Introduction
For the U.S. History End of Course exam there many topics to be aware of. Our main focus today would be landmark supreme court cases. Learning about this cases will inform you of rights you currently may have or at least understand changes over time. The memorization of these cases are imperative to about 1/4 of questions asked on the exam.
Your group will pick a case from this list -
- Marbury v. Madison (1803)
- McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
- Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
- Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
- Schenck v. U.S. (1919)
- Korematsu v. United States (1944)
- Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
- Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
- Baker v. Carr (1962)
- Engel v. Vitale (1962)
- Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
- Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
- Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
- New York Times v. United States (1971)
- Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
- Roe v. Wade (1973)
- United States v. Nixon (1974)
- Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)
- Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988)
- Texas v. Johnson (1989)
- Shaw v. Reno (1993)
- U.S. v. Lopez (1995)
- Bush v. Gore (2000)
- District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)
- McDonald v. Chicago (2010)
- Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
Students will evaluate how the Supreme Court Decisions affect the law and the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.
Task
Working in teams of 4, students will spend two weeks researching a selected case to present to the class 4 part structure of the case. The group will research the initial event, the court process, the verdict and its impact.
The Final project will include:
- Written Assignment: 500 words written by each student based on their portion of the research.
- Class Presentation: A presentation in front of the class covering each part of the case.
- Peer Review: A Q&A for the group for 5 minutes after the presentation for their peers.
Process
The team of 4 will split into their 4 roles.
The Initial Event - Investigate the event that occurred to bring the topic to court and why they request a Process
The team of 4 will split into their 4 roles:
- The Initial Event: Investigate the event that occurred to bring the topic to court and why they request a repeal to the supreme court.
- The Court process: Expand on both sides arguments and their events in court.
- The Verdict: The majority opinion on this case prevails, expand on it.
- The Impact: There is a reason that this case is considered a landmark so what precedent did it set?
Project Requirements & Timeline
- Research & Timeline: After a class period of research students will discuss their findings to establish a timeline on a word document.
- Written Submission: After the research is complete, students are required to submit 500 words based on their portion of the presentation for review. Any critiques can be used for their final presentation.
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Slideshow Presentation: Students must create a slideshow presentation explaining the 4 portions of the supreme court case of their choice. Each student may have notecards during the presentation but no more than two.
The presentation must include:
- A timeline
- A table of contents
- Minimum 4 photos
- Minimum 10 slides
- Q&A Session: Afterwards you will participate in a 5 minute Q&A of your peers and receive your scores after everyone has presented.
Resources
https://landmarkcases.org/landmark-cases/
https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/supreme-court-landmarks
https://civics.supremecourthistory.org/
Evaluation
Project Evaluation Rubric
| Category | Full Marks (20 pts) | Proficient (15 pts) | Developing (10 pts) | Novice (5 pts) |
| Information & Content | Thoroughly covers all 4 required parts (Initial Event, Court Process, Verdict, Impact). Accurate timeline and table of contents included. At least 4 photos and 10 slides used. | Covers all 4 parts, but one or two sections lack depth. Includes the timeline and slides, but missing minor elements like photos or a table of contents. | Missing 1–2 of the core components. Slides are minimal or fall under the 10-slide requirement. | Information is disorganized, deeply flawed, or missing most core components of the case. |
| Presentation Skills | Well prepared and engaging. Speakers share time equally, speak clearly. | Prepared and clear, but relies slightly too much on reading from slides or notes. | Presentation is rushed, difficult to hear, or disjointed. Over reliance on reading text directly off the slides | Audience cannot understand the presentation; completely unprepared to present. |
| Team Effort & Collaboration | Team functions as a cohesive unit. Roles (Initial Event, Court Process, Verdict, Impact) are perfectly integrated into a single seamless timeline and narrative. | All roles are represented, but the transition between speakers or topics feels fragmented rather than like a unified project. | Clear imbalance in team contribution; some members carried the workload while others did not fulfill their assigned role's scope. | Minimal evidence of teamwork; individual parts do not connect or form a logical presentation. |
| Q&A Handling | Handles the 5-minute peer Q&A smoothly. Demonstrates deep knowledge of the case by answering questions accurately, confidently, and defensively. | Answers most questions during the 5 minutes accurately, though may hesitate or need to look up details for tougher questions. | Can only answer superficial questions; struggles to defend or expand on the core legal concepts of the case during the Q&A. | Unable to answer peer questions or refuses to engage in the Q&A session. |
| Written Portion | Individual 500 word essay is fully completed, submitted on time, and seamlessly reflects the student's assigned portion of the research with excellent mechanics. | Written portion is close to the 500 word count and covers the role well, but contains minor grammatical errors or was submitted slightly late. | Written portion is significantly short of the 500 word requirement or lacks focus on the student's assigned research role. | Written portion is brief (only a few sentences), completely off-topic, or unreadable. |
Conclusion
After receiving your grade from the rubric, use the information researched and presented to you to continue studying for the EOC. With the process needed to complete the project hopfully students are more familiar with the Supreme Court Cases as well as gained some research and study habits.
Using resources like Quizlet can help with association and memorization to help study.