I have found that I can bring history to life for my students by using mock trials and debates in my social studies classes. To perform well on state exams, students must master oratory, questioning techniques, drawing conclusions, listening, note-taking, making inferences and problem-solving. Debates and mock trials instill these important skills in my students.
Dec 25, 2010 - Volunteering to present the opening statement for your mock trial team poses a challenge. It may mean that you are the first to speak in the.
One of the most successful mock trials that I’ve done with my students involves Christopher Columbus. Anime metal fight beyblade. In preparing for the trial, I give the students different sources of information about Columbus. I use the textbook as well as the book, “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong,” by James Loewen. Students read and comment on the material. Then they create a list of the successes and failures of Columbus in his life. I then ask the students to make a list of witnesses and evidence that the defense and the prosecution in a trial of Columbus would be able to use to prove their case. I teach the students the difference between direct examination and cross-examination of witnesses, and I assign each lawyer a witness to cross-examine.
I bring in different props such as a Native American headband, a crown and a judge’s gavel. Direct-examination questions establish the facts for the prosecution or defense, while cross-examination questions cast doubt on the facts that the direct-examination witnesses have presented.
Direct-examination and cross-examination questions teach students how to take notes, make inferences, draw conclusions and solve problems. The student lawyers are also required to create and present opening and closing statements to the court, where they summarize the facts and discuss the witnesses and their testimony.
The students who weren’t chosen as lawyers or witnesses participate as either the bailiff or a juror. The student jurors have to look at both sides’ evidence and listen to the testimony of the witnesses. The teacher is the judge because I allow the students to present objections and I rule on them. The jurors have to assess student performances using a rubric and decide whether Columbus was a success or a failure. The verdict (as in a real criminal trial, a guilty verdict has to be unanimous) is read out to the class.
In a new wrinkle in the mock trials, I recently chose two successful student lawyers to mentor the new student lawyers. They will share their knowledge and experiences with the new participating students. Other mock trials I’ve worked on include who was most responsible for starting the Revolutionary War (the British or the colonists) and was Germany totally to blame for starting World War I as the Treaty of Versailles states.
I use the mock trial in my classes because it gives students a glimpse into a possible career in the field of law enforcement and the courts. It allows students to be judges of history. I call each case a historical tribunal. Student jurors are examining the issues involved at that time and its ramifications in history. I’ve also presented debates on important issues in current events and history. We had a debate after 9/11 on the importance of national security versus individual rights.
We’ve also argued debates on U.S imperialism and Manifest Destiny in American history. I go with either a mock trial or a debate depending on the issues and the subject matter. I think that it’s important to teach students that there are different sides to every issue. A mock trial or a debate probes these differences while teaching skills that students need to learn to succeed on state exams. I have to thank my own high school social studies teacher, who I often emulate in my teaching strategies.
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Arthur Wood Jr. Has taught social studies for nearly 20 years. He currently teaches at the Queens Alternate Learning Center at IS 126 in Astoria.