Lessons for Judges 2024-2025

Have an expert give your students a close look at the U.S. Constitution. Students will be challenged to think critically about the challenges facing our Founding Fathers, and how they were able to create a 4-page document that has governed us for 200 years. They'll also learn about California's Constitution, founded on the same fundamental principles.

6-12

The Constitution: We Are All Equal

A 30-slide basic introduction to the U.S. Constitution, starting with the New World and challenges facing our founding fathers. Visitors should talk to the teacher ahead of time to determine the class's level of understanding. Note: most students in California don't receive detailed instruction like this until their last year of high school. Encourage students to seek opportunities to explore this document as they advance through school. Some day they may want to go into law, maybe even become a judge!

6-12

The First Amendment

Students' freedom of speech, symbolic speech rights in schools, free speech on social media is the subject of this lesson. This lesson contains details of several cases, the teacher may choose with the Visitor the ones most appropriate for students as they learn about First Amendment rights, and how they've been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Our most popular lesson for elementary schools. In the course of an hour, the visiting judge will walk students through a "You Be the Judge" activity. Some of the scenarios may be omitted or replaced with your own. The scenarios test students to think like a judge. Available in Mandarin | Spanish.

K-5

"No Animals Allowed"

Our most popular lesson for elementary schools. A "You Be the Judge" activity guides students through scenarios where students learn to think like a judge and rule if a law was broken. Available in Mandarin | Spanish.

The U.S. Constitution is a flexible, four-page document that has been amended twenty-seven times. This lesson explains the challenges around voting rights starting in the Reconstruction Era (1863-1877), and the fight for suffrage in the years that followed

5-12

Under Reconstruction: Voter Rights & the Constitution

The Reconstruction Era is filled with examples of challenges to the U.S. Constitution. This lesson reviews amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and looks at how state laws govern our elections.

K-12

Oath of Office

Administering the oath of office is an honor you AND your students will never forget. Reach out to local schools and volunteer to deliver the oath to newly elected student officers. Want to get creative? Print it out on parchment paper, roll it up as a scroll with a ribbon! Be sure to share a photo.

Students will receive news of a new law in the town of Beautifica, then be lead by the Volunteer through scenarios to demonstrate the work of the courts, and what it takes to think like a judge. Students with little to no knowledge of the three branches will benefit from this lesson.

5-12

No Vehicles Allowed

Students will receive news of a new law in the town of Beautifica, then be led by the Volunteer through scenarios to demonstrate the work of the courts, and what it takes to think like a judge. Students with little to no knowledge of the three branches will benefit from this lesson.

Invite a judge to examine the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial, where twenty-two young men were tried and twelve were convicted in a mass trial for murder in what is widely considered a travesty of justice and rush to judgment.

8-12

The Sleepy Lagoon "Zoot Suit" Trial

The Sleepy Lagoon case was one of the major civil rights cases of the 1940's. This lesson is rich with historical and cultural references. Be careful not to spend too much time on the history building up to the "Zoot Suit Riots" of 1943. There's much the class can learn by reviewing the prep materials before you meet.

Students will look at a 2009 warrantless search and seizure of the digital contents of David Leon Riley's cell phone when he was pulled over for expired tags. They'll learn how and why Riley's case was being argued at the U.S. Supreme Court six years later. This landmark case comes with a set of facts that will engage both students and teachers.

This lesson is a top pick for classrooms with an understanding of the three branches of government.

9-12

Riley v. California

This lesson ranks highest among students in Grades 9-12. This lesson provides a deep dive into something important to students--privacy. Teachers may request the lesson for younger learners if they are advanced in their understanding of the Constitution and three branches of government.

5-8

Salem Witch Trials

In this lesson, students learn about the delivery of justice in 1692. Through a reenactment, they learn about fair and equal access and the role of a jury.

This lesson is rich with historical references tracking the many battles fought in the fields and in the courts by two of California's most notable civil rights icons recognized internationally.

5-12

Si Se Puede! César Chávez, Dolores Huerta, and the 1st Amendment

This lesson is rich with historical references tracking the many battles fought in the fields and in the courts by two of California's most notable civic rights icons.