Justice By the People

Overview

Justice by the People is an engaging, week-long curriculum designed for use in grades 5-9.  Each interactive lesson challenges students to apply critical thinking and decision-making skills as they explore and experience the roles of attorneys, judges, and jurors in our justice system.  This classroom-tested program includes a teacher's guide with complete lesson plans, a mock trial on video, and a CD-ROM trial simulation game.

Justice by the People begins with five classroom lessons.  These lessons involve students in such varied hands-on activities as a group decision-making game developed by NASA, a trial by ordeal, a trial by combat, and a video trial of Gold E. Locks and the Three Bears.  Each lesson ends with an individual assignment designed to reinforce what students have learned and to assist teachers in assessing their students' understanding of key concepts.  The culminating activity of the course is a multimedia computer game called Make Your Case in which students match wits as opposing attorneys in a simulated movie-like trial.

Teachers using Justice by the People are encouraged to invite members of the legal community into the classroom to share their knowledge with students.  The teacher's guide includes suggestions and guidelines designed to help volunteers make their visits an integral part of the curriculum.

Lesson Summary


 
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