What rights do students have at school?

A ready-to-run lesson for this set: Moot Court: You Be the Justices. Slides include a hook, one slide per source, directions, a take-a-stand vote, an exit ticket, and a teacher script in the speaker notes.

1. Hook: what would you do? 3-5 min

2. Main activity: Moot Court: You Be the Justices

Grouping: Five “courts” of 5 to 6 students; each court hears all five cases in rapid rounds

Setup: Each group is a court of justices. For each case, read the facts card, vote, and write one sentence of reasoning. Then the teacher reveals the real decision and the quote. Score your court: how often did you match the Supreme Court?

1. Set up the courts 5 min
   Form groups. Each picks a Chief Justice to keep time.
2. Five rounds 30 min
   Six minutes per case: 1 minute read the facts, 2 minutes argue, 1 minute vote and write reasoning, 2 minutes teacher reveals the real ruling and quote.
3. Score and discuss 5 min
   Which case did most courts get “wrong”? Why might reasonable people disagree?
4. Take a stand 5 min
   Use the vote slide.
5. Exit ticket 5 min
   Students answer on a slip before leaving.

Take a stand: Should students have the same rights at school as adults have in public?

• Yes, nearly the same: Tinker says students keep their rights at the schoolhouse gate; the Court protected students’ speech and families’ religious freedom.
• No, schools need more authority: Hazelwood and T.L.O. let schools control school-sponsored speech and search students with reasonable suspicion, because schools must keep order and teach.

3. Pacing options

4. Exit ticket

1. Which case decision do you most agree or disagree with? Explain using the quote.
2. Tinker protects speech that does not substantially disrupt school. Give one example of student speech that would and would not be protected.

5. Differentiation