After completing this assignment, the student will have completed prewriting notes and then produced a well-organized, supported essay based on one of the above cases discussing whether the verdict was just or injust. Teaming with a social studies or law teacher could help to bring more depth to their understanding of the court cases and answer any questions concerning laws that may arise. Having a judge or lawyer as a guest speaker prior or even after the activity would also help to broaden the students knowledge and interest in the court system and the novel. Any teacher who is familiar with the novel, the web, and the writing process should be able to be successful using this assignment. This could be done as a class or independently.
All instructions are complete.
This could be used before or after the students read about the Tom Robinson case. If before, then I would have the students only do the contemporary cases. It would give them a better understanding as to how the court system works and the part that human bias plays. If after, it would give them the same understanding as mentioned before, plus they would be able to review the specifics of the case and put the information into the context of human bias. This lesson is a good way for students to understand that justice is a relative term and that depends largely on the amount of information a person is given, the circumstances of the situation, and the attitudes and beliefs of the people in a certain time period and geographic location.