of a problem, what evidence shows it works, how it is enforced and who bears its costs.
Assess specific rules and laws (both actual and proposed) as means of addressing public problems.
C3 Framework for Social Studies (NCSS) · Dimension 2: Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools · Discipline: Civics · Processes, Rules, and Laws · Official standard
Students learn to assess specific rules and laws (both actual and proposed) as means of addressing public problems, the skill named in D2.Civ.12.6-8. A public problem is a problem that affects many people in a community, such as pollution, safety or noise. To assess a rule or law is to judge how well it deals with the problem it is meant to solve, using evidence.
Students assess two actual federal rules and one proposed town law: the ban on lead in gasoline, described in a 1996 press release from the Environmental Protection Agency; the federal rule that limits the hours 14- and 15-year-olds may work; and an invented town's proposed ordinance limiting fireworks to holidays. For each, they use five questions (Diagram 1): the problem, the fit, the evidence, enforcement, and costs and fairness. The homework assesses another proposed rule, for scooters and bicycles on a city path.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Define public problem, rule, law, ordinance, regulation and enforcement
Identify the problem an actual or proposed rule is meant to address and explain whether the rule aims at its cause
Use evidence and simple calculations to judge whether an actual rule worked or a proposed rule is likely to work
Assess a rule's enforcement, costs and fairness, and recommend keeping, changing or replacing it
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
Explaining the origins, purposes and impact of laws D2.Civ.3.6-8
Explaining the powers and limits of government officials and agencies D2.Civ.4.6-8
"Think of a rule at school or at home that does not work very well. What problem is it supposed to solve? Why doesn't it solve it? What would you change?"
Students write for two minutes and share. Sort the reasons they give into groups on the board, such as "nobody checks," "it doesn't fix the real cause" and "it isn't fair." These are the questions of Diagram 1. Write the question for the day: How can we tell whether a rule or law is a good way to solve a public problem?
Direct Instruction15-20 minutes
Part 1: Terms.
Rule and law: a rule tells people what they must or must not do; a law is a rule made by a government. An ordinance is a town or city law. A regulation is a rule written by a government agency to carry out a law passed by a legislature.
Actual rules are already in effect; proposed rules have been suggested but not yet adopted.
Enforcement means making sure people obey a rule, for example with inspections and fines.
A phaseout is a step-by-step ending of something; a ban forbids it completely.
Hand out Diagram 1 and go through its five questions.
Part 2: An actual law (Source 1). For decades, lead was added to gasoline. Burned in car engines, it went into the air that people breathed. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the federal agency that carries out environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act, issued this press release in 1996. Glosses: octane is a measure of how smoothly fuel burns in an engine; anemia is a blood condition that makes people tired and weak; a fetus is an unborn baby; a catalytic converter is a car part that cleans exhaust gas, and lead ruins it; exhaust valve seats are engine parts. Read it aloud.
1EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner today took the last steps concluding a 25-year Agency effort to phase out lead from gasoline.
2[...] "The elimination of lead from gas is one of the great environmental achievements of all time," Browner said. "Thousands of tons of lead have been removed from the air, and blood levels of lead in our children are down 70 percent. This means that millions of children will be spared the painful consequences of lead poisoning, such as permanent nerve damage, anemia [...]." The actions taken today, although procedural, mark the end of a quarter-of-a-century of work to keep Americans safe from exposure to lead from gas.
3[...] Fetuses and children are especially susceptible to low doses of lead, often suffering central nervous system damage or slowed growth.
4Lead has been blended with gasoline, primarily to boost octane levels, since the early 1920s. EPA began working to reduce lead emissions soon after its inception, issuing the first reduction standards in 1973, which called for a gradual phasedown of lead to one tenth of a gram per gallon by 1986. The average lead content in gasoline in 1973 was 2-3 grams per gallon or about 200,000 tons of lead a year. In 1975, passenger cars and light trucks were manufactured with a more elaborate emission control system which included a catalytic converter that required lead-free fuel. In 1995 leaded fuel accounted for only 0.6 percent of total gasoline sales and less than 2,000 tons of lead per year. Effective January 1, 1996, the Clean Air Act banned the sale of the small amount of leaded fuel that was still available in some parts of the country for use in on-road vehicles. EPA said fuel containing lead may continue to be sold for off-road uses, including aircraft, racing cars, farm equipment, and marine engines.
5In addition to increasing the octane of gasoline, leaded gasoline also protected exhaust valve seats (in vehicles designed to operate on leaded gasoline) from excessive wear. Both of these objectives are now accomplished without the use of leaded gasoline. Owners of older vehicles with engines designed for leaded fuel may use an unleaded gasoline of comparable octane. For vehicles operating under higher loads, a lead substitute additive may be used, but owners should check with vehicle manufacturers as to which lead substitute additives are appropriate. [...]
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Takes Final Step in Phaseout of Leaded Gasoline (Source 1: press release of January 29, 1996; cuts marked [...]) (1996). US government work (17 U.S.C. 105). Source text.
Fit: whom did the law apply to? (Source 1)
The problem was lead in the air from car exhaust. Did the law tell drivers to stop polluting, or did it work some other way?
Result: The rules were aimed at the fuel, not the drivers: first "reduction standards" for the amount of lead in gasoline, then a ban on "the sale" of leaded fuel for on-road vehicles (paragraph 4). That fits the cause: if gasoline contains no lead, no car can put lead into the air, whatever its driver does.
Evidence with numbers (Source 1)
In 1973 gasoline averaged 2-3 grams of lead per gallon. The 1973 standards called for one tenth of a gram per gallon by 1986. By what percent was lead per gallon to be cut?
Result: From 2 grams to 0.1 gram: (2 - 0.1) / 2 = 0.95, a 95% cut. From 3 grams to 0.1 gram: (3 - 0.1) / 3 = 0.967, about a 97% cut. So the first standards alone were meant to remove about 95-97% of the lead in each gallon, before the full ban in 1996.
Guided Practice15-20 minutes
A second actual rule (Source 2). This is a federal regulation about the hours 14- and 15-year-olds may work, for example at a grocery store or a movie theater. It carries out the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, a law passed by Congress. Glosses: minors are people under 18; employment is working for pay; confined to means kept within; to reside is to live somewhere; Labor Day is the first Monday in September. The letters and numbers, such as (a)(3), are the rule's own labels.
1§ 570.35 Hours of work and conditions of employment permitted for minors 14 and 15 years of age.
2(a) Hours standards. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, employment in any of the permissible occupations to which this subpart is applicable shall be confined to the following periods:
3(1) Outside of school hours;
4(2) Not more than 40 hours in any 1 week when school is not in session;
5(3) Not more than 18 hours in any 1 week when school is in session;
6(4) Not more than 8 hours in any 1 day when school is not in session;
7(5) Not more than 3 hours in any 1 day when school is in session, including Fridays;
8(6) Between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. in any 1 day, except during the summer (June 1 through Labor Day) when the evening hour will be 9 p.m.
9(b) Definitions. As used in this section:
10Outside school hours means such periods as before and after school hours, holidays, summer vacations, weekends, and any other day or part of a day when school is not in session as determined by the local public school district in which the minor resides when employed. Summer school sessions, held in addition to the regularly scheduled school year, are considered to be outside of school hours. [...]
11Week when school is in session refers to any week the local public school district where the minor resides while employed is in session and students are required to attend for at least one day or partial day.
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (Code of Federal Regulations), 29 CFR 570.35, Hours of work for 14- and 15-year-olds (Source 2: paragraph (a) and two definitions from paragraph (b); one cut marked [...]) (2010). US government work (17 U.S.C. 105). Source text.
Checking a schedule against the rule (Source 2)
In July, Maya, who is 15, is offered a job: Monday to Friday, 12:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Does the schedule follow the rule?
Result: Each day is 8 hours (12:30 to 8:30), which meets the limit of "not more than 8 hours in any 1 day when school is not in session" (a)(4). The week is 5 x 8 = 40 hours, the most allowed when school is out (a)(2). Ending at 8:30 p.m. is allowed because from June 1 through Labor Day "the evening hour will be 9 p.m." (a)(6). The schedule follows the rule, but only just: one more hour a day or one more day would break it.
Pair task: Pairs answer the five questions of Diagram 1 for Source 2. For question 1, they decide together what problem the rule is meant to address, since the regulation does not say; they must point to the parts of the rule that support their answer. Then they compare: which rule, Source 1 or Source 2, is easier to enforce, and why?
Independent Practice15-20 minutes
A proposed law (Source 3). Students read an invented town's proposed ordinance and the testimony at its public hearing. Glosses: consumer fireworks are the small fireworks sold to the public, not the large shells used in professional shows; a public hearing is a meeting where anyone may speak to officials before they decide; a violation is an act of breaking a rule.
1The Granby Town Council will vote next month on Proposed Ordinance 24, a town law about consumer fireworks, the kind families buy at roadside stands. State law already lets adults buy and use them, and Granby has no rule of its own.
2The problem, according to town records. Last year the Granby Fire Department answered 9 grass and brush fires caused by fireworks, and 6 of them happened outside the Fourth of July and New Year's holidays. Police received 212 noise complaints about fireworks, 140 of them on other dates. One fire burned a shed; no one was hurt.
3What the proposal says. Consumer fireworks could be set off only on July 3, 4 and 5 and on December 31 and January 1, from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., or until 12:30 a.m. on New Year's Eve. A first violation would bring a $250 fine, and each later violation a $500 fine. Police would enforce the rule when they answer a complaint.
4At the public hearing, five people spoke. Fire Chief Ortiz: "Limiting the dates should cut most of the fires we see. But on the Fourth itself the rule changes nothing, and that is when our risk is highest." Ms. Lindqvist, a veteran and dog owner: "Surprise fireworks on a random Tuesday are the hardest for my dog and for some veterans. If I know the dates, I can plan." Mr. Bauer, who runs a fireworks stand: "Most of my customers buy for the Fourth anyway. A $250 fine is fair, but the police will not catch most people." Sergeant Kim of the police department: "On a busy night we have two officers on patrol. We can answer some complaints, but by the time we arrive, the fireworks are usually over." Ms. Reyes, a parent: "A total ban would take away a family tradition. This plan keeps the holidays and gives everyone else quiet nights."
5Two other ideas were raised. One was a total ban on consumer fireworks, with a single town fireworks show on the Fourth that would cost the town $18,000 a year. The other was to pass no ordinance and ask the state legislature to change the state law.
SVHS (invented scenario; the town, the people and the numbers are invented), Source 3: Granby's Proposed Ordinance 24 on fireworks (invented scenario written for this page) (2026). Original passage written for this page.
Does the proposal fit the problem? (Source 3)
What share of the noise complaints came on dates the ordinance would cover, and what does that suggest?
Result: Of 212 complaints, 140 came on other dates (paragraph 2): 140 / 212 = 0.66, about 66%, or two complaints in every three. The ordinance would make fireworks illegal on exactly those dates, so it aims at most of the noise problem. Whether it actually cuts the complaints depends on enforcement, the next question in Diagram 1.
Students complete the five questions of Diagram 1 for Proposed Ordinance 24, then write a recommendation of one paragraph: adopt it, change it, or choose one of the two alternatives in paragraph 5. Each recommendation must use at least one number and one quotation from the hearing.
Closure5-10 minutes
Exit ticket: "Name one thing that is easier to judge about an actual law than about a proposed one, and one way you can still judge a proposed law before it is adopted."
Teacher note on the sources: Source 1 is a press release in which the EPA reports on its own program, so it shows the agency's view; the figures can be checked against other federal reports. The release uses an outdated term for intellectual disability in two lists of the effects of lead; the page leaves those words out and marks the cuts. Source 2 is current federal law; states may set stricter limits, and the rule has exceptions in paragraph (c), which the page does not print. Sources 3 and 4 are invented. Fireworks rules are a local choice that communities decide differently; students should be graded on how well they use the five questions, not on which recommendation they make.
Homework passage. Source 4 is another invented proposal, a rule for a city path. A park ranger is a city worker who looks after parks and enforces park rules.
1The Ashford Riverwalk is a paved path, 3.2 miles long, used by walkers, runners, bicycles and electric scooters. The city's parks board has proposed Rule 7 for the path and will vote on it after hearing from the public.
2The problem. Last year, 23 collisions between riders and walkers were reported on the Riverwalk. In 15 of them, witnesses said the rider was going faster than 15 miles per hour. Nine happened after dark. Four people were hurt badly enough to see a doctor.
3What Rule 7 says. Bicycles and scooters must go no faster than 10 miles per hour. Riders under 16 must wear helmets. Scooters may not be ridden on the path from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. A violation brings a $100 fine. The city would put up 4 speed-limit signs at $300 each, and its two part-time park rangers would enforce the rule.
4At the hearing, four people spoke. Mr. Dube, who rides a scooter to work: "My shift starts at 6 a.m., so I ride at 5:30. The time ban would push me onto a busy road with no bike lane." Ms. Hart, of a walking club: "We support the speed limit. Most of the close calls we see are riders going much too fast." A manager of the scooter rental company: "We can set our rental scooters so they cannot go faster than 10 miles per hour on the Riverwalk. Privately owned scooters and bikes are another matter." Ranger Pham: "There are two of us for 3.2 miles of path, and we also cover the city's other parks. We will catch very few speeders."
SVHS (invented scenario; the city, the people and the numbers are invented), Source 4: proposed Rule 7 for the Ashford Riverwalk (invented scenario written for this page, for the homework) (2026). Original passage written for this page.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give a chart with the five questions of Diagram 1 and sentence starters for each, such as "The problem is ___, caused by ___"
Read Source 1 in short parts; give a glossary card with octane, phaseout, ban, regulation and enforcement
For the vote and percent math, give a template: part / whole = ___, then x 100 = ___%
For Advanced Students
Write a one-paragraph amendment to Proposed Ordinance 24 that answers Fire Chief Ortiz's concern, and assess it with Diagram 1
Explain why lead was removed from gasoline by a phaseout over 23 years instead of a ban in 1973, using paragraph 4 of Source 1
Find out whether your own state sets stricter work-hour limits for 14- and 15-year-olds than Source 2
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Strong work names the problem and its cause, explains whether the rule aims at that cause, uses evidence or numbers, considers enforcement and who bears the costs, and ends with a recommendation that follows from those points. Watch for students who judge a rule only by whether they like it, who skip enforcement, or who treat a prediction about a proposed rule as if it were proof.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Rule Report Card
15 minGroups of 4
Groups grade the two actual rules (Sources 1 and 2) from A to D on each of the five questions in Diagram 1, giving one piece of evidence for every grade.
Procedure
Half the groups grade Source 1 and half grade Source 2 (8 minutes)
Each group writes its five grades on a poster, with the evidence beside each grade
Groups that graded the same source compare posters and explain any grade that differs by two letters or more (7 minutes)
Discussion Questions
For which question was evidence easiest to find? Hardest?
Source 1 is written by the agency that ran the program. Does that change any of your grades?
Source 2 does not state its problem. How did you decide what it was?
2
Granby Town Hearing
20 minWhole class
The class holds the public hearing on Proposed Ordinance 24 and then votes as the town council. Students take the five speakers' roles from Source 3, a council of five, and residents who may add new arguments.
Roles
Five speakers, using the testimony in Source 3, paragraph 4, and adding one new reason each
Five council members, who must ask at least one question each
All other students are residents; up to six may speak for one minute each
Steps
Speakers testify (6 minutes)
Residents speak (6 minutes)
Council members discuss in front of the class, using the five questions of Diagram 1, and may amend the ordinance (5 minutes)
The council votes; each member gives a one-sentence reason (3 minutes)
Ground Rules
Speak to the issue, not about people. Every argument must use a fact from Source 3 or a reason from Diagram 1. The class is graded on the quality of the reasons, not on the result of the vote.
3
Fix the Rule
15 minPairs
Each pair gets 4 cards, each with an invented public problem and a weak proposed rule. Pairs assess each rule with Diagram 1 and rewrite one rule to make it stronger.
The 4 Cards
Problem: litter at the town's baseball field. Proposed rule: "No littering." No penalty and no trash cans.
Problem: dogs running loose in a city park. Proposed rule: dogs must be on a leash, with a $50 fine, enforced by one officer who visits once a month.
Problem: library books returned months late. Proposed rule: borrowers with a book more than two weeks late may not check out more books until it is returned.
Problem: crowding at the school bike rack. Proposed rule: any bike without a lock will be removed by the custodian.
Teacher Notes
Card 1 has no enforcement and ignores a likely cause (no trash cans). Card 2 has a penalty but almost no enforcement. Card 3 fits the problem and enforces itself at the checkout desk. Card 4 does not aim at the problem: locks do not reduce crowding. Accept other well-reasoned assessments.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
2 diagrams
Diagram 1: Five Questions for Assessing a Rule or Law
Students ask the same five questions about every rule or law, actual or proposed. For an actual law, question 3 looks for evidence of results; for a proposed one, it asks for a reasoned prediction.
Diagram 2: Lead Used in U.S. Gasoline, 1973 and 1995
Both bars are drawn to the same scale from the figures in Source 1. Students estimate the change from the bars before computing it.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
D2.Civ.12.6-8 Homework: Assessing a Rule for the Riverwalk
Directions: Use Source 4, the invented proposal printed in the Closure phase of the lesson plan, and the five questions of Diagram 1. Show your math, and cite the paragraph for each piece of evidence.
Part 1: The Problem and the Fit (Problems 1-3)
What public problem is Rule 7 meant to address? What share of last year's collisions involved a rider going faster than 15 miles per hour? Give a fraction and a percent.
Nine of the 23 collisions happened after dark (paragraph 2). Would the ban on scooters from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. cover all of these? Explain why not, and say which part of Rule 7 aims at the larger share of the problem.
Rule 7 is a proposed rule. Name one kind of evidence the parks board could collect after a year to judge whether it worked.
Part 2: Enforcement, Costs and a Recommendation (Problems 4-6)
Compare enforcement of the speed limit for rental scooters and for privately owned bikes and scooters, using the testimony in paragraph 4. Which part of the problem would the rule reach best?
What would the 4 new signs cost? Who else would pay a cost or give something up under Rule 7? Use Mr. Dube's testimony.
Write a recommendation to the parks board: adopt Rule 7, change it, or reject it. Use all five questions of Diagram 1, at least one number, and one comparison with an actual rule from the lesson (Source 1 or Source 2).
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
No Credit (0 pts)
Problem and fit
Names the problem and explains whether each part of the rule aims at its cause
Names the problem without judging the fit
Problem not identified
Evidence and math
Uses correct numbers and cites paragraphs
One error in the math or the evidence
No evidence
Enforcement and costs
Explains who enforces the rule, how well, and who bears its costs
Covers enforcement or costs, not both
Neither covered
Recommendation
Makes a clear recommendation that follows from the assessment
Recommendation does not follow from the points made
No recommendation
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
Questions 1-7 use Source 1 (lead in gasoline), Questions 8-10 use Source 2 (work hours for 14- and 15-year-olds), Questions 11-14 use Source 3 (the Granby proposal), and the rest assess and compare the rules. All sources are in the lesson plan phases above. Choose the best answer, then check your work.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
According to Source 1, paragraph 3, who is especially at risk from low doses of lead?
Answer: C
Paragraph 3 says "fetuses and children are especially susceptible to low doses of lead." Choice B mixes up the people at risk with the off-road uses where leaded fuel may still be sold (paragraph 4). Choices A and D are not in the passage.
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
What was the first step the EPA took against lead in gasoline, according to Source 1, paragraph 4?
Answer: A
The EPA issued "the first reduction standards in 1973, which called for a gradual phasedown of lead." Choice B is wrong because the ban on sales for on-road vehicles came only on January 1, 1996. Choice C mixes in 1975, the year of the catalytic converters; the release's paragraph on "unleaded fuel only" labels is not printed on this page, and the labels were not the first step. Choice D is not in the passage.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which evidence in Source 1 most directly shows that the rules helped solve the health problem, not just the pollution?
Answer: D
The problem was harm to people, so the best evidence measures people: "blood levels of lead in our children are down 70 percent" (paragraph 2). Choice A shows less leaded fuel was sold, which is evidence about the fuel, not about health. Choices B and C explain how the change was made possible.
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Source 1 says gasoline had about 200,000 tons of lead a year in 1973 and less than 2,000 tons in 1995. By about what percent did the amount fall?
Answer: B
200,000 - 2,000 = 198,000, and 198,000 / 200,000 = 0.99, so the drop was more than 99% (since 1995 was less than 2,000 tons). Choice C is the drop in children's blood lead (paragraph 2), a different measure. Choice D is 2,000 / 200,000 = 1%, the share that was left, not the drop. Choice A comes from misreading 2,000 as 20,000: (200,000 - 20,000) / 200,000 = 90%.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Source 1, paragraph 5, discusses a cost of removing lead. Which statement best describes it and how it was handled?
Answer: C
Lead "protected exhaust valve seats" in older vehicles, and "both of these objectives are now accomplished without the use of leaded gasoline"; owners may use unleaded fuel or "a lead substitute additive." Choice D contradicts paragraph 4, which says leaded fuel may still be sold for racing cars. Choices A and B are not in the passage.
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Why could the EPA ban leaded gasoline for cars in 1996 without much trouble, according to Source 1, paragraph 4?
Answer: B
Since 1975, new cars had catalytic converters "that required lead-free fuel," and by 1995 leaded fuel was "only 0.6 percent of total gasoline sales." The ban removed "the small amount" that was left. Choices A, C and D are not in the passage.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Source 1 is a press release in which the EPA describes its own program. What should a careful reader do with its claims?
Answer: D
An agency reporting on its own success may present its work in the best light, so a careful reader checks important figures, such as the drop in blood lead, against other sources, for example federal health surveys. Choices A and B both skip the checking: one rejects without evidence, the other accepts without evidence. Choice C throws away the most useful evidence.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
During a school week, Jordan, who is 14, works 3 hours each weekday from Monday to Friday and 4 hours on Saturday. Does this follow Source 2?
Answer: C
5 x 3 = 15 hours on weekdays, plus 4 on Saturday, is 19 hours. In a week when school is in session the limit is 18 hours, (a)(3). Choice B uses the 40-hour limit, which applies only "when school is not in session," (a)(2). Choice A checks only the daily limit for non-school days. Choice D is not in the rule: weekends count as "outside school hours."
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Under Source 2, what is the latest time a 15-year-old may work on a Tuesday in October?
Answer: A
Work must be "between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m." except from June 1 through Labor Day, when the evening hour is 9 p.m., (a)(6). October is after Labor Day, so 7 p.m. applies. Choice B uses the summer hour by mistake. Choices C and D are not in the rule.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Source 2 does not say what problem it addresses. Which problem do its limits on school-week hours most clearly aim at?
Answer: C
The rule allows work only "outside of school hours" and sets lower limits when school is in session (3 hours a day, 18 a week) than when it is not (8 and 40), so it is built to protect school time. Choice A concerns pay, which this section does not mention. Choices B and D are not supported by the rule's limits.
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Source 3, what fraction of last year's fireworks fires happened outside the Fourth of July and New Year's holidays?
Answer: B
Six of the 9 fires were on other dates (paragraph 2): 6 / 9 = 2/3. Choice A is the share that happened on the holidays (3 of 9). Choice C, three-fourths, would mean nearly 7 of the 9 fires, and Choice D, one-half, would mean 4.5 of 9; neither matches 6 of 9.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
What weakness of Proposed Ordinance 24 does Fire Chief Ortiz point out (Source 3, paragraph 4)?
Answer: A
The chief says, "on the Fourth itself the rule changes nothing, and that is when our risk is highest." Choice B is not anyone's testimony; Mr. Bauer calls the fine "fair." Choice D is the kind of concern a stand owner might raise, but Mr. Bauer says most customers "buy for the Fourth anyway." Choice C is not in the proposal.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which testimony in Source 3 raises the most serious doubt about how well the ordinance could be enforced?
Answer: D
Sergeant Kim says two officers are on patrol and "by the time we arrive, the fireworks are usually over," so few violators would be fined. Mr. Bauer also doubts that police will catch most people, but he speaks as a seller, while Sergeant Kim speaks for the officers who would enforce it. Choices A and B are about benefits, not enforcement.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Fire Chief Ortiz worries most about the Fourth of July. Which option in Source 3, paragraph 5 aims most directly at that worry?
Answer: D
A total ban would forbid consumer fireworks on the Fourth too, while a single professional show would keep the holiday; that is the option aimed at the chief's concern, though it costs $18,000 a year and ends the family tradition Ms. Reyes values. Choice B is the proposal the chief says "changes nothing" on the Fourth. Choice A delays any change, and Choice C is not one of the options in paragraph 5.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
Assess the phaseout of lead in gasoline (Source 1) with the five questions of Diagram 1. Was it a good way to address the problem? Use at least two numbers.
Model answer: Problem: lead from car exhaust harmed people, especially "fetuses and children" (paragraph 3). Fit: the rules targeted the cause, the lead in fuel (paragraph 4). Evidence: lead in gasoline fell from about 200,000 tons a year to less than 2,000, and children's blood lead fell 70 percent (paragraphs 2 and 4). Enforcement: the rules applied to fuel sales, which a few companies control. Costs: older engines lost the protection lead gave, but unleaded fuel or additives replaced it (paragraph 5). Verdict: a strong rule, with the caution that the figures come from the agency itself. Rubric: 1 point per question answered with evidence, 1 point for the verdict.
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
Assess Source 2 as a way to address the problem you identified in Question 10. Is it fair to 14- and 15-year-olds? Give one argument that it is and one that it is not.
Model answer: The rule protects school time: no work during school hours, and at most 3 hours on a school day and 18 in a school week, (a)(1), (a)(3) and (a)(5). Fair: it lets young teens earn money and gain experience, with more hours in summer (40 a week, until 9 p.m.), while keeping school first. Not fully fair: a teen who needs to help support a family, or who could handle more hours, is limited the same as everyone else, and the rule's own exceptions in paragraph (c) are not printed here. Rubric: 2 points for the problem and fit, 2 points for each side of the fairness question.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
Compare how you can assess an actual rule (Sources 1 and 2) with how you can assess a proposed rule (Source 3). What kind of evidence does each have, and how can you still judge a proposed rule before it is adopted?
Model answer: An actual rule has results that can be measured, such as the 70 percent drop in children's blood lead in Source 1. A proposed rule has no results yet, so we judge it by predictions: whether it aims at the cause shown by the data (6 of 9 fires and 140 of 212 complaints came on dates it would cover), whether it can be enforced (Sergeant Kim's two officers), and what experts and affected people say at the hearing. We can also compare it with similar rules that already exist. Rubric: 2 points for each kind of evidence, 2 points for ways to judge a proposal.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
Write a recommendation to the Granby Town Council: adopt Proposed Ordinance 24, change it, or choose one of the alternatives in paragraph 5. Use the five questions of Diagram 1, one number and one quotation from the hearing.
Model answer (one of several): Adopt it with one change. Problem and fit: two-thirds of the fires (6 of 9) and of the complaints came on non-holiday dates, which the ordinance would cover. Enforcement is the weak point: Sergeant Kim says "by the time we arrive, the fireworks are usually over." The council should add a way to report addresses afterward. Costs and fairness: families keep the holidays, as Ms. Reyes wants, and residents like Ms. Lindqvist get predictable dates. The total ban would aim at the Fourth but costs $18,000 a year. Rubric: 1 point per question of Diagram 1 used, 1 point for the number, 1 point for the quotation; any recommendation that follows from the reasons earns full credit.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
Propose one change to Proposed Ordinance 24 that would answer one of the speakers' concerns. Assess your change with at least two questions from Diagram 1.
Model answer: Change: on July 3, 4 and 5, allow fireworks only on paved surfaces such as driveways and streets, and not in fields or near brush. This answers Fire Chief Ortiz, who says the rule "changes nothing" on the Fourth. Fit: the fires were grass and brush fires (paragraph 2), so keeping fireworks off grass aims at their cause. Enforcement: it is still hard to enforce with two officers, but families who follow it would lower the risk even without police. Rubric: 2 points for a change tied to a speaker, 2 points for each question of Diagram 1 applied.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
Source 1's rule applied to the companies that made and sold gasoline, while Proposed Ordinance 24 would apply to every household in Granby. Explain how this difference affects enforcement, and what it suggests about designing rules.
Model answer: A rule aimed at a few sellers is easier to enforce, because officials can check a small number of refiners and fuel sellers, and once the fuel had no lead, no driver could break the rule (Source 1, paragraph 4). A rule for every household depends on catching many people at night, and Sergeant Kim says officers usually arrive too late (Source 3, paragraph 4). This suggests that rules work better when they aim at a point the government can actually check, such as what is sold rather than what each person does. Rubric: 2 points for each source, 2 points for the design lesson.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
06
Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does D2.Civ.12.6-8 mean?
D2.Civ.12.6-8 asks students in grades 6-8 to judge how well specific rules and laws deal with public problems. It covers both actual rules, already in effect, and proposed rules that have not been adopted yet.
What is a public problem?
A public problem is one that affects many people in a community and that people often look to government or a group to solve, such as air pollution, unsafe streets, noise or crowded parks. A private problem, like a broken bike, affects only one person or family.
How do students assess a rule or law?
They ask five questions: what the problem is and what causes it, whether the rule aims at that cause, what evidence shows it worked or will work, how it is enforced, and who bears its costs. Then they recommend keeping, changing or replacing it.
Why does D2.Civ.12.6-8 include proposed rules?
Because citizens are often asked to judge rules before they are adopted, at public hearings or in elections. Students learn that a proposed rule has no results yet, so they judge it by whether it fits the problem, whether it can be enforced, and what similar rules have done.
What is the difference between a law and a regulation?
A law is passed by a legislature, such as Congress or a town council; a regulation is a rule written by a government agency to carry out a law. The work-hour rule in this lesson is a regulation of the Department of Labor that carries out the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Is D2.Civ.12.6-8 political? How do I keep it neutral?
It can be taught without taking sides. Use rules with clear evidence, invented local proposals, and a rubric that scores reasoning and evidence rather than the recommendation. Students may reach different verdicts and still earn full credit.
What mistakes do students make when assessing laws?
Students often judge a rule by whether they like it, forget to ask how it will be enforced, or treat a prediction about a proposed rule as if it were a proven result. Another frequent mistake is using the wrong part of a rule, such as the summer hours on a school day.
How does D2.Civ.12.6-8 connect to math?
Assessing a rule often means working with data: percents, fractions and rates, such as the share of complaints a rule would cover or the drop in pollution after a law. The lesson uses grade 7 percent skills (7.RP.A.3) in its examples and quiz.
How is D2.Civ.12.6-8 different from D2.Civ.12.9-12?
D2.Civ.12.6-8 asks students to assess rules and laws as ways to address public problems; D2.Civ.12.9-12 asks them to analyze how people use and challenge laws at the local, state, national and international levels. High school students study the people and the courts behind the laws.
How does D2.Civ.12.6-8 connect to other C3 indicators?
It builds on D2.Civ.3.6-8, the purposes and impact of laws, and works alongside D2.Civ.11.6-8, decision procedures, and D2.Civ.13.6-8, public policies. It prepares students for D4.7.6-8, assessing ways to take action on local problems.
07
Related Standards
5 standards
These standards connect to D2.Civ.12.6-8: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.
Before this lesson
D2.Civ.3.6-8Prerequisite
Examine the origins, purposes and impact of constitutions, laws and treaties
Assess individual and collective capacities to act on local and global problems
Lesson coming soon
Standard text: National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013). NCSS was not involved in the production of this lesson and does not endorse it.
