you_cant_do_that_in_america_tn_29.05.08.pdf

First published online 29.05.08

Teacher’s Notes

You can’t do that in America!

by Agnieszka Szeżyńska

Type of school: gimnazjum,

2.In Arizona, you can't back up in a car.

Type of activity: pairwork: reading

(gap-filling), speaking

3.In California, you must have at least two cows before

you can wear cowboy boots in public.

Focus: weird American laws (names of

American states + various vocabulary)

4.In Colorado, a man can't kiss a woman when she is

asleep.

Level/age group: grade 2 (pre-intermediate)

5.In Connecticut, you can't walk backwards after

sunset.

Time: 20 min.

6.In Florida, it is illegal to imitate animals.

Preparation: copy one Student's Worksheet

per student

7.In Illinois, eating in a place which is on fire is

forbidden.

Procedure:

8.In Indiana, having a bath in the winter is illegal.

1. Ask students if they know about any strange

laws in Poland or abroad. Try to elicit the law

prohibiting the decorating of Easter eggs that

was lifted on 21st March 2008 in Cracow after 93

years.

9.In Iowa, you can't kiss someone for longer than five

minutes.

10.In Kansas, it's against the law to irritate squirrels.

11.In Kentucky, everyone must take a bath at least

once a year.

2. Tell students they are going to get to know

some strange laws still existing in the USA.

12.In Maryland, it is illegal to take a lion to the movies.

3. Give out the Student's Worksheets. Ask

students to work individually, read through the

sentences (without filling in the gaps yet) and

underline all prohibition/allowance phrases.

These should include: can't, must, may, to be

illegal, to be forbidden, to be against the law,

not to be allowed (to do sth). Clarify any of the

expressions if needed.

13.In Massachusetts, Christmas has been illegal since

1659.

14.In Nevada, you can't drive a camel on the highway.

15.In New York, you can't play golf in the streets.

16.In North Carolina, cats and dogs are not allowed to

fight.

4. Next, ask students to work in pairs and try to

complete the gaps with the words given. Tell

them that sometimes the structure of the

sentence may help them a lot, sometimes,

however, it is more of a guessing game.

17.In North Dakota, it is illegal to go to bed wearing

boots or shoes.

18.In Ohio, a policeperson may bite a dog to quiet him.

19.In Washington, all lollipops are forbidden.

5. Check with the whole group, clarifying where

necessary. Make students count how many

sentences they got right and see who was the

most successful pair.

20.In Wisconsin, it is illegal to wake up a fireman when

he is asleep.

Homework: As homework, you may ask students

to find one more strange law from around the

world (internet is a great source) and make up

two more. At the beginning of the next class, ask

a few students to read out all three laws and

make the rest of the class guess which is the true

one.

6. Finally, ask students to work in pairs and

decide which of the 20 laws seem the strangest /

the funniest / the stupidest to them and why. Get

feedback and see which laws are the whole

group's favourites.

KEY:

1.In Alaska, you can't look at a moose from an airplane

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