USF's WebQuest 

Introduction:

The Judiciary Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate have decided to review landmark Supreme Court decisions that established precedence for all future decisions. They want to decide if new legislation is necessary to alter any of these decisions. The first four cases they have decided to review are: Marbury v. Madison (1803), Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), Brown v. Board of Education (1954), and United States v. Nixon (1974). They are particularly interested in the roles each of the Three Branches of the United States Government played in these cases, and whether or not, the doctrine of "checks and balances" came into play.

 The Committee Realized this was an excellent learning opportunity for High School American Government students. They decided to hold a nationwide competition for the best reenactments of these separate Court cases which they opened to all American Government students in the country.  The winners of the competition will perform their reenactment for both Judiciary Committees of Congress in Washington, D.C. (all expenses paid, of course). Your class has decided to participate in this National Competition by writing, producing, and performing reenactments of all four cases. There is a lot of work to be done. Let's Get Started!!!

TASK:

Your task is to research, write, produce, and perform a reenactment of one of the following Historical Supreme Court Cases:

• Marbury v. Madison (1803)
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
• United States v. Nixon (1974)

You hope your reenactment production will win first place in the National American Government Competition that the Judiciary Committees of the United States Congress is holding for the best reenactment of Historical Supreme Court Cases. But first, you must be chosen by your school selection committee to represent your school at the county level. You have a lot of work to do!

• (click on bullet to see list) You must write a script for your reenactment. You must research the case you have been assigned in order to write a factual script.  The Judiciary Committees of Congress have specified what information must be included in your production:
  • the title of your Historical Supreme Court Decision
  • the historical time period during which the case took place
  • the names and titles (if applicable) of all the key players involved in the case
  • the specific issue before the Supreme Court in your case
  • key events that led to the Court hearing this case
  • the specific argument presented by both sides in the case
  • the involvement of the three separate branches of the U.S. government
  • if there is no direct involvement by these branches, how would the outcome affect the business of the individual branches?
  • the Court's final decision
  • the long term significance of the case
• You have decided the best way to present your reenactment is with a mock court hearing with students role-playing the key players involved.
• You will also have representatives from the three branches of government presenting "friendly briefs" which detail their opinions on the case.
• You decide it will be helpful to hand out a "History Frame" to everyone in the audience to assist in their understanding of the case.
• In addition, they require a visual aid presentation be used to support your case. You have decided to create a PowerPoint presentation even though you know such a program was not available during these cases. They have indicated that this is their preferred visual aid. Your PowerPoint presentation will include:
  • key points of both sides of the issue
  • key events that led to the hearing
  • appropriate pictures or other illustrations

Process:

• Your teacher will break you up into 4 groups of at least 6 students.
• Each group will be assigned one of the four cases to reenact.

There are three parts to the Process: Research, Reenactment Production, and Reenactment Performance

• The first part is the research period. Everyone will be a researcher for this period.
• Each one of you will be assigned a different role in this research and will address your research to the role you are playing. The roles are: House of Representatives, Senate, Executive Branch, and the Judicial Branch.
• You will each be assigned a different website to research on the case. 
• Each of you will be responsible for filling in  a  WebQuest Website Report  about the website you are assigned. Fill in the form with your branch of government in mind as you research. You will be using this report to assist you in writing the script for the reenactment or your "friendly brief" if your branch of government is not a key player in the case.
• You may also use textbooks, historical nooks, and articles to help you in your research.
• Click on the case your group has been assigned to see the websites you are to research.

Marbury v. Madison

• http://www.landmarkcases.org/marbury/home.html
• http://infoplease.com/us/supreme-court/cases/ar20.html
• http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/9.htm
• http://www.tourolaw.edu/patch/Marbury/
• http//www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/marbury.html
• http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=49

Plessy v. Ferguson

• http://www.landmarkcases.org/plessy/home.html

• http://www.infoplease.com/us/supreme-court/cases/ar29.html

• http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/33.htm

• http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_plessy.html

• http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/sepbutequal.htm

• http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/kjohnso1/plessy.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer_Plessy

• http://www.mcgeorge.edu/brownvboard/plessy.htm

• http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/links/misclink/plessy/

Brown v. Board of Education 

• http://www.landmarkcases.org/brown/home.html

• http://www.infoplease.com/us/supreme-court/cases/ar04.html

• http://usinfo.state.gov/USA/inforusa/facts/democrac/36.htm

• http://brownvboard.org/index.htm

• http://www.nationalcenter.org/brown.html

• http://www.brownat50.org/

• http://www.concentric.net/~Wrogers/Marshall/brown.htm

• http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/

• http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/jbalkin/brown/index.html

United States v. Nixon

• http://www.landmarkcases.org/nixon/home.html

• http://www.infoplease.com/us/supreme-court/cases/ar41.html

• http://usinfo.state.goc/uas/infousa/facts/democrac/72.htm

• http://www.tourolaw.edu/patch/Nixon/

• http://socsci.gulfcoast.edu/dreese/nixon.htm

• http://www.watergate.info/

The second part of the Process is the production of the reenactment. You must reassemble all group members. Your group will be given copies of the Grading Rubric so you will know what needs to be included. Your reenactment must be between 15-30 minutes in length.

Each member of your group needs to have one of the following roles:

• Scriptwriters: Your job is to take the completed WebQuest Website Reports from all members and write the script for the reenactment.
• "Friendly Brief" writers: Your job is to write a maximum one page "friendly brief" explaining your opinion of the case if your branch of government is not a key player in the case. This will be part of the final case script.
• PowerPointers: Your job is to design and create the PowerPoint presentation with the information provided by the other group members. Remember, you need to list key points, key events, and illustrate with appropriate pictures and graphics.
• Leader/Communicator: Your job is to help the others synthesize information in writing the scripts, "friendly briefs," and creating the PowerPoint. You are also responsible for filling out the History Frame to handed out to the class during the reenactment.

The third part of the Process is the actual reenactment. Everyone must play a role in the production. The roles to be filled are:

• Representatives from both sides of the issue who will role-play the arguments.
• Chief Supreme Court Justice: You will listen to both sides, ask questions when appropriate, and read the final decision of the Court.
• "Friendly Brief" readers that are representatives of the branches of government not directly involved in the case.
• PowerPoint presenter: You will be running the slide show while the others speak. It is important that you have your slides in sync with the speakers. You will also have to answer questions that the Chief Justice may have about your presentation.
• Baillif: Your job is to call the court to order, introduce the participants, state the issue before the court, end the proceedings with a brief summary of the significance of the case to future law, and dismiss the court.
• The Reenactment Production: Period costumes or props are not required, but you will receive extra credit for creativity.

The group must turn into the teacher:

•  all completed WebQuest Website Reports
• copy of the completed script
• copy of all "friendly briefs"
• completed History Frame concerning your case.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Evaluation:

• Print out one of the Group Rubrics for your group and put the names of all members on it. Give it to your teacher to complete.
• Print out enough copies of the Individual Member Rubric for each member of the group. Each member is to write their names on it and list the three roles played by the individual. Each member must give the Rubric to the teacher to complete.
• Click on links for Rubrics

Conclusion:

Congratulations!!! Your Reenactment Production has been chosen to represent your school in the county-wide selection competition. You should continue to compete well all the way to Washington, D.C.

You should now be familiar with the Historical Supreme Court Decision you were assigned. I know when you are asked questions by the committee members about the specific roles played by the three branches of government in your case you will be able to answer with clarity and understanding concerning their roles, as well as, how the doctrine of "checks and Balances" was applied in your case.

You did a fabulous Job! You should consider being a lawyer some day...or at least an actor portraying one.