Making the Supreme Court Matter to Teens

Highly relevant plus under-discussed equals the Supreme Court of the United States. Let's face it, outside of the occasional Supreme Court nomination process or a highly divisive case, we rarely hear about it. Yet, the decisions they make are pivotal in the lives of all Americans. Most unquestioned are the cases that the Supreme Court passes on, allowing lower court decisions to reign without question; opening them as precedent, assuring that they'll be used to influence future legal decisions. Further, Supreme Court Justices who seem moderate become more polarized and the more extreme justices seem to become more balanced as the philosophy of those in power shifts. As social studies teachers, we can help increase awareness of the Supreme Court's influence by exposing students to cases that directly impact them as children/young adults and encouraging them to become more politically engaged, a necessity for the successful continuation of our republic.

The recent case Safford Unified School District v. Redding stated that a search of a 13-year-old, suspected of carrying and distributing Motrin, violated her 4th Amendment rights, yet the school was protected by “qualified immunity” considering the law wasn't clearly established prior to the search. Redding was an honor student who ran with a “rowdy crowd”. Another student accused her of distributing Motrin, a prescription drug readily available in non-prescription form. While difficult to discuss, its hard to imagine any student who wouldn't find this narrative engaging. You can allow students to read summaries of the case as well as synopsis' of the dissents. (Justice Thomas fully dissented. Justices Ginsburg and Stevens dissented in part.) You can discuss what the fallout of the case means to them, define qualified immunity, and have them talk about how such immunity changes the outcome for Redding. Then students can look through other Supreme Court cases.

Another interesting twist would be to find cases that Supreme Court chose not to hear, and have students research and report on the aftermath of those cases. You can discuss how politics influences to the choice of Supreme Court members, as well as other court appointees. You can point out that many judges run in local elections with little interference since not much interest is taken to such contests. If such an election is going on in your area, you can ask prospective judges to visit the school for a question and answer period. What follows are Supreme Court lesson plans.

Supreme Court Lesson Plans:

How the Supreme Court Affects the Lives of Teens

This lesson plan includes an inclusive list of Supreme Court resources available online. It further enhances your lesson with printable handouts focusing on different aspects of the Supreme Court, such as highlighted cases and the court's goals.

Landmark Supreme Court Decisions: History and Effect

In this lesson students do research on Supreme Court cases they have chosen. Students can begin to understand the importance of what a Supreme Court Justice does, and the impact that his/her beliefs and decisions. It comes with a grading rubric, helping students understand the expectations and giving teachers the ability to set reasonable expectations.  

You Be the Judge

In this lesson students research a case involving the Clean Air Act, watch a report on it, debate it, and then come up their own conclusions. Once students are able to do so, they should have a greater understanding of the process, and more interest in our third branch of government.