Students conduct research into looking at a free-speech issue. They role play the events surrounding a court case. The lesson includes guiding questions to help create context and determine areas of further study. The presentation...

Young scholars create a solution to a social justice problem within their community. In this urban planning lesson, students read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines. Young scholars then...

Twelfth graders discuss the court system in Japan, and assume roles of family members and friends of air crash victims. They discuss whether they would file suit against airlines, compare methods of achieving justice in United States and...

Students explore the dispositional hearing as a part of the juvenile justice system. After a brief discussion of the parts of the disposition hearing, students work in groups to review case studies involving juveniles in Utah's justice...

What if the jury is not made up of people from your ethnicity or background—are they still considered your peers? Scholars analyze the impact the Supreme Court case Hernandez v. Texas had on jury selection across the nation. Paired...

Students are assign a particular Federal or State Court. They are asked to make a poster of the court they have been assigned. Students are told that the poster should include a list of the types of cases that particular court hears. ...

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...

Students review the Youth Criminal Justice Act and examine the consequences for young people who commit crimes. They investigate the rehabilitation and reintegration processes associated with the act.

Young scholars examine how people are punished in the American justice system. In groups, they identify the four different theories of punishment and how it is used in the justice system. They use the internet to read arguments for and...

Students analyze the judiciary system.  In this government instructional activity, students participate in a class discussion on methods to prevent unfairness in the Judicial courts.

Students construct a model of the Supreme Court's courtroom. They design the courtroom in such a way so that the architecture and furnishings in the courtroom represent the neutrality and power of the court.

Students rewrite a traditional fairy tale to represent the viewpoint of the villain. They participate in a mock trial of that villain in which all regular court participants (judge, jury, defendant, witnesses, plaintiff, etc) play roles.

Students read a text about a murder trial. They review related vocabulary, complete a matching exercise and take a quiz. Afterward, they play a game called 'alibi' where the group with the weakest alibi is found guilty.

Study the issue of gender bias in court cases with a resource that ponders the extent of gender equality. Learners examine cultural images of men and women and examine court cases dealing issues such as women in the military.

Students participate in a round-table discussion about the juvenile justice system and investigate the 'age of accountability' debate. They write a persuasive essay supporting or refuting the punishment received by the children discussed...

Should the United States ban the death penalty? Scholars use real-life examples of criminal activity to come to their own conclusions on the death penalty. Primary source documents, as well as video clips, open the issue of capital...

Young scholars create a series of drawings to show the process of how the Supreme Court does its work. The drawings may be in strip cartoon form or a series of separate illustrations.

Learners identify the courts that make up Michigan's judicial system. They state the responsibilities of each court and diagram a flow chart of how a case moves to the Michigan Supreme Court. They participate in a quiz about the current...

Students define a "defense to a crime" and identify various defenses to crimes in Utah. They examine "cultural defense" and apply it to case studies.

Students explore the levels of the judicial system and the differences between the federal and state systems.

Students understand that law is a tool that provides for the protection of our individual rights and at the same time makes it possible for groups to live together.

In this United States judicial system quiz worksheet, students answer ten fill in the blank questions over the aforementioned subject.

Students analyze Article III and the Seventh Amendment. In this US Justice lesson, students research the US jury system and complete a Student Jury questionnaire. Students will discuss the impact the implementation of the Jury System had...

Are the juvenile courts fair? Learners read a bit from the classic Oliver Twist to consider how young people are treated and represented when they've been accused of a crime. They read a case study from their books, discuss children's...