The Judicial Branch
Students will learn about the federal and state courts and what they do. They will explore the courts’ role in fairly settling disputes and administering justice, and the unique role of the U.S. Supreme Court in interpreting the U.S. Constitution.
Check out this quick video on the Judicial Branch on YouTube!
Our Judicial Branch has a big job! Do you think you have what it takes to be a judge and get the job done?
resources
After playing "Supreme Decision" with your class, use this lesson to reinforce the concepts students learned by playing the game. In this lesson, students compare Ben Brewer’s fictional case in “Supreme Decision” with a real-life case involving a student. They also look at a variety of historic landmark cases to understand why precedents and judicial review are important in peoples’ everyday lives.
This lesson assumes your class has already played "Supreme Decision."
What does it mean to interpret the Constitution? Why is interpretation necessary? Who gets to do it? In this WebQuest, students explore the answers to these questions and more. Using examples from the First and Eighth Amendments, students try their own hand at interpreting sticky situations—and compare their findings to actual Supreme Court opinions.
This lesson teaches the fundamentals of Supreme Court Justice nominations and helps students understand the politics behind the nominations. It challenges students to cut through the politics and compare nominees’ judicial philosophies and includes an optional extension for students to research and analyze the controversial nominations and confirmation processes of Robert Bork, Harriet Miers, Clarence Thomas, and Merrick Garland.
Got a 1:1 classroom? Download fillable PDFs of this lesson's materials below!
Students learn about the landmark case McCulloch v. Maryland, in which the Supreme Court clarified what kinds of actions Congress can take under the “necessary and proper” clause. Students find out what events led to this case, look at some examples of what “necessary and proper” could include, and examine the relationship between state and federal power under the Supremacy Clause.
resources
Students learn that you can't take constitutional language at face value. Those phrases we read in the Bill of Rights, such as "cruel and unusual punishment" or being a "witness" against yourself, have specialized meaning based on years of interpretation by the Supreme Court. Students analyze real-life cases interpreting the 8th and 5th amendments to see whether they interpret the Bill of Rights the same way the Supreme Court did... and discover how tricky interpreting the Constitution really is!
This mini-lesson takes a look at the role of fair and impartial courts in American life. Students learn about how judges are selected and held accountable. It also looks at how judges focus on the facts in order to keep things fair. This resource is accompanied by a short video from the Informed Voters Project.
resources
- 1
- 2
resources
In this WebQuest, students look at all levels of both the state and federal court systems. They learn about jurisdiction, look up the courts in their own state, find out what federal appellate circuit they live in, and investigate the current U.S. Supreme Court justices.
Make your students’ game play more meaningful by using our activity and assessment set designed specifically for Argument Wars. This easy-to-use Extension Pack helps you give context and purpose to the game, as well as reinforce and assess the game concepts. That means deeper learning for students, and best practices around game-centered learning for you!
Extension Packs require PowerPoint and are designed for use with projectors or interactive whiteboards.
Our Judicial Branch has a big job! Do you think you have what it takes to be a judge and get the job done?
resources
What does it mean to interpret the Constitution? Why is interpretation necessary? Who gets to do it? In this WebQuest, students explore the answers to these questions and more. Using examples from the First and Eighth Amendments, students try their own hand at interpreting sticky situations—and compare their findings to actual Supreme Court opinions.
Opinions, opinions, opinions! Learn about the types of Supreme Court opinions and the influence of legal precedent. In the accompanying news literacy-related activity, students are introduced to traditional authors of opinion pieces and learn what to consider when evaluating an author’s credibility.
resources
Learn about the judicial philosophies of activism and restraint. In the second half of the lesson, students learn about opinion journalsim and explore criteria through which they can evaluate news-related opinion pieces.