During the next few days, students read the related articles and excerpts. Then, they explain the connections between these works and those of Thoreau, in a paper. The major assignment for this unit is a collaborative effort in which small groups of students prepare scripts for a trial of Thoreau. Each script must include roles for the prosecutor, the defense attorney, the judge, Thoreau, and the witnesses. The remaining class members serve as the jury.
Students hand in the script and then perform a play, based on the script.
Historical accuracy and oral presentation skills serve as the basis for student s evaluations. The state accuses him of failing to pay his poll tax. Thoreau has been arrested and charged with violation of the Fugitive Slave Law in the Henry Williams Case. Thoreau is accused of aiding and abetting Williams, in the slave's attempted escape to Canada. Thoreau, school master in the Concord Public Schools is charged with insubordination and violating the constitutional separation of church and state by permitting his students to discuss theological questions in his classes.