JUDGING FOR THEMSELVES

Award-winning teacher David Sherrin lays out a classroom-tested method for staging lively mock trials that lead students to invest themselves more deeply in curriculum topics, learn rigorous close-reading and questioning techniques, and reflect upon themes of justice and responsibility. He first walks readers through the dos and don’ts of choosing a topic, selecting the defendant and witnesses, deciding on a venue, putting together affidavits and exhibits, and assigning students to roles. He follows up with a detailed procedure for executing mock trials, then provides sample mock-trial units complete with scripts, primary source documents, scaffolding worksheets, and assessment rubrics.