Getting Started
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No. Many successful law elective teachers do not have a legal background. Street Law’s Textbook and Teacher Manual provide the legal background and guidance you need. Street Law also offers free lessons to help you get started and build your confidence with legal content over time. You can also partner with local legal professionals to enrich your course and give students valuable real-world connections.
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Some Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses, such as criminal justice and business law, focus on law enforcement and corporate law, respectively.
Law electives, on the other hand, typically cover the judicial system and courts; constitutional, criminal, and civil law; and legal careers.
If your school already offers related courses or CTE pathway programs, it’s a good idea to coordinate with colleagues to ensure your curriculum complements rather than duplicates existing offerings.
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Most schools do not require prerequisites. However, this decision is up to your school or district. For example, a school could choose to have students complete a basic civics or government course before enrolling.
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Law electives can be taught successfully at both the middle and high school levels.
Middle school students may not yet be familiar with the functions of government or the legislative process. It’s important to pre-teach these topics before diving into the study of law. The first two chapters of Street Law: A Course in Practical Law provide this essential foundation.
Throughout a middle school-level law course, teachers should consider the reading level and complexity of text and provide additional scaffolding such as graphic organizers, chunking text, and frontloading vocabulary.
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Teachers who embrace student-centered learning, are eager to learn new content, and are open to collaborating with the legal community are excellent candidates.
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Begin with our “Steps to Starting a Law Elective” resource, which provides clear guidance and practical resources to help you plan and launch your course, such as securing approval, creating your syllabus, recruiting teachers, and finding community partners.
Making the Case for a New Course
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Administrators typically look for clear evidence that the course adds value, is feasible, and aligns with school goals and standards.
The following information is often required:
- Course Overview
- Rationale/Justification
- Course/Logistics
- Learning Objectives and Outcomes
- Course Outline/Scope and Sequence
- Instructional Methods and Activities
- Assessment Plan
- Resources Needed
- Community or Partnership Opportunities
- Plan for Evaluation and Long-term Stability
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Approval processes vary. Start by consulting your department chair, principal, or district social studies or CTE specialist (depending on which department your course will fall under) to understand the procedure for adopting a new elective in your school.
Value and Outcomes
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Law electives lay the foundation for civic engagement by helping students understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens and how the justice system works. Through simulations of democratic processes, students gain confidence to participate in real-life civic activities. They also practice civil dialogue around legal and ethical issues, considering multiple perspectives—a key skill for active, informed citizenship.
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Law electives prepare students for legal careers by providing:
- Career exploration: introducing students to the possibility of a legal career and the many options within the field
- Opportunities to engage with members of the legal community: providing exposure to a variety of career role models
- Participation in simulations: including mock trials, moot courts, and mock mediations.
- Skill development: strengthened critical thinking, problem-solving, research, writing, argumentation, and public speaking skills that are essential for law study and careers in law
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The following are sample objectives adapted from Fairfax County (VA) Public School’s Standards, Benchmarks, and Indicators:
- Apply citizenship and life skills through active participation in simulations and role-play activities.
- Apply legal theories and information to scenarios and case studies.
- Examine and evaluate information systematically for source, purpose, audience, and point of view.
- Identify, analyze, discuss, and formulate their own positions on current public issues.
- Assess events, trends, processes and decision makers for similarities and differences.
- Recognize disputes between parties and use systematic processes to attempt resolution.
- Communicate understanding and synthesis of information by constructing thesis-based arguments with specific evidence.
- Appreciate a variety of viewpoints.
- Examine career opportunities within the legal field.
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Law electives help students develop critical thinking, analytical, and public speaking skills. They also provide opportunities for career exploration and teach practical life skills, such as being an informed consumer, advocating for oneself, and engaging in civil conversations.
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Law electives give students opportunities to:
- Build practical legal knowledge for everyday life
- Connect the law and Constitution to their own lives
- Advocate for themselves and others
- Examine multiple perspectives on contested issues
- Explore legal careers
They also foster:
- Civic awareness and engagement
- Critical and analytical thinking
- Public speaking skills
- Practical legal life skills
- Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
Recruiting Students
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Law electives work well with a range of class sizes, but the ideal is typically 20–30 students. This size allows for four to six small groups to be formed for activities and smaller simulations like mini-moot courts. It also is large enough to fill all the positions needed for larger activities like mock trials, moot courts, town halls, and school board simulations.
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Recruitment tactics vary by school depending on policies and available resources. It’s always a good idea to start by discussing plans with your guidance department and administration. Encourage a diverse mix of students, as classes are richer when students learn from one another.
Recruitment Tips:- Highlight engaging opportunities like field trips, guest experts, or mock trials.
- Give brief, energetic presentations in other classes.
- Ask enthusiastic students to help spread the word.
- Use announcements, posters, social media, and elective fairs.
- Share information with parents and teachers to encourage enrollment.
- Begin recruiting 1-2 months before students make their course selections so counselors can include your elective in scheduling conversations.
Standards and Curriculum Fit
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Some students may have had personal, family, or community interactions with the justice system, either as victims, witnesses, or as individuals involved in criminal conduct.
Provide students with an option to step away or opt out of parts of the lesson if they need time to process. Avoid asking students to share personal experiences with the justice system, though some may choose to do so voluntarily. Build in moments for students to pause, write down their thoughts, or share (when appropriate) in a structured and supportive way.
Be clear that the class is not a place to seek or provide legal advice. Direct students with legal concerns to appropriate community or school resources.
Lessons on legal issues can surface strong emotions or even unexpected trauma responses, such as fight, flight, or freeze. Facilitation grounded in transparency that provides voice and choice can help students manage these reactions. If you are worried about a student’s emotional response, reach out to their guidance counselor or another appropriate school support professional.
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Current events fit naturally into a law elective, as students learn to apply laws and the Constitution to real-world issues. Strategies include:
- Moot courts and other case studies using current Supreme Court and appellate cases
- Deliberations on current and contested issues.
- Socratic Seminars on enduring legal or ethical questions.
- Democratic simulations such as mock town council and school board meetings.
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Many schools offer just one law elective, but some—such as law academies or magnet schools—offer multiple courses to create a pathway program. Often, a lower grade “Introduction to Law” or “Foundations of Law” course serves as a prerequisite for more advanced courses like Constitutional Law, Contemporary Issues in the Law, Criminal Law, or Civil Law.
To decide if your school should offer multiple courses, consider:
- Is there student demand for multiple courses?
- Are sufficient resources available?
- Does your school have enough staff to teach multiple courses?
- Should multiple courses be offered immediately or phased in over time?
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For a one-semester “Introduction to Law” course, we suggest selecting 4-5 topical units from the following:
- Introduction to Law and the Legal System
- Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice
- Torts
- Consumer and Housing Law
- Family Law
- Constitutional Law/Individual Rights and Liberties
- Contemporary Issues in Law
- Careers in Law and Public Policy
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Whether certain topics should be avoided depends on your state, district, and school policies. Consult relevant regulations and law regarding controversial topics, and review your plans with school administration. Be sure to follow parental notification requirements and consider proactively sharing information with parents.
For topics that are not off limits but the subject matter is sensitive, using structured, student-centered strategies like Deliberations, case study methods, and Socratic Seminars can help you handle contested issues in balanced, policy-compliant ways.
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Law electives offer freedom and flexibility in topic selection, so there are no strict “must-have” requirements. Start by defining the focus of your course (e.g., constitutional law, criminal law, or a general overview), surveying students for their interests, and considering state policies and standards.
Many courses begin with an introduction to law. The first two chapters of Street Law: A Course in Practical Law provide this foundation.
Often courses continue with the U.S. Constitution, focusing on Article 1 (how laws are made), Article 3 (the judicial branch), the Bill of Rights, and later civil liberties and civil rights amendments.
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State standards vary. To determine if or show how your law elective aligns with your state standards, search your state’s social studies standards using content-related search terms such as:
- law
- rule of law
- checks and balances
- judicial branch
- judiciary
- courts
- Supreme Court
- jury
- justice
- Constitution
- Bill of Rights
- crime
- criminal
- civil
- constitutional
You can also search using pedagogical terms like:
- student-centered
- simulation
- deliberation
- debate
- structured academic controversy
- civil discussion
- discussion
- career exploration
- lived experience
- analytical thinking
- reasoning
- inquiry
- civic engagement
- argumentative/claim-based writing
- primary source
- literacy skills
- research
Law electives can also align with national standards, such as the National Council for the Social Studies’ College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework.
- Civic and Political Institutions
- Processes, Rules, and Laws
- D2.Civ.12.9-12. Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.
- D2.Civ.14.9-12. Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.
- Participation and Deliberation: Applying Civic Virtues and Democratic Principles
Course Design and Instruction
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Whether your school uses a block schedule (90–100-minute blocks) or more traditional class schedule (45–50-minute periods), law electives can be adapted to fit the time allotted. Street Law lessons are broken into steps with the required time noted (usually between 5–30 minutes). Plan your periods keeping in mind where breaks will occur. Longer simulations, like mock trials and moot courts, will require several shorter class periods to complete.
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Requirements vary by school. Some schools mandate a written final exam, so check with your department chair or other administrator.
Many law elective teachers use authentic assessments—like mock trials or moot courts—with rubrics available in Street Law’s Classroom Guide to Mock Trials and Classroom Guide to Moot Courts.
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Ideally assessments in a law elective course involve authentic assessments such as participation in moot courts, mock trials, and other democratic simulations. These may be used as formative or summative assessments.
Additionally, an assessment bank is provided with the purchase of the Street Law textbook to help create quizzes and tests.
Street Law Resources
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Yes. The 11th Edition of Street Law: A Course in Practical Law includes digital courseware on McGraw Hill’s Open Learning platform. It offers an interactive Student eBook, the full Teacher Manual in printable format, presentations, videos, digital interactives, and online assessment banks for each chapter and unit.
Online resources are available for earlier versions of the text but vary. Contact a McGraw Hill representative to learn more.
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The Street Law textbook and Teacher Manual are distributed exclusively by McGraw Hill. All orders must be placed through an McGraw Hill representative or on the McGraw Hill website (link to order support).
Prices vary depending on the product and edition. You can purchase physical copies and/or online subscriptions. The Teacher Manual may be purchased separately or may be included in some bundles—check with your McGraw Hill representative.
The 11th Edition (2026 copyright) is the newest edition of the textbook.
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Yes. The accompanying Teacher Manual provides answer keys, additional background information, suggested activities, and recommended resources to help guide curricular decisions for your course. It also includes step-by-step procedures for student-centered teaching strategies that are particularly well-suited for law electives.
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The most recent edition of the text is organized into seven units:
- Introduction to Law and the Legal System
- Criminal Law and Juvenile Justice
- Torts
- Consumer Law
- Family Law
- Individual Rights and Liberties
- Contemporary Issues in Law
Each unit includes the following features:
- The Case of…: Apply content to real or hypothetical cases
- You be the Judge: Make decisions in the role of judge
- Taking Action: Law and Democracy: Explore ways to address pressing national issues
- Deliberation: Examine multiple perspectives on contested issues through civil discourse.
- FYI (For Your Information): Background on important current issues
- Steps to Take: Step-by-step instructions for taking action
- Investigating the Law Where You Live: Explore local and state law variations and resources.
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No. While the textbook is very helpful and recommended to guide your curriculum, we understand that not every school is able to purchase textbooks.
Street Law offers hundreds of free resources in its Resource Library, LegalTimelines.org site, and LandmarkCases.org site that can be used to support your law elective.
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Yes. Street Law: A Course in Practical Law, authored by Street Law, Inc. and published by McGraw Hill, can be used to structure a law elective.
The accompanying Teacher Manual provides answer keys, additional background information, suggested activities, and recommended resources to help guide curricular decisions for your course.
In addition to the textbook, Street Law also provides a Classroom Guide to Mock Trials and a Classroom Guide to Moot Courts free to download. These two guides each contain lessons that scaffold students’ skills and provide suggested cases to use in each simulation.
Enrichment and Community Engagement
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Field trips give students a chance to see the legal system in action and connect classroom learning to real-world experiences. Common destinations include courts, correctional facilities, police departments, crime labs, government offices, and state or local government buildings.
Considerations for success:
- Plan early: Check school/district rules for approvals, transportation, forms, and chaperones.
- Prepare students: Provide background information, explain expectations, and outline what they should observe.
- During the trip: Encourage students to ask questions, take notes, and actively engage with what they see.
- After the trip: Debrief to discuss observations, link experiences to classroom lessons, and address remaining questions.
See Steps for Starting a Law Elective / Legal Community Connections
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To maximize impact, have volunteers co-teach interactive, student-centered lessons rather than giving a lecture. Encourage them to share real-world stories, answer student questions (without giving legal advice), and support simulations such as mock trials, moot courts, or legislative hearings. Plan ahead how you will collaborate in the classroom to ensure a seamless and engaging experience for students.
Be sure to communicate all logistics involved in visiting your school and classroom, including parking and required security procedures for visitors.
See Steps for Starting a Law Elective / Legal Community Connections
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The most effective guests are those who can co-teach interactive, student-centered lessons and share real-world experience. Common examples include lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students, lawmakers, and school resource officers. Other possibilities include probation or parole officers, social workers, journalists, or government representatives—anyone who can connect their expertise to your lesson and actively engage students.
See Steps for Starting a Law Elective / Legal Community Connections
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Start by identifying professionals whose expertise aligns with your lesson, such as lawyers, judges, law students, or elected officials. Reach out through local bar associations, law schools, community programs, or professional networks. Clearly explain your lesson goals, the role you envision for them, and logistics like date, time, and school procedures. Highlight opportunities for interactive, student-centered participation, such as mock trials or role-plays, to show how their involvement can make a meaningful impact on students.
See Steps for Starting a Law Elective / Legal Community Connections
