Constitution Test

As a more authenic form of testing on the Constitution, why not give groups (or individuals, but groups I think would work better) of students real Supreme Court cases, but without the decision. Have them debate the cases in their groups--like the real Supreme Court--and then have them write a decision. Depending on your time available to grade tests, have students each write their own opinion on the case or have the group come up with one opinion. Keep in mind, however, that the real Supreme Court does not have to unanimous. Decisions, or at least recent decisions, have frequently been 5 to 4. Maybe have the students in each group vote and then write only two decisions. It depends on how much individual work you want the students to do, but I would have them write their decisions as a group. Require that students make at least 3 direct references to the Constitution and correctly explain how the section being referenced applies to the case in addition to what the section says in real language.

After students have written their decisions, give them the official decisions and have them discuss the differences between their decisions and that of the Court. Emphasize that the Court is not infalliable, and although more educated, the Court has been wrong in the past (Plessy v. Ferguson, for example). Have students either revise their decision or further support their decision, again by pulling directly from the Constitution and from the official Court decision.

Step three, have students individually reflect on their experience. What did they learn? What do they still want to learn?

Lastly, have each group present the facts, their decision and the official decision with accompanying explaination to the class.

I think this would take 2-3 days to complete between the amount of time needed to debate, write, re-debate, revise, reflect, and present, but I think the time would be well worth the effort as students actively involved in their education.

A few things to remember:

*Put a minimum time on the debates--my students rush through discussions to get to the important part, the part that's graded without focusing on the other really important part--the discussion.

*No internet. Because these are real court cases it would be all too easy for students to look up the Court's opinion and just copy that without doing any of the critical thinking themselves.

*Emphasize the importance of the discussion over the correctness of the answer. There is no right answer--again take the Plessy v. Ferguson case and the Brown v. Board of Education case. Students' grades will depend on their depth of thought, thoroughness of explanation, and ability to apply the Constitution, not their ability to match the Court's decision.

*Use court cases that the students will encounter later in the year such as Marberry v. Madison, Brown v. Board of Education, State of Tennessee v. Scopes, or whatever else is in your curriculum.

*Try the following websites for Court Case descriptions:

http://www.streetlaw.org/en/landmark.aspx

http://library.thinkquest.org/11572/cc/