Browse

Rules and Laws Worksheets for 1st Grade

9 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Rules and laws, why we have them, rule or law sorts, who makes the rules, community and government leaders, safety signs and a new rule to write.

Download the rules and laws worksheets

Rules and laws

A poster, a rule or law sort, a cut and paste page and a true or false check.

Why we have rules

Match rules to their reasons and read safety signs that show laws.

Leaders and who makes the rules

Match each place to the people who make its rules, and read about leaders.

Make a new rule

Write a rule for a place at school and explain why it is a good one.

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these rules and laws worksheets

Rules tell us how to act at home, at school and in games. Laws are rules for everyone in a town, a state or a country. Both help keep people safe, help us be fair and help us get along.

These rules and laws worksheets help 1st graders tell rules from laws and explain why we have them. Children sort rules and laws, match rules to their reasons, read safety signs that show traffic laws and find out who makes the rules: families, principals, mayors, governors, the president and lawmakers.

To finish, children write a new rule for a place at school and explain why it helps. Pages print on US Letter or A4, and pages with right answers have an answer key on page 2.

Standards

  • C3 D2.Civ.3.K-2Explain the need for and purposes of rules in various settings inside and outside of school.
  • C3 D2.Civ.12.K-2Identify and explain how rules function in public (classroom and school) settings.
  • C3 D2.Civ.1.K-2Describe roles and responsibilities of people in authority.
  • C3 D2.Civ.5.K-2Explain what governments are and some of their functions.
  • C3 D2.Civ.11.K-2Explain how people can work together to make decisions in the classroom.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.1Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.2Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.

How to use them

  1. Start with the poster. Ask children for a rule at home, a rule at school and a rule in a game.
  2. Use the rule or law sort, or the cut and paste version.
  3. Walk around the school and look for signs before you do the safety signs page.
  4. Read the leaders passage, then match places to the people who make their rules.
  5. Let small groups share their new rules and vote on one to try for a week.

Teaching tips

  • Keep consequences simple and fair: a rule broken in a game may mean losing a turn; a law broken may mean paying a fine.
  • Laws are for everyone, including grown-ups and leaders.
  • Local leaders differ from place to place. Look up the name of your own mayor and governor to make the leaders page real.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What is the difference between a rule and a law?

A rule is for a group or a place, like a family, a class or a game. A law is a rule for everyone in a town, a state or a country, made by lawmakers in the government.

Who makes laws in the United States?

Lawmakers make laws: a city council for a city, state lawmakers for a state and Congress for the country. Mayors, governors and the president lead and help put the laws to work.

Are there answer keys?

Yes. Every page with right answers has an answer key on page 2. The make a new rule page has no key.