You can’t do that in America!

by Agnieszka Szeżyńska

©

Macmillan Polska 2008 PHOTOCOPIABLE

Teacher’s Notes

First published online 29.05.08

Type of school: gimnazjum,

Type of activity: pairwork: reading

(gap-filling), speaking

Focus: weird American laws (names of

American states + various vocabulary)

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

Time: 20 min.

Preparation: copy one Student's Worksheet

per student

Procedure:

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.

2. Tell students they are going to get to know
some strange laws still existing in the USA.

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.

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.

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.

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
.

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

3.In California, you must have at least two cows before
you can wear cowboy boots in public.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.