Utah State Courts
Judges in the Classroom
Class members explore the process of a disposition hearing for juveniles, particularly looking at how the judge decides what sentence the juvenile offender should receive. Task your pupils with evaluating different sample cases provided...
Curated OER
Espionage and Sedition Acts: Mock Trial
Bring to life the severity of the Espionage and Sedition Acts through a mock trial. Learners have prior knowledge of WWI and the context of these acts. An anticipatory set gets the class discussing the ethics of wartime dissension, and...
Curated OER
Symbolic Speech
Ninth graders consider the right of freedom of speech as it is outlined in the U.S. Constitution. They receive background information for the US Supreme Court, the Bill of Rights, and free speech. They discuss a series of actual cases...
Curated OER
Laws...Who Needs Them?
Who needs laws? Junior high schoolers sure do! Provide your 7th-9th graders with an understandng about why laws are important and how they are used to create a functioning society. Learners use a series of handouts and readings to build...
Curated OER
Arrest- A Legal System Simulation
What would your class do if a police officer arrested a student in class? This is exactly the anticipatory set that gets students engaged in a unit on the legal system. The plan is to get the officer to simulate an arrest, and then guest...
Curated OER
Art On Trial (A Mock-Court Activity)
Students engage in a mock trial to decide if a work of prospective public art is "art" and accepted for a city park. They broaden their definitions of what "art" is. Students distinguish between opinion and informed judgment of art works.
Curated OER
Seeing the Other Side
Students examine the concept of justice. In this fairness lesson, students explore just and unjust activities they have observed in the world. Students attempt to look at both sides of stories.
Curated OER
Civil Rights and the Michigan Supreme Court I: A Case of Racial Discrimination in the late 1800s and Minority Supreme Court Justices
Young scholars read the decision of the Michigan Supreme Court in the Ferguson v. Gies, a case dealing with discrimination in a restaurant. They participate in a class discussion about the case and the justices that presided over it....
Curated OER
Murder in Ha-Tien: The Concept of Justice in Chinese Society
Eleventh graders become aware of alternative perceptions of reality. They analyze the concept of justice by showing it in an unfamiliar socio- cultural context, inviting comparison. They practice reading comprehension.
Newseum
Making a Change: Letter From Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail" was written in response to "A Call for Unity," written by eight white ministers from Birmingham and published in the local newspaper. After reading both letters and following a list...
Learning for Justice
Mary Church Terrell
Excerpts from an 1898 speech by civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell offers young scholars an opportunity to investigate how Black American women fought for civil rights long before Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement of the...
PBS
Exploring Identity and Intersectionality in Poetry
Just as Kermit the Frog notes, "It isn't easy being green!" it isn't easy occupying "multiple Identity spaces." Class members read and discuss poems by writers detailing what it is like when their identities are "oppressed."
Learning for Justice
The Color of Law: Winners and Losers in the Job Market
The second instructional activity in "The Color of Law" shows how government policies supported economic inequality. Scholars read additional excerpts and respond to text-dependent questions from "The Color of Law" text, examine primary...
Learning for Justice
The Color of Law: Developing the White Middle Class
The final lesson in the "Color of Law" series explores the government's discriminatory economic policies. Young scholars watch videos, read primary source materials, and examine images to gather information. They discuss how what they...
Anti-Defamation League
Major League Baseball and the Negro Leagues: Correcting an Injustice
It's been a long time coming! In 2020, MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manifred, Jr. stated that "the Negro Leagues would be recognized as official major leagues." Middle schoolers investigate the history of the Negro Leagues and use evidence...
Center for Civic Education
Lesson 2: Suffrage Amendments
Youngsters examine selected amendments to the Constitution to determine how voting requirements in the US have changed from the colonial days to the present.
Center for Civic Education
Lesson 3: Becoming a Voter
Who is eligible to vote in your state? Class members examine their states' voting qualifications, complete sample voter registration forms, and chart the elections scheduled.
Achieve The Core
Linda R. Monk, Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution - Grade 8
“We the people . . .” Thus begins the Preamble to the Constitution. Using a close reading approach, class members examine an excerpt from Linda Monk’s article that traces how the interpretation of these words has evolved. Some of your...
Anti-Defamation League
We Were Strangers Too: Learning About Refugees Through Art
Did you know that "in the largest refugee crisis since World War II, more the 64 million people have been forced from their homes"? The Anti-Defamation League presents an activity that asks class members to examine a series of artworks...
Beyond Benign
Evaluating Sustainability and Lifecycle
What makes one product greener than another? Ecology scholars analyze sustainability and lifecycle through a thought-provoking activity. Individuals pick a product, then examine its components to determine its overall impact on the world...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Choosing Reliable Sources
It is more important than ever that 21st-century learners develop the skills they need to become savvy consumers of media. Young learners locate and identify reliable sources of information with a helpful media lesson.
PBS
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech as a Work of Literature
To appreciate the oratory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, scholars examine the rhetorical devices and influences that make the speech so famous. They examine background information, conduct a close reading of the...
Curated OER
"A Voice of Moderation and Civility"
Students read about, discuss and reflect on the life of retired Justice Lewis Powell, investigating major court decisions he influenced and the impact of his 'voice of moderation and civility to an increasingly polarized (Supreme) court.'
Curated OER
Judicial Void
Young scholars explore the impact of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. They research potential nominees to replace her, in light of her resignation, and write letters to President George W. Bush to share opinions of the...