Rules

***The Elements of Depth & Complexity are, to put it simply, a framing tool for creating critical writing prompts. Each Element is paired with an Icon. Drawing and/or memorizing the Icon is secondary to the actual USE of the Element to create better questions. When students learn what each Element means, they can start creating prompts for themselves, saving the teacher a lot of time.

This Element has students expand on the rules or laws affecting a topic. Students discover the intent behind a property, procedure, rule, or law, consequences of breaking it, and/or any hierarchies involved.

Prompts may include:

  • What rules or laws affect the topic? How do they affect the topic?
  • How following (or not following) rules in the story affected the outcome of the story
  • Imagining how a different set of rules could have changed the outcome of the story
  • If a rule or law was broken, explain the consequence(s).
  • Graphic organizers showing who is responsible for rules or laws in this topic, what rules or laws were not followed that led to this event, what were the consequences of the actions of the characters if they broke a law or rule, what is believable or unbelievable in this story, were rules outside the story followed (grammar, spelling, language rules).

Social Studies

  1. What laws and rules governed minorities in the 1950’s that currently seem ridiculous?
  2. What governing body is responsible for regulating _______ (parks, climate change, space travel, etc.)? Are they doing an adequate job? Why or why not?
  3. What social norms from this time period would seem ridiculous now? Why?
  4. Do research to discover the hierarchy on the __________ side of __________ war/battle. Create and illustrate a chain of command, and provide at least one detail of each person in that chain or the role they played.
  5. How did the __________ (treaty) change the rules of war?
  6. How did ___________ (technology) change the rules of war?

English

  1. Take the text you are currently reading, define the genre it belongs to, choose and define a different genre, then recreate a short version of the text as if it were written under the rules of this different genre.
  2. What would have happened if ________ (character) had broken the rules to solve __________ (problem)?
  3. Imagine that you were a judge hearing the case of __________ (character/ subject). What would your ruling be on the matter? Explain your reasoning.
  4. Summarize the text you just read into a ____________ (lyric poem, limerick, haiku, sonnet, tonka, etc.)
  5. Rewrite this scene from __________ (text) using the rules of a different perspective (i.e. 3rd person omniscient if the book is in 1st person).
  6. When a poet breaks a convention, they don’t do it lightly. Find and write about a line where _____________ (poet) broke a rule, and explain the impact this had on the poem and its meaning.

Math

  1. What are the branches of mathematics? What branch of mathematics does this topic first fall under? Is this a topic that you think you’ll keep seeing as you go through higher math? Why or why not?
  2. What concept from last year is the most important when it comes to understanding what we are learning now? Write a letter to last year’s math teacher explaining why this concept is so integral (and maybe thanking him or her).
  3. Do you have a better procedure or explanation for how to solve problems like this one? Present or video yourself solving a practice problem in your own special way. Include a ‘notes’ .pdf with your presentation that lists the problem and your specific steps. Share the .pdf so other students can follow along.
  4. How does the order in which you work through problems like this one matter? Try changing the order and describe how it affects the outcome. What can you change that doesn’t affect the outcome? Why doesn’t it change the outcome?
  5. What is the most common rule that is broken when solving problems like this? Survey your class and come up with a solution for preventing this misconception or mistake.
  6. Why do we follow the rules of PEMDAS? Where did they come from? Why are Multiplication/Division and Addition/Subtraction read from left to right? Do other countries follow different rules?
  7. Why did we have to learn everything we did to get us to this point in math? Was everything we learned before this required, or is there anything that could have been left out? Explain.

Science

  1. If there were no rules or laws in your way, how would you solve the major problem of ______________ ?
  2. Illustrate the personification of each step in the ___________ cycle.
  3. What are the laws surrounding ______________. What is their purpose?
  4. Someone just polluted our community by doing __________, and you are the judge appointing guilt and defining restitution. What is your ruling on the matter? Why?
  5. Create a pamphlet that describes the water cycle from the point of view of a water molecule.
  6. What governing body is responsible for regulating _______ (parks, climate change, space travel, etc.)? Are they doing an adequate job? Why or why not?