1.
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Distribute a copy of Buck v. Bell (1927). The text of the decision can be easily found online by typing the case code into an internet browser search bar. For Buck v. Bell (1927) use 274 US 200 (1927). This particular decision is very short, under two pages, and therefore does not need to be shortened.
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2.
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Also, distribute the to students the Active Reading Protocol and review with students. As they read the text they use a three-step process: highlight, code, explain. They should use the following codes: * for something important; ! for something surprising; ? for a question; ¨¤ for a connection. The third step is to explain their reason for the code in the margin. Hence, they should write the question or explain the connection.
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3.
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Give students about 20 minutes to read, highlight, code and explain.
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4.
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To have students discuss the reading, simply have them share out some of their highlighting. This means, they can ask their questions, explain their connections, etc. Discussion should take about 20 minutes.
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5.
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To check for understanding, at the end of the period, or for homework, have students write two paragraphs about the case. They should be required to include specific evidence from the text of the decision. I require students to use SER format in their writing. That means that each paragraph should have the following elements: a topic sentence that introduces the entire paragraph, a Statement about what they are going to prove, a piece of textual Evidence, an explanation of their Reasoning, and a concluding sentence. I usually require that each paragraph have two sets of SER. Therefore, a paragraph will have 8 sentences; topic sentence, statement, evidence, reasoning, statement, evidence, reasoning, concluding sentence.
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