Fun, easy ways to teach the law to elementary students.

There is growing interest from teachers at the elementary level in addressing legal topics, concepts and skills with their students. Let’s Talk About Law in Elementary School addresses their need for relevant ideas and materials that can be integrated into the core subjects of social studies, language arts, and science. It also provides information on where to obtain other useful materials for classroom use, as well as law resources to assist them in developing their own classroom materials. The contributors are active in law-related education, either at the public school level, in program administration or at the post-secondary level.

The opening chapter discusses why and how law should be taught to elementary-aged children. Chapter 2 traces the development of law-related education in the United States and discusses current trends. In Chapter 3 the authors show how knowing and practicing the skills and processes of law can help children avoid or resolve conflicts. Chapter 4 addresses the powerful effect of the informal curriculum and the need for educators to establish classrooms that model legal and democratic principles. The final six chapters outline different ways for incorporating law education into various subject areas: addressing legal issues through story dramas; using literature to learn law-related concepts; experiencing the processes of law through games and simulations; using law-related issues to address critical thinking in social studies; and exploring the law through forensics in science classes.

Wanda Cassidy is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education and Director of the Centre for Education, Law and Society at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. Her research primarily focuses on law-related education and its intersection with citizenship education and the civil society. She is interested in the relationship between law and societal values and beliefs, including the ethics of care, social responsibility, human rights, and social justice. Current research projects include an examination of legal literacy among students in grades 6 to 10 and cyberbullying in middle schools and at the post-secondary level.

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Wanda Cassidy, PhD, is an associate professor of education and the director of the Centre for Education, Law and Society at Simon Fraser University. Her research and publications focus on citizenship and human rights education, including legal literacy for youth, ethics of care, marginalized youth, and cyberbullying/cybercivility. In 2011 Dr. Cassidy was awarded the prestigious Isidore Starr Award by the American Bar Association for excellence in law-related education.

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