Have students identify how the 4 th 5 th 6 th amendments apply to U.S criminal law. List and describe the steps of how the U.S justice system treats a person accused of a crime. Discuss the strength and weaknesses of U.S justice system. California State Content Standards 12.3 Students evaluate and take and defend positions on what the fundamental values and principles of civil society are (i.e., the autonomous sphere of voluntary personal, social, and economic relations that are not part of government), their interdependence, and the meaning and importance of those values and principles for a free society.
Common Core Literacy Standards CCSS.ELA-HSS Literacy WHST 11-12. 9: Draw evidence from informational text to support analysis, reflection, and research. CCSS.ELA-HSS Literacy RHST 11-12. 1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole Driving Historical Question How the U.S Justice System has evolved to implement justice in U.S society? Lesson Introduction (Anticipatory Set/Hook/Accessing Prior Knowledge) Time: 5-10 minutes Term Arrangement Line: On the board the teacher will write a number of key terms for the students. Next to the list the teacher will horizontally draw a line; on one end of the line will be the phrase Person has committed a crime on the other side of the line the phrase will be Prison. The students in a class discussion will attempt to arrange the key terms in order.
Vocabulary (Content Language Development) Time: Criminal Law Hung Jury Criminal Justice System Sentence Petty Offenses Misdemeanors Felonies Arrest Warrant Grand Jury
Indictment Information Plea Bargaining Arraignment Verdict
Content Delivery (Method of Instruction) Time: 20-30 minutes Guided Reading Activity: Students will read a chapter from the textbook using a premade K-W-L sheet to engage their pre-reading, reading and post-reading process. In the pre- reading stage students will strategically be paired with another student and the pairs will discuss what they know of the terms embedded in the K-W-L sheet in the Know (K) section. The pairs will then briefly scan the chapter, and in the Want (W) section the students will discuss what questions they wish to know and could be answered by reading the section. The students will then begin to read, one student will read as the other takes notes based on answering the questions written in the Want (W) section, then the students will switch off. The student will write their notes in the Learned (L) section of the K-W-L Sheet. Once the chapter has concluded the students will share their answers and discuss them. Student Engagement (Critical Thinking & Student Activities) Time: 5-10 minutes Paired writing activity: After the students have finished reading the chapter, the students will be asked to do a written assignment in which the students will review and discuss their notes to write three aspect of the U.S criminal justice system they would change in order to bring about a more just and efficient system. For each aspect they list the students must provide a reason for why it would improve the U.S criminal Justice system. Lesson Closure Time: 5-8 minutes Revisit term arrangement line: After the students turn in their paired written activity, the class will look at the Term Arrangement Line and fix what errors they may have made in placing the term through discussion. After the arrangement is fixed, the students will add any terms they picked up in their reading to be placed on the line or their suggestions from the paired writing activity.
Assessments (Formative & Summative) Entry Level Formative Assessment: The Term Arrangement Line, Students will be able to demonstrate their prior knowledge of the U.S criminal justice system by seeing if they can arrange the terms from crime committed to prison.
Progress monitoring Formative Assessment: Paired Written Activity, demonstrates which students have a strong critical understanding of the terms and aspects of the criminal justice system.
Summative Assessment: Term Arrangement Line REVISTED, Shows if the lesson was successful by having the students revisit their work as a class, their ability to correct their own work will show if a strong understanding of their reading has been established. Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers and Students with Special Needs The Term Arrangement Line allows for English Learners, Striving Readers, and Students with Special Needs a clearer depiction of the relationship of the terms in the reading lesson. The strategic pairing for the reading can allow for EL students, Striving readers and Students with Special Needs to be paired with academically stronger students or students which have shown they work well with to help their academic proficiency.
Resources (Books, Websites, Handouts, Materials) Teacher-made K-W-L worksheet: Criminal Law. McGraw-Hill United States Government: Democracy in Action.