After reading the book Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson, my fifth graders recently completed a project where they created their own imaginary worlds. One section of the project involved writing a list of the rules that must be followed in their worlds. Here are a few of my favorites - as you can see, some of the rules give an interesting picture of what life in those worlds would be like!
Fasten your seatbelt when riding on a unicorn.
Don't refit the car.
If you murder someone then you will be tortured and all your money will go to the victim's family.
No road building in the mountain ranges.
You can only talk to the king on Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.
Do not go slower than 200 miles per hour.
Parents are not allowed to tell kids what to do.
All assassins who do not work for the crown will be hanged.
Do not jump off a building. (It has its own consequences and the government will not pay hospital bills.)
Don't fight or you need to be in a box full of ice for 1 minute.
Everyone will have to discover new species of living things each month; if they don't, the time will change to each week.
Celebrate springtime.
The public library shall never be noisy.
Crimes are not allowed.
The area around your house must be clean, and your neighbor's too.
Obey the elders of our country; they are so wise that they can scare your wits out!
Killing is prohibited unless you are being paid by an important person.
Every sugar glider must follow the traffic signs.
No homework.
Do not fire people without any good reasons. If you do, ask the princess and prince first.