Objectives
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1.To familiarize students with issues of law, particularly
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the issue of First Amendment rights and how they may or may not
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pertain to the classroom situation;
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2.To become more aware of actual courtroom procedures and
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terminology (e.g., cross-examination, grand jury, indictment, etc.);
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3.To sift through the issues present in the Scopes case;
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4.To try to understand why some court cases receive so much
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publicity and others do not;
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5.To involve students in the processes of courts through role plays,
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mock interviews and film.
Procedures
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1.As students read the actual day-to-day happenings of
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the case (see above), certain "KEY QUESTIONS" should be referred to
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(below) and have students prepare answers ahead of time for
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discussion in class.
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2.Issues discussed: Examine the DOCUMENTS (found in the Appendix)
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One and Two, to try to get students to understand what the Butler
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Act really said (Is it clear?) and what the Governor said about it.
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What is the students' opinion of the law? (This law is actually still on
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the books in Tennessee; an attempt to repeal it in 1951 was
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defeated) Who in 1925 would be happy about such a law? Who
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would be unhappy? What could a science teacher do about such a
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law? What if he or she broke the law?
Assignment:Examine DOCUMENTS 3 and 4.(see Appendix) What
conflicts, if any, do you see in these two pieces of historical evidence?
Why would people criticize either one?
Procedures
(Day Two)
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1.After discussing issues raised by last night's assignment,focus on
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the person John Scopes (Read selection in class provided in unit
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above). Have students discuss who he was, what he believed in, how
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it all happened that he became the defendant in a famous trial. How
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do the students react? Would they want to be Scopes? Why or why
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not?
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2.Next hand out DOCUMENTS 5 and 6 (see Appendix), edited
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documents from the First Day of the trial. Notice all the names of
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attorneys. How does court open? What does this tell you? Read
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carefully what the judge says to the grand jury members. If you
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were a member of the grand jury, how would you decide? Why?
Assignment:Examine DOCUMENT 7 to prepare for tomorrow's class, a
Role-Play (optional) in selecting a jury for the Scopes trial:
interviewing potential jury members. Question (DOCUMENT 7): Would
you have done what the Defense Attorney, Darrow, did at the end of
this interview (he rejected the jury member)? Explain.
Procedures
(Trial Questions)
As students read the selected information about the trial, be aware
of issues and terminology which will help students understand and
appreciate the world-wide attention this trial was getting in the
media. How might they have "covered" the trial? What kinds of
stories might they have written?
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