Lesson Summary
The students
working in groups and as an individual will summarize key Supreme Court civil
rights cases and develop constitutional-based arguments of either the plaintiff
or the defendant for one of them. The
students must be prepared to defend their argument in class.
California Academic Standard(s)
12.5.4 –
Explain the controversies that resulted over changing interpretations of civil
rights including those in Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education,
Miranda v. Arizona, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Adarand
Constructor Inc. v Pena and United States v. Virginia (VMI).
Time Frame
(2) 50
minute classes
Goal
The students
will achieve critical thinking and research skills while explaining the
controversies that resulted in the interpretation of key Supreme Court
civil rights cases.
Learning Styles
- Auditory
- Linguistic
- Social
- Logical
- Intrapersonal
Lesson Plan
Anticipatory Set (10 min)
The
instructor will write a question on the board that states: “Do you think Supreme Court decisions matter in your life? Why?” The instructor will ask the students to think
about the question for two minutes. The
instructor will call on random students to answer and then write the answers on the
board.
Direct Instruction (15 min)
The
instructor will briefly discuss some of the landmark Supreme Court civil rights
cases and some of the resulting controversies.
The instructor will write the following on the board or on the overhead:
Working in groups, you will summarize the
following Supreme Court cases:
- Plessy v. Ferguson
- Brown v. Board of Education
- Miranda v. Arizona
- Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
- Adarand Constructor Inc. v Pena
- United States v. Virginia (VMI)
For each case, you will need to provide the
following:
- Details of the case
- The result
- Any controversies resulting from the case
Modeling (10 min)
Using the
computer and overhead, the instructor will take another controversial Supreme
Court case and provide a summary along with the resulting controversy.
Guided Practice (20 min)
The
instructor will place the students in groups of two. The students will work together to write the
summaries of the civil rights Supreme Court cases. Each student will be responsible for three
cases.
Checks for Understanding (15 min)
The
instructor will call on random students to answer the questions regarding the
case summaries.
Direct Instruction (10 min)
The
instructor will provide the students with the following handout:
Civil Rights Lawyer
Working independently, you will write a
detailed argument for either the plaintiff or defendant for one of the
following cases:
- Plessy v. Ferguson
- Brown v. Board of Education
- Miranda v. Arizona
- Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
- Adarand Constructor Inc. v Pena
- United States v. Virginia (VMI)
For the case you choose, you need to
complete the following:
- A summary of the facts of the case
- Two arguments to defend the position of either the defendant or plaintiff in the case
- Each argument needs to be supported by verbiage from the U.S. Constitution
- Be prepared to provide your argument to the class
Modeling (10 min)
Using the
computer and overhead, the instructor will take the Supreme Court case that was
previously summarized and provide an argument for either the plaintiff or
defendant using the U.S. Constitution verbiage to defend the argument.
Independent Study
The students
will complete the arguments for the Supreme Court case they chose.
Checks for Understanding (30 min)
The
instructor will place the students in groups based on the Supreme Court case
each student chose to argue about. Going
case by case, the instructor will call on random students in the class to provide
their argument and provide supporting verbiage from the U.S. Constitution.
Direct Instruction (10 min)
The
instructor will summarize the Supreme Court civil rights cases and resulting
controversies.