Role of adults at home, at school, and in the community

General

Students learn to identify the roles of adults in authority at home, in school, and in the community. These include teachers, coaches, janitors, parents, grandparents, firefighters, and crossing guards.

Learning objective

Students will be able to identify the roles of authority figures at home, in school, and in the community. They will also understand the importance of rules.

Introduction

Have students think about rules. Who gives rules? Circle the individuals who give rules and discuss why rules might be important. Define the term authority figure for the class. They are people who enforce rules and laws and who help us stay safe. Discuss the examples given and ask the class to think about who gives them rules in their own life.

Instruction

When at home, there are people in authority who you should listen to and respect. Slide to reveal a variety of authority figures who may function at home. Ask students to write down who makes rules at their house and to list the rules that they have to follow. Have them write down why they think they need those rules. Remind students that rules at home aren't always written down somewhere, they can be more like agreements- like hanging up your jacket when you come in or putting your dishes in the dishwasher when you are done with them. Check understanding of authority figures at home by having students circle the people who might have authority in their homes. Then discuss school. Who are people at school that are in authority positions? Discuss the people at school students come in contact with. Additional people to mention might be a guidance counselor, librarian, principal, hall monitors, or janitorial staff. Discuss some of the authority figures at your school and emphasize that the authority figures at your school have a job and they do their job to help you learn and help keep you safe. Check understanding of authority figures at school by having students drag the images of people in authority at school to the central box. Finally, discuss authority figures in the community. Check student's understanding of authority figures at home, school and in the community by having students drag names to their correct sentences and by circling the correct images.

Quiz

Students are given true/false questions that check understanding of key concepts given in the lesson. They are then given multiple-choice questions in which they must determine where people are authority figures and what you should do with authority figures.

Closing

Remind students that they can now identify the roles of adults in authority at home, school and in the community. Remind students that adults in authority figures (should) give you rules to follow that help you and keep you safe, which is why they want you to follow them. Close the lesson by having students write or draw authority figures in their homes, schools, and communities.

Teaching tips

If there is time, you can also discuss how certain adults in authority have earned or kept the respect of students or children, or if there are times when it is difficult to follow the rules given by an authority figure. You may choose to also discuss when it is important to challenge the rules of an authority figure.