Curated OER
Testing DNA and the Death Penalty
Students explore issues surrounding death penalty debate and participate in a values-clarification activity to help them form their opinions on this topic. They create a talk show to discuss issues involved with DNA testing and the death...
Curated OER
Respect
Students, in groups, exchange their opinions and experiences on issues around respect and anti-social behavior. They come up with approaches to youth crime prevention and discuss and present their own solutions.
Curated OER
Search & Seizure Opinion Poll
Students examine federal and state constitutional law relating to search and seizure. They analyze various scenarios, participate in an opinion poll, and discuss difficulties in balancing individual privacy rights with the need to fight...
Curated OER
Children and the Death Penalty
High schoolers examine how different countries deal with juvenile offenders. Using the internet, they research what offenses are punishable by death and how the laws protect students. They interview local authorities and discuss...
Curated OER
Bill of Rights and Lawmaking
Ninth graders consider how the Bill of Rights impacts the lawmaking process in the United States. In this Bill of Rights lesson plan, 9th graders discuss the amendments and their limitations. Students research the role of the Legislative...
Curated OER
Racial Profiling
High schoolers debate both positions on the controversial topic of racial profiling with support for each and then develop a consensus position on how racial profiling as a law enforcement tool should be used.
Curated OER
What Makes a Good Law?
Why were laws created? Spark a group discussion on why we need laws to co-exist. Should the sale of some things be outlawed on Sundays? Read a case summary between Target and the state of Minnesota that debated this issue. Ask your...
Curated OER
Are Curfew's Fair?
Students explore and discuss how curfews are set up. They discuss how difficult it can be to define appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Students role play situations involving curfew and the behaviors they are meant to curb.
Curated OER
Writing a Mystery Story
Students examine the elements of mystery stories and read Rage in Harlem. In reciprocal teaching groups, they discuss the author's development of the story, and complete dialectical journals.
Curated OER
CCTV: Privacy or safety?
Students read and evaluate a proposal to put CCTV in their school classrooms. Students use a highlighter pen and a map to identify places on the school campus that should have cameras to stop bullying. Students read a message from the...
Curated OER
Who Are Travellers?
Students visit specified websites to research zoning information in Essex. They participate in a role play to present a zoning request to a city council. Groups of students prepare their side of the case and create their proposal to be...
Curated OER
State v. Russell, Minnesota Supreme Court
Students examine the impact of court decisions. In this Minnesota Supreme Court instructional activity, students read the State v. Russell case study regarding cocaine drug use. Students take notes on the case and respond to discussion...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Women & Girls in the Criminal Justice System: Lesson 3: The State of the Criminal Justice System
Students will look at restorative justice as a competing model, learn more about the state of the criminal justice system, and express their opinions about the topic to an elected leader. The prison population has exploded in the United...
Texas State Historical Association
Texas State Historical Association: Department of Criminal Justice [Pdf]
An activity guide where students refer to the Texas Almanac, which is free to download, for information needed to complete assigned tasks. In this instructional activity, they research Texas prisons to learn about the inmates there,...
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation: The Trial of Abigail Briggs
Lesson plan on the Colonial Virginia court system featuring the trial of Abigail Briggs. Students will develop a sense of 18th century legal terms and justice system through role play and analyzing primary source documents.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Whose Streets?: Lesson Plan Clips
This lesson plan provides a framework for critical analysis of current and historic race relations in America through the lens of the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, Jr., a young unarmed black man, by white police officer Darren Wilson...
iCivics
I Civics: Sources of Law
This lesson teaches students about the sources, types, and unique systems of law that exist in the United States. They learn about sources of law from the Constitution to local ordinances and also compare and contrast civil and criminal...