Lesson Plan - I Inspired a New Law

Learning Objective

Students will understand how an Illinois student helped her state pass a law protecting kid business owners.

Text Structure

Sequence

Content-Area Connections

Civics; Government

Standards Correlations

CCSS: RI.4.1, RI.4.2, RI.4.3, RI.4.4, RI.4.5, RI.4.6, RI.4.7, RI.4.8, RI.4.10, L.4.4, SL.4.1

NCSS: Civic Ideals and Practices

TEKS: Social Studies 4.17

1. Preparing to Read

Watch a Video: How a Bill Becomes a Law
Discuss: Why do you think the passage of a new law requires many steps? Why are those steps important?

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

  • regulate 
  • entrepreneurs


Set a Purpose for Reading
Draw attention to the “As You Read” question and have students look for details about Hayli’s role in the law’s passage.

2. Close-Reading Questions

1. What role did Hayli play in getting the new Illinois law passed?
Hayli inspired the law when an official heard about her lemonade stand being shut down. Later, she spoke to the Illinois General Assembly to convince lawmakers to pass the bill.
(RI.4.2 MAIN IDEA & KEY DETAILS)

2. What is the meaning of addressed? What clues in the article help you know?
Addressed means “spoke to.” The phrases “speak in front of a committee” and “tell her story” are clues.
(RI.4.4 WORD MEANING)

3. Hayli says “Don’t let anyone stop your dreams.” What does she mean?
Hayli means that kids shouldn’t give up if someone tries to keep them from reaching their goals. She hoped to earn money for college through her lemonade stand—and persevered by pushing for the new law.
(RI.4.1 MAKE INFERENCES)

3. Skill Building

FEATURED SKILL: Levels of Government Diagram
Use the skill builder “Levels of Government” to have students compare examples of powers held by the federal government and state governments.
(RI.4.7 READING A DIAGRAM)

Text-to-Speech