Lesson
Discussion Guide for Landmark Cases
A discussion guide that helps students analyze landmark Supreme Court cases, distinguishing between constitutional reasoning and personal opinions.
Founding Principles
Guiding Questions
- Why is it important to assess a Supreme Court decision based upon its constitutional reasoning instead of personal approval or disapproval of the final decision?
Objectives
- Describe the facts, constitutional issue, holding, reasoning, decision, and opinion of a Supreme Court case.
- Develop discussion questions to analyze a landmark Supreme Court case.
- Distinguish between the constitutionality of a Court’s decision and one’s personal approval or disapproval of the outcome.
Materials
Lesson Components
ActivityLandmark Supreme Court Cases Scenario Cards
A student handout that helps students articulate the main arguments and implications of the decisions in nine Landmark Supreme Court Cases.
EssayTimeline of the Supreme Court
Narrative content that explores four eras of the Supreme Court: The Marshall Court, the Taney Court, The Warren Court, and the Modern Courts.
Lesson plan
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