USF's WebQuest 

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WebQuest Title:      

Morals vs Money

Dear Colleague:

This website is meant to compliment a study of Substantive Criminal Law while the webquest can be used either for Law, Government, or Economic courses.  Although the Unit starts with an explanation of Constitutional and Procedural Law, this should only be used as a review.  I have included in these sections the information that is minimally required for the webquest.  If the students have never had procedural law before, then you might want to incorporate the exclusionary rule and the fruits of the poisonous tree doctrine.  The webquest will focus on whether marijuana should be legalized and regulated by the U.S. government.  Students will be required to evaluate current marijuana laws, predict what would happen if marijuana was legalized and regulated, and determine, as a group, whether to legalize marijuana.  A paper will be a part of this webquest (further instructions in Unit Plan).

Grade Level: AP Substantive Law Class (12 grade)

Author:           Felix Romero

Date:              April 14th, 2007

Unit Summary:
    Goals/Objectives:

NCSS Thematic Strands:

• Power, Authority, and Governance
  • Recognize and give examples of the tensions between the wants and needs of individuals and groups, and concepts such as fairness, equity, and justice.
• Civic Ideals and Practices
  • Identify key ideals of the United States' democratic republican form of government such as individual human dignity, liberty, justice, equality, and the rule of law, and discuss their application in specific situations.
  • Recognize that a variety of formal and informal actors influence and shape public policy.

Goals/Objectives:

§         The student will list the steps in the criminal justice process.

§         The students will be able to evaluate current policies.

§         The student will be able to locate errors in the criminal justice process, and provide explanations for the errors.

Days:              Eight Days (50 minute classes)

Content:  

The content for this unit will focus mainly on substantive law.  The first two days of the unit serve as a review for information that the students should have already learned.  The substantive law portion of the unit will focus on policies, and how policies sometimes are changed if the cost outweigh the gains.

Methods:    

• Lecture/Discussion

• Cooperative Learning

• Internet Webquest

• Class Readings

WebQuest  Summary:
Goals/Objectives:

NCSS Thematic Strands:

§         Power, Authority, and Governance

o       Give examples of how government does or does not provide for needs and wants of people, establish order and security, and manage conflict.

• Civic Ideals and Practices
  • Recognize that a variety of formal and informal actors influence and shape public policy.
  • Examine the influence of public opinion on personal decision-making and government policy on public issues.

NCEE Standard:

§         Costs of government policies sometimes exceed benefits. This may occur because of incentives facing voters, government officials, and government employees, because of actions by special interest groups that can impose costs on the general public, or because social goals other than economic efficiency are being pursued.

Goals/Objectives:

§        The students will be able to evaluate current laws on marijuana use.

§         The students will be able to predict what would happen, economically, if we legalized marijuana.

§         The students will be able to decide whether, as a group, to legalize and regulate marijuana.

Days:              Three Days (50 minute classes)

Content: 

The webquest will focus on the concept of legalizing and regulating marijuana.  This is a current and relevant issue to the students, with the most recent legislation being  the proposed Amendment 44 which would legalize a small amount of marijuana in Colorado (2006).  The students would have to research and address four different topics about legalizing marijuana.  My recommendation is to have groups of four students, and have each student research one topic.  The four topics will be: the effects of marijuana on an individual, current laws and legislation about marijuana use, what are the consequences of illegalizing marijuana (i.e. cost of policing), and what benefits will the economy face if marijuana is legalized and regulated (i.e. jobs, money).  The students will then come together, and decide if they would legalize and regulate marijuana.  A five page paper will then be required stating the rational for their decision.  The groups will then have to propose their position in class, and defend accordingly, thus forming a debate. 

Methods:

• Internet Research

• Cooperative Learning

• Writing

• Presentations/Debate   

Teachers Resources

Unit Information:
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Background Resources

Web-based Subject Matter Content

http://gpoaccess.gov/executive.html

http://www.fda.gov/opacom/laws/cntrlsub/ctlsbtoc.htm

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/21/usc_sup_01_21_10_13_20_I.html

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/home.html

http://www.macattorney.com/law.html

Web Pedagogy Content: Teacher Technology Information

http://www.fno.org/oct97/launch.html

http://searcheric.org

Web Pedagogy Content: Student Technology Information

http://www.cybercitizenship.org

http://www.netsmartz.org/netteens.htm

Other Resources

http://www.webquestdirect.com.au/whatis_use.asp

http://www.members.tripod.com/drwilliampmartin/introduction.html

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquest.html

http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/67.htm                 Gideon v. Wainwright

http://www.vlex.com/vid/19988763                                                Santobello v. New York

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/95-157.ZO.html                   United States v. Armstrong

http://www.soc.umn.edu/~samaha/cases/brown_v_mississippi.html  Brown v. Mississippi

Unit Lesson Sequence
 

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Day 1   
Lesson Plan Outline

Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc)	Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts	Materials (Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)
Bell Work (KWL) 10 minutes	Have the students fill out the K (what I know) and W (what I want to know) portions of the KWL on Constitutional Law. Have some of the students discuss what they wrote down. This will help activate prior knowledge and allow you to gauge what the student understands.	KWL Worksheet
Lecture 35 minutes	Use the PowerPoint on Constitutional Law to review information about the similarities and differences between procedural and substantive law.  Handout the worksheets to the students for note taking.	Constitutional Law PowerPoint   Constitutional Law Worksheet
Finish KWL 5 minutes	Have the students finish the L (what I learned) portion of the KWL worksheet.  Tell your students to be prepared to discuss what you wrote down tomorrow in class.	Same Worksheet as Bell Work

 

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Day 2   
Lesson Plan Outline

Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc)	Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts	Materials (Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)
Bell Work 10 minutes	Review the major concepts from yesterday's lecture and have some students discuss what they wrote down for the "L" portion of yesterday's KWL.	N/A
Lecture 40 minutes	Expand on procedural law concepts.  This lecture will be split in two parts, one which is done today and the second portion is done tomorrow.  Attached is a worksheet that the students can fill out while you are lecturing.  This PowerPoint will focus mainly on discussion.	PowerPoint Procedural Law Procedural Law Worksheet
Homework	Have the students find a newspaper article about procedural law (i.e. trial process, or illegal searches and seizures.	N/A

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Day 3   
Lesson Plan Outline

Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc)	Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts	Materials (Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)
Bell Work 10 minutes	Have some of the students read the articles that they brought in and explain what the article has to do with law.	N/A
Lecture 10 minutes	Finish the PowerPoint on Procedural Law.	PowerPoint Procedural Law Procedural Law Worksheet
Cooperative Learning Activity 30 minutes	Split up the students into groups of four.  Tell the students to examine one of the following cases (Case summaries are located above under "Other Resources": Santobello v. New York (404 U.S. 257), United States v. Armstrong (517 U.S. 456), Brown v. Mississippi (297 U.S. 278), and Gideon v. Wainwright (372 U.S. 335)  Use the attached worksheet and have the student find: 1) What part of the criminal justice system did the error occur, 2) did an error occur, and 3) what evidence supports you conclusion for #2.	Procedural Law Group Work Sheet

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Day 4   
Lesson Plan Outline

Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc)	Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts	Materials (Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)
Bell Work (Frayer Model) 10 minutes	Have the students complete the attached Frayer Model Worksheet on Law.  Have the students share some of their responses.	Frayer Model Worksheet
Lecture 40 minutes	Expands on substantive law concepts.  Attached is a worksheet that the students can fill out while you are lecturing.  This PowerPoint will focus mainly on discussion.	Substantive Law PowerPoint   Substantive Law Student Worksheet

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Day 5   
Lesson Plan Outline

Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc)	Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts	Materials (Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)
Bell Work 5 minutes	Write down the following questions on the board: “Which do you believe is more difficult to prove: concurrence of actus reus and mens rea or absence of attendant circumstances that would neglect criminal liability? Why?”  Have some of the students share their responses.	N/A
Lecture 40 minutes	Lecture focuses on the types of crime.  Attached is a worksheet that the students can fill out while you are lecturing.  This PowerPoint will focus mainly on discussion.	Crime PowerPoint   Crime Student Worksheet
Prep for WebQuest 5 minutes	Mention the WebQuest that the students will be doing for the next couple of days.  Review proper computer rules and procedures.	Computer Lab Rules/Procedures

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Day 6/7   
Lesson Plan Outline

Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc)	Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts	Materials (Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)
Meet at the Library for Research 50 minutes	You should spend the day in the library so the groups can perform the Webquest activity.  The groups can also use this time to write their papers or to get ready for the debate.  See the Student Webquest for more information.	Student WebQuest

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Day 8   
Lesson Plan Outline

Method (Attention Getter, Lecture, Callout Group, etc)	Content/Key Ideas/Concepts/Facts	Materials (Transparencies, audio, handouts, etc)
Debate 50 minutes	Have the groups go up to the front of the class and present their papers.  After all groups have presented, have each group or student raise their had and critique each others arguments.  For example, a student who wanted to legalize and regulate marijuana may not agree with a point that another group had who wanted to keep marijuana consumption and sale illegal.  Remember to go over proper etiquette at the beginning of class to prevent fights.	N/A

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Conclusion:

At the conclusion of this unit, the students will have a better understanding of substantive and procedural law.  They will also be able to evaluate current policies from multiple perspective.  The students will develop his or her social and public speaking skills as well.

Credits/References:

Smith, C.E. (2003).  Criminal procedures.  Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, Inc.

Territo, L., Halsted, J.B., & Bromley, M.L. (2004).  Crime and justice in america: A human perspective.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Vanfossen, P. Economic Concepts at the Core of Civic Education. International Journal of Social Education v. 20 no. 2 (Fall 2005/Winter 2006) p. 35-66

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