Students become active participants in the legal process as they take on the roles of witnesses, jurors, and defendants in a trial simulation. An understanding and appreciation of the legal system is fostered through the experience.

Learners take on the roles of jurors in a civil case to evaluate evidence and determine a verdict in this engaging online interactive experience.

Class members take on the role of jurors in this guided imagery activity designed to be used with chapter 15 of Mississippi Trial, 1955. 

A jury must decide: are the names of two businesses so similar that one is hurt by customer confusion? Learners play the role of a juror who must decide—and convince others—whether Trio Taco and Trio Pizza are too similar. Using...

Students participate in a simulation of the voir dire portion of a trial. There are student lawyers assigned for the prosecution and the defense. They must review and question all prospective jurors to obtain a fair and impartial jury.

"Is school-sponsored prayer in public schools unconstitutional?" That is the question teams debate as they consider the arguments presented to the Supreme Court in Engel v. Vitale. The attorneys study the provided talking points and...

A blood sucking what? Grade schoolers identify the characteristics of blood sucking parasites. They organize their information, identify their arguments, and present them to the class in persuasive arguments. They participate in a debate...

MyVocabulary.com features three levels of words for each root; this fill-in-the-blanks quiz contains a word bank of beginner vocabulary containing the roots cern/cer/cre, jur/jus, and leg. You can print it out, or your learners can take...

Four brief word puzzles are given to challenge your class in this activity. The roots jur and jus are written with spaces for other letters, and clues are provided for learners to complete the word. Quiz your scholars with this resource.

Kidnapper or kindly old woman? Kids stage the trial of Mary Witch and must decide if Mary kidnapped Hansel and Gretel or in fact was trying to save them. A script and complete directions are included in the 17-page packet.

Staging a debate is a great way to class members to think deeply about issues, especially those related to rights guaranteed by the US Constitution. The Supreme Court case, Cox V. New Hampshire, focuses on the First Amendment's...

If you stop a student from expressing views that advocate drug use, are you violating their right to free speech? Use the 2007 Supreme Court case Morse v. Frederick to discuss a nuanced interpretation of the First Amendment....

Does the Westboro Baptist Church have the protection of the Constitution when protesting military funerals? High schoolers examine the 2011 Supreme Court case of Snyder v. Phelps before comparing the situation to a fictional...

Which right does the Constitution weigh more heavily: the sanctity of the American flag as a symbol of national unity, or the right to burn the flag in protest? The 1989 Supreme Court case of Texas v. Johnson explores a...

Is Steve Harmon innocent or guilty? Examine the evidence with a worksheet based on Monster by Walter Dean Myers. As kids read the book, they note particular passages that they believe indicate whether or not Steve committed the crime.

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...

In this literature worksheet, students read the novel Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli and then answer ten comprehension questions about the novel.

Vocabulary sleuths pair words from Latin roots cern, jur, and leg with their definitions in this interactive online matching exercise. Site has other activities for these and more Latin roots as well as word lists at beginner,...

Students use the Sean 'Puffy' Combs trial to compare how and why various media cover a news story differently.

Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the concepts related to the teaching major themes of Geography. They participate in a role playing activity using the context of a court case. The lesson includes a time set for teacher...

Young scholars explore the components of racismas they read through Horton Foote's, "To Kill a Mockingbird." The trial of the main character reveals instances of justice in the face of prejudice and forms the focus of the lesson.

Students explore how people's views on animal treatments differ. In this animal treatment and attitudes lesson, students review cases on animal treatment and evaluate whether or not the case was animal cruelty. Students understand...

Oddly enough, all of these vocabulary words start with the letter i! Start by matching the 10 words their definitions and completing some fill-in-the-blank sentences. Example words include immutable, impassive, incisive, and...

Students come up with a synopsis of whether they feel jury duty is necessary or not and how people rate their experience. They research state jury duty websites and express their ideas. They can propose changes that they feel may...