Civic Literacy U3 L5 | Supreme Court of the United States

Students take the roles of attorneys and justices in a mock Supreme Court hearing about Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. They prepare arguments about a public school's authority over off-campus student speech, question both sides, and reach a class decision before learning how the real Court ruled.

The lesson covers the Court's role and independence, appointments, judicial review, certiorari, opinions, and precedent. Case discussions include Marbury, Plessy and Brown, Gideon, Miranda, Tinker, Texas v. Johnson, and Obergefell before students apply constitutional reasoning in the Mahanoy hearing.

Preparation is part of the lesson. Materials provide 16 attorney roles and nine justice roles, preparation sheets, individual speaking sheets, and teacher guidance. Students build arguments, revise misunderstandings, and rehearse. Attorneys connect case facts to constitutional arguments; justices question both sides, deliberate, and vote. This is an appellate hearing simulation using the case record, without witnesses or a jury. Separate post-hearing materials let you hold back the actual outcome until students explain their decisions.

What's included

• Guided notes with 10 questions and eight vocabulary terms, completed teacher notes, and full English and bilingual lectures.

• Main teaching and hearing presentation, plus a separate post-hearing presentation, in editable PowerPoint and matching PDF formats, with bilingual speaker notes.

• Recall questions and keys, a reasoning scaffold, and a 15-question quiz with explanations for each answer choice.

• Mahanoy case background in English, Spanish, and bilingual versions; student hearing directions; preparation and speaking sheets; and temporary preparation support.

• Teacher preparation lecture, role and print index, and full hearing answer keys in English and Spanish.

• Post-hearing reading with five multiple-choice and three written-response questions and an explained key, plus a brief Federalism starter. The complete Federalism lesson is not included.

• Teacher implementation, standards, and source guidance.

Planning for your class

The hearing uses two preparation days and a third day for the hearing. The guide estimates approximately five 90-minute meetings for the complete lesson, hearing, and final reading. Shorter periods need additional meetings. Plan which role pages each student will use before printing. This lesson follows U3 L4 Congressional Leadership and Committees.

Bilingual materials use English followed by bold Spanish, with separate language versions for the case background and reading. The historical case involves an angry social-media post containing profanity; review the background before teaching it.

File notes

Includes printable, non-fillable PDFs, editable PowerPoint with speaker notes, selected editable Word companions, and teacher text files. No online student account is needed for these files. Optional Gamma prompts require a separate account only if used. Standards guidance distinguishes direct and partial connections without promising mastery or score gains.

Resumen en español

Los estudiantes preparan una audiencia simulada sobre Mahanoy y la libertad de expresión fuera de la escuela. Los abogados presentan argumentos y los jueces hacen preguntas, deliberan y votan antes de conocer la decisión real. Incluye materiales bilingües, 25 funciones, guías de preparación, apuntes, presentaciones, evaluación, lectura y claves docentes. La actividad requiere dos días de preparación y un día de audiencia; la lección completa está planificada para aproximadamente cinco sesiones de 90 minutos.