Storybook County Lessons · Lesson 11
Middle School Resolutions
The Storybook County Middle School Assembly
Storybook County Lessons · Lesson 11
Middle School Resolutions
The Storybook County Middle School Assembly
Grades 6 to 8, also useful for high school Resource Team members who will mentor middle schoolers · Three 30-minute sessions
Teacher note. Handouts: 1. Resolution Template; 2. Story Problem Cards; 3. Chamber Script for Resource Team Chairs. You also need placards, a gavel and a timer. Students work in pairs; one student (or a visiting high school mentor) serves as Chair and another as Clerk. Rotate if possible.
The story
The story problem
The Storybook County Middle School Assembly meets to decide what the county should do about the troubles in its stories. Each pair of delegates brings one resolution.
Teacher note. In the Youth and Government middle school program, delegates write and present a resolution with a partner rather than a full bill, learn parliamentary procedure on day one, and debate in chambers run by high school Resource Team members on day two.
You will be able to
- Write a resolution with Whereas clauses and a Resolved clause.
- Present a resolution with a partner in two minutes.
- Ask a question, speak for or against, and vote using the recognition formula.
- Tell a resolution from a bill.
Session 1 · 30 min
Whereas and Resolved
- Hook5 min
- The format10 min
- Draft10 min
- Share5 min
Hook
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. What should the county do?
Teacher note. Read Humpty Dumpty and collect three answers. Explain that a resolution is the Assembly saying, in writing, "Here is the problem, here are our reasons, and here is what should happen."
Two kinds of clauses
- Whereas
- A reason. One fact each, taken from the story.
- Resolved
- The action. One sentence, something the county could actually do.
Teacher note. A resolution states a problem, gives reasons, and resolves that something should be done, without rewriting an existing law.
Supporting Document 1
Resolution template
Storybook County Middle School Assembly. Resolution number . Sponsors: __ and __. District: __.
A Resolution concerning ____.
Whereas, ____;
Whereas, ____;
Whereas, ____;
Therefore, be it Resolved by the Storybook County Middle School Assembly that ____.
Teacher note. The format step is 10 minutes. Model one together on the board for Humpty Dumpty.
Draft
Draw a Story Problem Card. Write three Whereas clauses and one Resolved clause.
Teacher note. Pairs may also propose their own public domain story.
Story Problem Cards
- Humpty Dumpty
- He fell. The horses and men could not fix him. The wall had no rail.
- The Three Little Pigs
- Two houses blew down. The wolf is still in the woods.
- Jack and the Beanstalk
- A beanstalk grew over the village. A giant fell on the Hollow.
- Goldilocks
- A stranger entered a home, ate the food and broke a chair.
- The Boy Who Cried Wolf
- Nobody came when the wolf was real.
- Little Bo Peep
- The sheep are lost and no one is looking.
- The Pied Piper
- The town did not pay the piper and lost its children.
- Rip Van Winkle
- A man slept twenty years and no one checked on him.
Teacher note. The handout has four more cards: Hansel and Gretel (a candy house children keep wandering to), The Tortoise and the Hare (no rules about naps), Old Mother Hubbard (the cupboard was bare), and The Emperor's New Clothes (nobody told the truth until a child did).
Share
Are the Whereas lines facts from the story? Is the Resolved something the county could do?
Teacher note. Three pairs read theirs; the class checks.
Session 2 · 30 min
Parliamentary Procedure, the Short Version
- Four things to know10 min
- Presentation practice5 min
- Mini chamber15 min
Four things to know
- Raise your placard and wait to be recognized.
- When recognized, say "Thank you, Chair. [Name], [School or District]."
- You may ask a question, speak for, or speak against.
- Vote by placard when the Chair asks.
Teacher note. 10 minutes. Practice each once with a silly resolution: "Resolved, that the county build a second beanstalk."
Say it
Thank you, Chair. [Name], [School or District].
The recognition formula
Presentation practice
Decide who reads the Whereas clauses and who reads the Resolved and gives one sentence of why. Two minutes total.
Mini chamber
- Present: 2 minutes
- Two questions
- One speaker for, one against: 30 seconds each
- Vote
- Two gavel taps
Teacher note. Hear three resolutions using the Chair Script.
Chamber script for the Chair
- "The Middle School Assembly will come to order." (one tap)
- "Will the sponsors of Resolution __ please come forward? Will the Clerk please read the title?"
- "Sponsors, you have two minutes."
- "Are there questions for the sponsors? Raise your placard." (Take two.)
- "Is there a speaker against? ... Is there a speaker for?" (Thirty seconds each.)
- "Sponsors, do you have a final sentence?"
- "All in favor, raise your placards. All opposed. The resolution is adopted / not adopted." (two taps)
- "Thank you, sponsors. Will the sponsors of the next resolution please come forward?"
Session 3 · 30 min
The Middle School Assembly
- Hear the rest25 min
- Wrap-up5 min
Hear the rest
Every remaining resolution, same format.
Teacher note. Rotate the Chair halfway if a second student is ready. The Clerk records each result.
Decorum
Wait to be recognized. No clapping for a defeated resolution.
Wrap-up
Which Resolved clause would be the hardest to actually carry out?
Teacher note. The Clerk first reads the list of resolutions adopted. Explain that in high school these become bills that change the actual words of a law (see the Writing a Bill lesson).
How you are scored
- Resolution: 40
- Presentation: 25
- Participation: 25
- Decorum: 10
Teacher note. Support: provide Whereas sentence starters ("Whereas, in the story, ____ happened") and allow one Whereas clause. Challenge: require a two-part Resolved clause (an action and who carries it out), or allow a friendly amendment from the floor.
The Assembly is adjourned
In high school, resolutions become bills: see Lesson 1, Writing a Bill
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