Objective: Explain how the Supreme Court has at times allowed the restriction of the civil rights of minority groups and at other times has protected those rights.
Starter: How different are incarceration rates for Black, White, and Hispanic Americans in the US?
1.How accurate was your prediction?
2.How accurate do you think the average American would be?
3.How surprising is this information?
4.What is the take-home point of this chart?
5.What might be the causes of the trends depicted in the graph?
6.Explain whether you think this chart is good or bad news.
7.List two consequences of this huge disparity in incarceration rates for different races.
8.What questions do you have about this?
9.Why do you think there is such a huge disparity in incarceration rate for different races?
10.What steps could the US government take to change these numbers?
11. What percent chance does a black male born in 2000 have of spending time in prison at some point in his life?
Recap: Explain how the Supreme Court has at times allowed the restriction of the civil rights of minority groups and at other times has protected these rights.
Review Game: Whip-Around
Supreme Court Conference: Equal Protection
Project: SCOTUS Case in a Box
You will research a landmark Supreme Court case and create a “Landmark Case Box” by bringing in tangible artifacts to represent that case. For example, if your assigned case was Texas v. Johnson (flag burning is protected free speech), you might choose to include a flag, a picture of Reagan, an EMPTY match book (some of these are sensitive issues, if you have to make a judgment call about the appropriateness of an object, you need to run it by Jacobson ahead of time), a typed or handwritten copy of the First Amendment, etc. You will present your case and box to the class. You will work in pairs on this project. Here are the requirements for the presentation:
- You must have at least eight objects in your box. These objects must relate to the case you’re assigned. I recommend using an empty cereal box.
- You must cover and then decorate the outside of your box with illustrations, words/phrases/constitutional clauses, photos, etc., that relate to your case. You must complete a Landmark Supreme Court Case chart with information about your case.
- Glue the chart to one side of the box and use it as a prompt when you present your case to the class. Your classmates will fill in their blank graphic organizers (one for each of the 9 cases) based on the information you present in class.
- You must present the contents of your box to the class. Show each item in the box and explain why it was significant to your case. Be prepared to answer questions from your audience about the case.
- List of Landmark Supreme Court cases:
- Brown v. Board of Education (equal protection under the law)
- Engel v. Vitale (establishment of religion)
- Gideon v. Wainwright (right to counsel)
- McDonald v. Chicago (right to bear arms)
- New York Times v. United States (prior restraint)
- Roe v. Wade (abortion)
- Schenck v. United States (clear and present danger)
- Tinker v. Des Moines (symbolic speech)
- Wisconsin v. Yoder (free exercise of religion)
Closer: Explain how the Supreme Court has at times allowed the restriction of the civil rights of minority groups and at other times has protected those rights.
On Deck
Next Topic: Test Review
Project due next class
Test/Essay in two class periods
Project due next class
Test/Essay in two class periods