Social Studies
Course: U.S. Government
Designated Grading Period: 3rd Grading Period
Unit V:
Days to Teach: 4 days per unit
Federal Courts / Judiciary Branch
TEKS
Guiding Questions
& Specificity
Assessment
Vocabulary
Instructional
Strategies
Resources
(1) History. The student understands how constitutional government, as developed in America and expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of
Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution, has been influenced by ideas, people, and historical documents.
(7) Government. The student understands the American beliefs and principles reflected in the U.S. Constitution and why these are significant.
(8) Students identify and discuss how the actions of U.S. citizens and the local, state, and federal governments have either met or failed to meet the ideals espoused
in the founding documents.
(13) Citizenship. The student understands rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
(17) Culture. The student understands the relationship between government policies and the culture of the United States.
8(A) analyze the structure and -The structure and
-How do federal
Concurrent
8A, 8C, 8F:
Textbook: United States
functions of the judicial branch
powers of the federal
and state court
jurisdiction
Interactive Research
Government: Democracy
of government, including the
courts and jurisdiction jurisdictions differ?
original jurisdiction
Landmark Supreme
in Action, Remy, 2003.
federal court system, types of
appellate jurisdiction Court Cases
Chapters 16-19
jurisdiction, and judicial
-Qualifications and the -How do Supreme
litigant
Guided Reading Activity
review;
appointment process
Court decisions reflect due process clause
and Vocabulary
8(C) analyze the structure and
of federal judges
the attempts of the
grand jury
Assignment Research
functions of the judicial branch
justices to meet
indictment
over Supreme Court
Original Supreme Court
of government, including the
-Supreme Court
changing social
petit jury
Cases involving
Cases
federal court system, types of
decision making
conditions?
opinion
teenagers
jurisdiction, and judicial
writ of certiorari brief Supreme Court
review.
-Paths to the Supreme
-How are federal court majority opinion
Interactive
www.oyez.com
8(F) analyze selected issues
Court
justices chosen?
dissenting opinion
Court Quest Game:
raised by judicial activism and
judicial review
review of vocabulary
judicial restraint.
-Civil Liberties and
-Why does the
precedent
and function of courts
U.S. Supreme Court
1(F) identify significant
Rights
Supreme Court hear
advisory opinion
Character Map (LRE)
individuals in the field of
very few cases within
exclusionary rule
significant individuals
government and politics,
-Historical U.S.
the jurisdiction it has?
counsel
Come to My Dinner
Dinner Party
including George Washington,
Supreme Court
self-incrimination
Party Lesson (modify to
Thomas Jefferson, John
decisions and their
-What political
double jeopardy
address significant
Marshall, Andrew Jackson,
impact on American
influences affect
fundamental right
individuals in TEKS)
Abraham Lincoln, Theodore
Society.
the selection of the
discrimination
ELPS: 4D, 3E, 5B, 3J,
Roosevelt, Franklin D.
Supreme Court
Jim Crow laws
13A-D Lesson Credit:
Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan.
justices?
separate but equal
Gene Chase - Respond to
13(A) understand the roles of
doctrine
the following: 1. What
limited government and the
-By what route do
affirmative action
language in the
rule of law in the protection of
most cases from other
judicial restraint
Constitution provides for
individual rights;
courts reach the
judicial activism
free expression?
Social Studies
Course: U.S. Government
Designated Grading Period: 3rd Grading Period
Unit V:
Days to Teach: 4 days per unit
Federal Courts / Judiciary Branch
TEKS
13(B) identify and define the
unalienable rights;
13(C) identify the freedoms
and rights guaranteed by each
amendment in the Bill of
Rights;
13(D) analyze U.S. Supreme
Court interpretations of rights
guaranteed by the U.S.
Constitution in selected cases,
including Engel v. Vitale,
Schenck v. United States, Texas
v. Johnson, Miranda v. Arizona,
Gideon v. Wainwright, Mapp v.
Ohio, and Roe v. Wade;
13(E) explain the importance
of due process rights to the
protection of individual rights
and in limiting the powers of
government;
13(F) recall the conditions that
produced the 14th Amendment
and describe subsequent efforts
to selectively extend some of
the Bill of Rights to the states,
including the Blaine
Amendment and U.S. Supreme
Court rulings, and analyze the
impact on the scope of
fundamental rights and
federalism.
Guiding Questions
& Specificity
Assessment
Vocabulary
Supreme Court?
-What are the main
steps the Supreme
Court takes in
deciding cases?
-Does the Court’s use
of judicial review give
it too much power
compared to that of
the other branches of
government?
-What are the various
external influences on
Supreme Court
decisions?
-How have the
decisions of the
Supreme Court
constitutionalism
Judicial Branch
federal court system
Instructional
Strategies
2. Give an example of
speech that is not
protected. 3. What
language in the
Constitution makes
selective incorporation
possible? Give a “Gist”
statement that explains
the significance of the
following cases:
4. Schenck v. United
States (1919)
5. Texas v. Johnson
(1989)
6. Near v. Minnesota
(1931)
7. New York Times Co.
v. Sullivan (1964)
8. Miller v. California
(1973)
9. Give a statement that
synthesizes the Supreme
Court’s decisions in the
above cases.
Bill or Rights Flipbook
or foldable: Students
should include the
amendment number,
title, picture, summary,
and significance of each
amendment.
Supreme Court Cases:
Resources
Social Studies
Course: U.S. Government
Designated Grading Period: 3rd Grading Period
Unit V:
Days to Teach: 4 days per unit
Federal Courts / Judiciary Branch
TEKS
17(A) evaluate a U.S.
government policy or court
decision that has affected a
particular racial, ethnic, or
religious group such as the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
the U.S. Supreme Court cases
of Hernandez v. Texas and
Grutter v. Bollinger;
17(B) explain changes in
American culture brought by
government policies such as
voting rights, the Servicemen’s
Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI
Bill of Rights), the Immigration
and Nationality Act of 1965, the
Immigration Reform and
Control Act of 1986,
affirmative action, and racial
integration
7(G) examine the reasons the
Founding Fathers protected
religious freedom in America
and guaranteed its free exercise
by saying that “Congress shall
make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise
thereof,” and compare and
contrast this to the phrase,
“separation of church and
state.”
Guiding Questions
& Specificity
Assessment
the selection of the
Supreme Court
justices?
-By what route do
most cases from other
courts reach the
Supreme Court?
-What are the main
steps the Supreme
Court takes in
deciding cases?
-Does the Court’s use
of judicial review give
it too much power
compared to that of
the other branches of
government?
-What are the various
external influences on
Supreme Court
decisions?
-How have the
decisions of the
Supreme Court major
cases influence
American society as
they pertain to Civil
Rights and Civil
Liberties?
Vocabulary
Instructional
Strategies
class discussion
13E: School Polling:
have students take a poll
of the opinions of
teachers, students,
administrators, etc.
concerning the
importance of due
process, protection of
individual rights, and
limiting the powers of
the government.
Students can use their
finding to create charts
or graphs or for a class
discussion or essay.
13F: lecture
17A: Current Event
assignment. This can
depend on amount of
time available and
makeup of classes.
7G: Gallery Walk
Museum: Have students
research religious
freedom in America
going back to the
Founding Fathers.
Students can create
presentation boards,
computer generated
items, etc. to display for
each other or for people
from around the school.
Resources