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The "Supreme" in Supreme Decision
Description
After playing Supreme Decisionwith your class, use this lesson to reinforce the concepts students learned by playing the game. In this lesson, students compare Ben Brewer’s fictional case in “Supreme Decision” with a real-life case involving a student. They also look at a variety of historic landmark cases to understand why precedents and judicial review are important in peoples’ everyday lives.
(Prior to this lesson, spend a class period with your class playing Supreme Decision. You can play with each student on an individual computer, or as a whole class on a smart board or with a projector. If students are playing their own version, ask them to email or print their game reports so you can see how they did!)
Objectives
The student will…
- Recall the justices’ analysis in Supreme Decision by matching questions with answers.
- Analyze a real-life case by color-coding a paragraph.
- Compare the analysis of the real-life case with an analysis of Ben’s case using a graphic organizer.
- Evaluate the effect of landmark cases on everyday life by telling what life would be like if the Supreme Court had never made the decision in each case.
- Explain the importance of judicial review by criticizing a faulty opinion.
Lesson Prep
Step by Step
PRINT Step-By-Step instructions and other teaching materials.
ANTICIPATEby doing the quick “simple recall” A/B activity with students to get them remembering things about the Supreme Decision game (see Active Participation Guide).
EXPLAIN that they will be learning more about the Supreme Court by thinking about what they learned from playing the game and using that to understand what makes the Supreme Court “Supreme.”
PAIR students together.
DISTRIBUTE colored pencils and one “The ‘Decision’ In Supreme Decision” handout to each student.
INSTRUCT pairs to complete Part A in the packet.
REVIEW the answers to Part A with students.
PREVIEW the graphic organizer with students.
TIME pairs for 4-5 minutes while they use the information in Part A to complete Ben’s side of the graphic organizer.
REVIEW the answers for Ben’s side of the graphic organizer with students.
READ about Savana’s case with students.
GUIDE students through color-coding the paragraph about Savana’s case (see Active Participation Guide)
PREVIEW Savana’s side of the graphic organizer with students.
TIME pairs for 4-5 minutes while they complete Savana’s side of the graphic organizer
REVIEW/COLLECTthe completed graphic organizer with/from students.
DISTRIBUTE one “The ‘Supreme’ in ‘Supreme Court’” handout to each student.
TRANSITION by reading the handout’s introductory paragraph. This handout is intended to help students understand why it’s important to learn about the Supreme Court.
TIME pairs for 8-10 minutes while they complete the “Even My Life?” section. Afterward, ask a few pairs to share their answers.
CLOSE by having students complete the “That’s Bogus!” Quickwrite.
Recommended Sequence
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