Ethical Decisions

This worksheet helps students in Grades 5 and 6 strengthen historical reasoning, ethical analysis, critical thinking, and written communication by examining Prohibition-era scenarios. Students read three short situations involving moral or legal dilemmas, decide what action should be taken, and justify their choices in 3-4 sentences, considering historical context, public attitudes, and legal restrictions.

Learning Goals

• Historical Reasoning & Contextual Understanding (Grades 5-6) – Students evaluate actions within the social and legal framework of Prohibition.
• Civic Decision-Making – Learners consider ethical implications and weigh consequences of different choices.
• Opinion Writing with Supporting Evidence – The activity emphasizes clear, reasoned explanations grounded in historical facts.
• Critical Thinking & Explanation – Students defend decisions and reflect on moral and legal challenges of the era.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with upper-elementary ELA and social studies standards.
• Scenario-Based Learning – Engaging, real-world style dilemmas encourage active reasoning and empathy.
• Promotes Evidence-Based Argumentation – Students justify their responses using historical knowledge and logical reasoning.
• Flexible Classroom Use – Ideal for independent work, small-group discussion, assessments, or enrichment.
• Low-Prep Printable – Ready for classroom or homeschool use with minimal preparation.

This Ethical Decisions worksheet helps students explore the complexities of moral and legal choices during Prohibition. By analyzing scenarios and defending their decisions with evidence, learners strengthen historical reasoning, critical thinking, and persuasive writing skills while deepening understanding of the social and legal context of the 1920s.

This worksheet is part of our Prohibition Era Worksheets collection.