The Judicial Branch is just one of three branches of government in the United States, and exists to judge the laws created and enforced by the other two branches. With the activities in this lesson plan, students will develop a strong understanding for the purpose and responsibilities of the Judicial Branch of the United States Government.
A Frayer Model is a specific type of graphic organizer. It was originally created in 1969, but with the widespread use of graphic organizers in the classroom, it is still widely used today. Most people are familiar with using this type of organizer for learning vocabulary words, but it can be used for more than that. The Frayer Model graphic organizer is versatile and can be used across various grades and subjects to help students to not only build on vocabulary words, but also to expand their knowledge of various concepts.
Branches of Government - The Judicial Branch - Landmark Supreme Court Cases
Storyboard Text
What led to this court case?
Protesting the war in school?! You two are suspended!
Tinkers' Argument
In 1965, John and Marybeth Tinker were students that opposed the Vietnam War. In an effort to symbolically display their opinions towards the war, both students wore black armbands to school and were soon suspended for doing so.
Des Moines' Argument
Tinker vs. Des Moines
The Tinkers argued that their armbands were a form of symbolic speech. The students believed that the First Amendment of the Constitution protected their freedom of speech and petition.
Supreme Court Ruling
How am I supposed to learn when she is protesting in class!?
It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.
Image Attributions:Constitution of the United States of America (page 4) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/3678684107/) - The U.S. National Archives - License: No known copyright restrictions (http://flickr.com/commons/usage/)
The Des Moines school district suspended the Tinkers because the school believed that their form of protest was a distraction for other students in the school. From the district's perspective, a school was not an appropriate place to protest the Vietnam War.
The Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision that the students had the right to wear the armbands in school, as it was protected by the First Amendment.
