LESSON PLAN - The Law

Grade Level(s): 9, 10, 11

Subject(s):

  • Social Studies/Civics

Overview: The relevance and importance of laws for every citizen is a difficult point for students to appreciate. They often state that laws don't apply to them, or that only adults need to worry about our legal system. Therefore, students appear to have little understanding and appreciation of our legal system. In order to introduce the concept or the relevance of the law to teenagers I began a study of the law with an activity entitled "Arrest."

Purpose: The purpose of the activity "Arrest" is to give students first hand knowledge about an arrest of a classmate and his/her subsequent trial. Students become active participants in the legal process as they become witnesses, jurors and defendants in a trial simulation.

Objectives: By the conclusion of this activity students will be able to:

  1. Identify legal protections for defendants and procedures used by police during the arrest process.
  2. Identify Constitutional protections for individuals on trial.
  3. Offer opinions about what the verdict should be in a mock trial and explain the reasons for this opinion.

Activities: This activity can be amended to fit individual class needs.

  1. As an introduction to a unit on the law, I staged a mock arrest in one of my classes. At a pre-arranged time, a local policeman entered class and arrested a student for possession of a controlled substance. (The student and his/her parent(s) had agreed to this after a pre-activity conference.) The officer read the student his rights, handcuffed him and then escorted him out of the room. They return back to the room amid much confusion and discussion and explained the set-up. The rest of the period was spent with the policeman answering questions and discussing proper arrest procedures and legal protections.
  2. The two to three weeks following the arrest were spent studying cases and Constitutional law involving the arrest of juveniles. Teachers can use whatever method is appropriate to discuss this material.
  3. The unit of study then moved to the courtroom for a mock trial of the student arrested on the first day of the unit. Our local district attorney prosecuted the student and the defense and judge were role-played by local attorneys. Witnesses for the trial were role-played by students. The testimony of the witnesses was based on a scenario created by the teacher and district attorney. Students acting as jurors then deliberated the case and rendered the decision.

Resources/Materials Needed:

  1. Text resources-- Teachers may use whatever legal materials they have. There is much flexibility here as to cases and law studied.
  2. Local resources-- This activity is greatly enhanced by having support from community law enforcement and legal personnel. They are best prepared to answer questions about the legal process and a combined activity between school and the private sector is good public relations with the community.

Tying It All Together: "Arrest" was a successful activity for my students and for me. Students became directly engaged in learning and took an active part in the judicial process. As a result of this activity they better understood the difficulties faced by law enforcement officers and officers of the court in their day-to-day responsibilities. They gained an appreciation of the process and recognized the importance of the legal system to each and every citizen. "Arrest" is an activity that works.