Long Term Learning Target: I can analyze the origins, structure, and functions of the United States government and investigate the balance of individual rights and the law.
During this project students will read Just Mercy, complete courtroom themed quizzes and activitys , and in the end they will complete a real court case at the courthouse for their final grade.
During this assignment we were asked to read multiple articles about the Ahmaud Arbery case. We learned about a law that was passed in our jury system that required cases concerning black defendants to have a impartial jury. In the Ahmaud Arbery case three white men case a black man, Ahmaud Arbery who was jogging down the street with a gun and in the end they fatally shot him. During this trail there was only one black juror but in the end they convicted all three men of murder and they were subsequently sentenced to time in jail.
Grade: Meets
During this quiz we worked with a partner and together we looked at ten different cases and we had to decide what amendment each case went with and if the final decision violated the Bill of Rights. I got a meets on the assignment because I got two of the questions wrong. My goal for the next quiz we do like this is to go over my work an extra time and to make sure that I go over the subject in question an extra time.
Grade: Exceeds
In this quiz we were given the vocabulary words and then a scenario and we had to match then scenario and word together. I got an exceeds on the assignment because I got all the answers correct and I understood all of the questions very well. I feel like I could not have done a better job and that I am very confident with this topic.
Just Mercy, so far
In just Mercy so far we have learned about how Brian Stevenson came to his job, how many people he has helped, and the Rhonda Morrison case. Brian Stevenson the author of Just Mercy grew up in the south and when he was growing up other parents were afraid to let their white kids play with him because he is black. Brain Stevenson has been working with condemned black men on death row for over 39 years. One of the other cases we have covered is about a fourteen year old boy named Charlie who shot his mothers boyfriend, George after he punched his mother so hard that she fell to the floor and hit her head on a metal counter on her way down. I have found just mercy incredibly interesting so far and I wish that we could get the chance to talk to Bryan Stevenson and ask him question about specific cases that I find incredibly interesting.
Grade: Meets
This quiz was about the three branches of government and what each of them do. I got a 11/11 on this quiz which is a meets because it was an open note quiz. I could have memorized all of the powers better so that I did not have to use my notes so much. My glow for this quiz is that I am now fairly confident with my branches and I know how they work. I also took a fair amount of notes so even though I did not memorize everything I had all the notes I needed to get a perfect score.
After we finished reading the book Just Mercy we got to write an essay about our overall feelings of the book and what we feel like the most important topic in the book. I got an Exceeds of this essay because I was very thorough and I went above and beyond while writing and editing. I do no have any grows but I am very proud of my overall grade and the way my essay turned out.
For our final grade for the mock trial we got to have a real trial, with a lawyer as our judge. I got an exceeds for both my civics and oral presentation because I spent 17 extra hours on it at home and was very professional during the trial. My glow for this project is that I felt a little bit under confident before the trial but I was able to pull my self together and present my best self.
