Judicial Branch, Day 6 - Class Recap

The exterior of the Colosseum in Rome. At the end of gladiator fights, the loser would famously be judged by the emperor. Photo taken summer 2014.

Dear class,

It is always great to see you in the morning! It helps brighten my day immensely. Here's what happened today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:

Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Money" by Pink Floyd. Selected for today because trials and lawyers cost a lot of money to run.

AGENDA 12/12/16:
News Brief – Michael
Review
Judicial Branch Test
12 Angry Men

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in any late/incomplete work. Next news brief: Tristen W.

News Brief: Michael had the news brief today and talked about this story: CBSNews.com - Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet crashes off Japan. This was a great tie in with the Executive Branch unit, as we continue to monitor involvement of US forces around the world. Thanks, Michael! We also talked about last weekend, before moving on.

Ryan was assigned to do the next news brief.

Review: This was a time for review of the study guide for the Judicial Branch test, since it had been so unexpectedly long since last class.

Judicial Branch Test: As promised, 40 questions, multiple choice. It is a busy end to the week, and I will hope to get these grades get entered ASAP.

12 Angry Men: After the test, we started watching one of the most critically acclaimed movies ever: 12 Angry Men (1957). This is a great way to wrap up the judicial branch unit, as we learn more about the jury process through watching this film. I know it is old and black and white, and I was glad to see that students were paying close attention. Here is the film note-taking assignment, if you missed class or lost your copy:

Google Drive: 12 Angry Men Film Questions

We will finish watching this next class! See you then.

Judicial Branch, Day 5 - Class Recap

Snowy Denver in 2007. Will we get some snow soon? Possibly!
Dear class,

It was a mostly a review and study day in class, for the upcoming judicial branch test. Here's what happened today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:

Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Rockin' in the Free World" by Neil Young. Selected for today because the laws of our country are supposed to ensure freedom. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 12/6/16:
News Brief – Jose
Mock Trials
The National Judiciary
Study Guide

Homework: Read the blog. Study for judicial branch test next class. Next news brief: Michael.

News Brief: Jose had the news brief today but was not in class, so we skipped this for today.

Michael was assigned to do the next news brief.

Mock Trials: We finished up this activity from last class, and had a debate in class today about the final case:

Oyez.org - Elk Grove United School District v. Newdow

I was pleased to hear so many well thought out opinions on this case, which involves saying the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.

The National Judiciary: To help with understanding the process for how the Supreme Court takes and decides cases, here are two videos (we did not watch these in class, due to time):

These videos are pretty cheesy (and older), but do a good job of explaining what happens!

We went through this in detail today - thoroughly reviewing the main concepts of the unit:

Google Drive: The National Judiciary Readings and Questions

Juries/Study Guide: Most of class was spent going over many questions about the judicial branch. I also passed out this study guide (the juries reading was on the back side) for preparation:

Google Drive: Judicial Branch Test Study Guide

Google Drive: Reading on Juries for Judicial Branch Test

One of the questions on the test will be (thanks for checking the blog!): In this case the U.S. Supreme Court declared that no one accused of a crime has to stand trial in any court in the land without benefit of counsel unless he or she specifically refuses it.
A. Dred Scott v Sanford C. Gideon v Wainwright
B. Plessy v Ferguson D. Brown v Board of Education

If you aren't sure, guess in the comments and I will tell you what the answer is!

See you next class, for the test! Then we will close before break by watching a movie about the judicial process. :-)

Judicial Branch, Day 4 - Class Recap

The flag of the United States, before the Holiday Bowl football game in 2008. Next week, we will have an interesting mock trial on saying the Pledge of Allegiance in class.

Hi everyone,

I really enjoyed the discussions and debates the mock trials brought up today, and I had the sense that most students did, too. Here's what happened today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:

Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "My Generation" by The Who. Selected for today because the mock trial cases had to do with your generation. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 12/2/16:
News Brief – Matthew
Finish Mock Trial Prep
Mock Trials
Debrief

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in any missing work! Next news brief: Jose.

News Brief: Matthew had the news brief today and talked about this story: NYTimes.com - James Mattis, Outspoken Retired Marine, Is Trump’s Choice as Defense Secretary. This continues with our look at how President-elect Trump is making decisions about his cabinet department, and what the people likely to be in charge are like.

Jose was assigned to do the next news brief.

Mock Trials: The majority of class was taken up by doing the mock trials for the three cases we had time for. We had a really excellent discussion on the issues: student speech, school segregation, and drug searches at school. Please complete the rest of your mock trial packet, if you did not in class! Here are the actual results of the cases, with audio of the arguments, if you are interested:

Case #1: Oyez.org - Morse v. Frederick

Case #2: Oyez.org - Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1

Case #3: Oyez.org - Safford Unified School District v. Redding

We just barely finished with the first three cases within the class! Thank you for participating in this - I thought it was a pretty cool activity and I was glad to see students engaged in trying to answer these important legal questions.

Next class, we will finish case four and start wrapping up the Judicial Branch unit with an overview, then begin studying for the test. Have a great weekend!