You are part of a large group of people called Americans. They live in your town and go to your school. America includes your friends and your parents. It includes the person who brings the mail. It includes police officers, librarians, business owners, construction workers and many others. Across America, people live together in thousands of cities and towns. They have jobs, families and pets.

You and all other people have rights, things a person deserves just for being alive. Rights do not have to be earned. You have a right to be free and to be safe.

You have a right to make many choices for yourself.

But when people work and play together, they need to have some rules for getting along. You have rules in your school, in your home and in sports.

A country needs rules, too. Another name for rules is the law. Laws govern many things — driving cars, selling land, building houses, licensing your pets, getting medicine and much more. People must obey the law.

If you break big laws, you can go to jail. But the highest law is called the Constitution. It protects your rights and your freedom. It works like a rule book for the whole country. All good Americans live by the rules of the Constitution. They may also change it if they need to.