LAW AND ORDER 3 Reference Skills


TAKING INVENTORY: PRETEST Assess students’ prior knowledge of Part 3 vocabulary words by using the Part 3 Pretest on page T257. Answers: 1.G 2.J 3.E 4.H 5.B 6.I 7.F 8.D 9.C 10.A.


OBJECTIVES Students will C read and discuss an essay related to this unit’s theme—Law and Order.


C activate prior knowledge about the theme to help them learn the meanings of ten words.


GUIDE STUDENTS Activating Prior Knowledge Discuss the following questions before students read “Small Claims Court: Seeking Justice.” C Have you heard of “small claims court”? What do you think happens there?


C Have you watched a trial, in real life or in a movie or television show? Was the outcome decided by a jury or by the judge?


C What are the advantages and disad- vantages of having a judge decide the outcome? What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a jury trial?


Have students share any prior knowl- edge they have about the essay’s ten boldfaced words. Then have them take turns reading the essay aloud or assign it as silent reading, depending on the needs and abilities of your students. Compare and contrast their prior knowledge and their new understanding of these ten words.


LAW AND ORDER


3 Reference Skills Seeking Justice


Small Claims Court:


What could you do if your new CD player fell apart and the store would not give you another one? What if your parents loaned some money to a neighbor,who now insists that she does not have to pay it back? Small claims court was established for these kinds of situations.


S


mall claims court is an informal court that rarely has lawyers and never has a jury. Anyone who is eighteen or older can use this court to sue another person or a business. A parent or guardian can represent anyone younger than eigh- teen. You don’t even have to be a citizen of the United States. In small claims court, you can sue only for money. That is, you cannot force another person to do anything except pay you money. The maximum amount of the payment is different in dif- ferent states. It might be $3,000 in one state and $5,000 in another. To sue for more, you must use a different court. In small claims court, people represent themselves. One person is the plaintiff, the person who is suing. The other person is the defendant, the person who is being sued. An impartial judge listens to both sides and objectively decides whether the defendant has caused any damages and is liable to pay for them. Defendants might insist that they are innocent, or they might explain extenuating circumstances that led to the problem. After considering both sides, the judge might announce a


decision right then or days later. The judge might decide that the defendant is guilty of some kind of infraction and give this person an ultimatum to pay for the damages. However, if the judge does not believe the defendant is respon- sible for any damages, that defendant might be exonerated. Of course, all judges are human, so some are lenient, while others are strict, following the law to the letter.


Sometimes a defendant retaliates by filing a counterclaim against the plaintiff, suing the plaintiff for some kind of dam- ages. This counterclaim can be filed at the same time as the original claim or within a few days of the judge’s decision. The counterclaim, like the original claim, must not exceed the maximum amount for that state’s small claims court.


Instead of going to small claims court, two people who have a dispute might try mediation. Many communities have dis- pute resolution centers. There, an arbitra- tor will try to mediate the conflict by helping both people listen to each other and find a way to solve the problem. Mediation allows people to reconcile their differences without suing each other. The people involved discuss possible solutions, choose one that they both can accept, and sign a binding agreement that they promise to follow.


When people interact, they are bound


to have disagreements and disputes. Media- tion and small claims court can help them settle these differences without resorting to trials and lawyers.


for Wisdom Word


194 Law and Order Part 3


Part 3 Daily Planner Pretest, p. T257


Day 1


Unlock Through Context Reading Selection, p. 194


Practice the Context Clues Strategy, p. 195


Day 2


Day 3 Day 4 Day 5


Unlock the Meanings, p. 196


Unlock the Meanings, p. 197 Process the Meanings, p. 198


Apply What You’ve Learned, p. 199


Write It!, p. 199 Posttest, p. T257


T194 Unit 9 Law and Order Part 3


Page(s) to Use


Strategy/Skills Assess prior knowledge.


Read words in context. Practice the strategy.


Reference Skill: Find the word histories.


Define the words.


Find the antonyms. Complete the sentences.


Solve the riddles.


Demonstrate word knowledge. Apply skills to writing.


Assess students’ knowledge.


WORD LIST impartial liable


extenuating infraction ultimatum exonerate lenient retaliate mediate reconcile


T


T


P


P


R


R A


A


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