Lesson Title. Step by Step. 3. Game

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1 Teacher Guide Time Needed: Approx. 3 class periods Materials/Equipment: Microsoft PowerPoint Access to icivics.org for game play Interactive white board (optional but ideal) Teaching bundle PowerPoint presentation Student worksheets Copy Instructions: Student Activities (2 pages; class set) Assessment (1 page; class set) Preparation Download the PowerPoint presentation. It contains all the activities for the teaching bundle. Photocopy and distribute the paper version of the student activities if you want students to have them. (You can teach the bundle without paper if you wish.) 1. Starter Activity Display the Arguing Your Case activity slide. Ask students to brainstorm their ideas on the paper handout. Call on students to share their ideas, or have students write their ideas on the board. Tell students they will be learning how courts think about constitutional rights. 2. Mini-Lesson Work through the Constitutional Rights - Quick Facts slides. Keep going through the three introduction slides for the Deciding Constitutional Rights activity. Present each question and answer slide, pausing for discusion. If you wish, have students work together to complete the activity on their worksheets before doing the PowerPoint version. Lesson Title Step by Step 3. Game Lesson Objectives: The student will... Explore the nature of court cases about constitutional rights Analyze the kinds of support used to argue a constitutional rights case Identify appropriate arguments for landmark Supreme Court cases Display the Argument Wars slide. Direct students to icivics.org and have them play the game Argument Wars. Alternatively, you can try having the class play as a group using your interactive white board. 4. Follow-Up Activities Display the Good Support or Bad Support? activity instructions slide. Advance to the next slide and exit presentation mode in order to use the drag-and-drop activity on your interactive white board. Otherwise, just display the jumbled supports and have students complete the activity on their worksheets. Display the answer slide and discuss. Ask students to discuss the relationship between these general types of support and the support cards they saw in the Argument Wars game. Display the first Time for a Change discussion slides about overturning cases. Advance to the next slide and ask students to think about why cases are overturned. Are there any examples from Argument Wars? 5. Assessment Work through the Mini Quiz slides, pausing to discuss and review with each slide Distribute and assign the paper version of the assessment if you wish. You may copy, distribute, or transmit this work for noncommercial purposes only. This copyright notice or a legally valid equivalent such as 2016 icivics Inc. shall be included in all such copies, distributions or transmittals. All other rights reserved. Find this lesson and other materials in the UNITNAME curriculum unit at

2 Argument Wars Name: A. What s Constitutional? Arguing Your Case. Imagine you re a lawyer in charge of arguing that a particular situation violated someone s constitutional rights or that it didn t. How would you convince the court? What kind of evidence would you use? How could you prove that an action is or is not constitutional? Brainstorm your strategy and write notes about it here: B. Constitutional Rights - Quick Facts. Here are the basics about defending constitutional rights: I have rights! Almost every case starts out in a trial court somewhere in the country. A tiny few end up in front of the Supreme Court. I have rights! I didn t violate anyone s rights. If this same thing happens again, it s a violation of constitutional rights. The government is usually on one side of the case. The Supreme Court s decision becomes law in all future cases that are the same. Activity Side A

3 Argument Wars Name: C. Constitutional Rights: How Do They Decide? Imagine a person is in court arguing that one of their constitutional rights was violated. How does a court decide whether that person s rights were violated? What does the court ask in order to figure it out? Read these questions and decide! Question: 1. Does the constitutional right apply in this situation? 2. Is the person telling the truth about what happened? 3. What does the Constitution actually mean when it talks about this right? 4. Is there a Supreme Court case dealing with this right in a similar situation? 5. Should we follow the Constitution in this situation? 6. Do we think this person s rights are worth protecting in this situation? Would the question help a court decide whether a constitutional right was violated? D. Good Support or Bad Support? Below, categorize the different types of support you saw in Argument Wars. Would these arguments make good support in a constitutional case? Write the letter of each argument in a box on the correct list. A. An argument about how things have been traditionally done B. An argument about why the right should not apply in this situation C. Someone s opinion D. A part of the Constitution discussing a different right E. An argument about what the Constitution actually means F. A case showing how the Supreme Court ruled on a different issue in the case G. A fact that is simply wrong H. An argument about why the right should apply in the situation I. A case showing how the Supreme Court ruled on a similar issue in the past J. An argument about how the court s decision will impact people Good Support Bad Support Activity Side B

Argument Wars Quiz Name: A. Fill In the Blanks. The passage below is missing some words and phrases.

in a different way C. rights were violated D. change its mind and overturn E. government F. an earlier case G. facts and ideas H. did not violate I.

Supreme Court precedent In a constitutional rights case, someone argues that their.

To decide whether someone s rights were violated, the court looks at the and listens to arguments from each side.

The court will look at several kinds of support. The constitution and are the strongest types of support. A precedent is that in other situations that are the same.

4 Argument Wars Quiz Name: A. Fill In the Blanks. The passage below is missing some words and phrases. Complete the passage by writing the letter of the correct word or phrase in each blank space. Each word or phrase is only used once. A. acts as law B. in a different way C. rights were violated D. change its mind and overturn E. government F. an earlier case G. facts and ideas H. did not violate I. applies in this particular situation J. people s opinions K. United States Constitution L. Supreme Court precedent In a constitutional rights case, someone argues that their. The is usually on the other side of the case, arguing that it that person s rights. To decide whether someone s rights were violated, the court looks at the and listens to arguments from each side. Each side usually wants the court to interpret the Constitution. The court must decide whether the constitutional right. The court will look at several kinds of support. The constitution and are the strongest types of support. A precedent is that in other situations that are the same. The court will also listen to from each side, but it will not listen to. Facts and ideas can sometimes convince the court to an earlier case. B. Good or Bad Support? Check whether the court would listen to each type of support. Good Bad 1. An argument about how things have traditionally been done. 2. An argument about how the court s decision will impact people. 3. An argument about what the Constitution actually means. 4. A case showing how the Supreme Court ruled on a different issue in the past. 5. An argument about why the right should apply in this situation. Quiz

5 Argument Wars Name: ** TEACHER GUIDE ** C. Constitutional Rights: How Do They Decide? Imagine a person is in court arguing that one of their constitutional rights was violated. How does a court decide whether that person s rights were violated? What does the court ask in order to figure it out? Read these questions and decide! Question: 1. Does the constitutional right apply in this situation? 2. Is the person telling the truth about what happened? 3. What does the Constitution actually mean when it talks about this right? 4. Is there a Supreme Court case dealing with this right in a similar situation? 5. Should we follow the Constitution in this situation? 6. Do we think this person s rights are worth protecting in this situation? Would the question help a court decide whether a constitutional right was violated? Yes! This will help the court decide. No. This is a different issue. Yes! This will help the court decide. Yes! This will help the court decide. No. This is a different issue. D. Good Support or Bad Support? Below, categorize the different types of support you saw in Argument Wars. Would these arguments make good support in a constitutional case? Write the letter of each argument in a box on the correct list. A. An argument about how things have been traditionally done B. An argument about why the right should not apply in this situation C. Someone s opinion D. A part of the Constitution discussing a different right E. An argument about what the Constitution actually means F. A case showing how the Supreme Court ruled on a different issue in the case G. A fact that is simply wrong H. An argument about why the right should apply in the situation I. A case showing how the Supreme Court ruled on a similar issue in the past J. An argument about how the court s decision will impact people Good Support B E H I J Bad Support A C D F G Activity Side B

6 Argument Wars Quiz Name: ** TEACHER GUIDE ** A. Fill In the Blanks. The passage below is missing some words and phrases. Complete the passage by writing the letter of the correct word or phrase in each blank space. Each word or phrase is only used once. A. acts as law B. in a different way C. rights were violated D. change its mind and overturn E. government F. an earlier case G. facts and ideas H. did not violate I. applies in this particular situation J. people s opinions K. United States Constitution L. Supreme Court precedent In a constitutional rights case, someone argues that their. C The E is usually on the other side of the case, arguing that it H that person s rights. To decide whether someone s rights were violated, the court looks at the K and listens to arguments from each side. Each side usually wants the court to interpret the Constitution. B The court must decide whether the constitutional right. I The court will look at several kinds of support. The constitution and L are the strongest types of support. A precedent is F that A in other situations that are the same. The court will also listen to G from each side, but it will not listen to. J Facts and ideas can sometimes convince the court to D an earlier case. B. Good or Bad Support? Check whether the court would listen to each type of support. Good Bad 1. An argument about how things have traditionally been done. 2. An argument about how the court s decision will impact people. 3. An argument about what the Constitution actually means. 4. A case showing how the Supreme Court ruled on a different issue in the past. 5. An argument about why the right should apply in this situation. Quiz

Teacher s Guide DO I HAVE A RIGHT? TEACHING BUNDLE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Teacher s Guide DO I HAVE A RIGHT? TEACHING BUNDLE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS Teacher s Guide Time Needed: Approx. 3 class periods DO I HAVE A RIGHT? TEACHING BUNDLE Materials/Equipment: Microsoft PowerPoint Access to icivics.org for game play Interactive white board (optional but