Law & Order Project
What is Justice? Who gets to decide?
Law & Order was an 8th grade Humanities project in which students learned about the development of implicit biases and its role in the social construction of race, gender, and socioeconomic status. By analyzing the constitution and drawing parallels between significant events throughout U.S. History and current events, students examined the intersections of race, law, and power in American society and culture. This all led up to mock trials held at San Diego Superior Court.
Main Project Reading: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
PROJECT LAUNCH VIDEO
At the beginning of every project we have a launching event to get the students excited and engaged in the upcoming work. This video was part of the launch.
PROJECT HANDOUTS
Check out our essential questions and learning goals. Cases were based on 1st and 14th Amendment right issues. Students submitted a voting form indicating the top three roles and cases they wanted to try.
THE EXHIBITION
This project culminated in students participating in over two days of mock trials at the San Diego Superior Court in front of real judges. Below is a slideshow of the two days.
Project Rubrics
A few of the rubrics used for this project. The student juries were responsible for scoring the prosecution, the defense, and the witnesses testimony. All students wrote an argumentative essay based on their case.
