CIVICS Β· AMERICAN GOVERNMENT Β· UNIT 8
The Judicial Branch Unit Plan
Everything you need for an engaging, student-driven unit on the courts and the Judicial Branch in Civics or American Government, with easy-to-follow lesson plans for every day.
Unit 8 Overview
Who decides what the law means?
This is the eighth unit in my Civics and American Government curriculum, wrapping up the three branches with the courts. Students learn how the court system is structured, how cases reach the Supreme Court, and how judges' decisions have shaped American life.
Along the way, students decide which court should hear different cases, choose which cases the Supreme Court should take, debate judicial activism and restraint, research a landmark case in a project-based learning assignment, and look at how the First Amendment applies to cyberbullying.
You can buy every resource for this unit here, or join Students of History to immediately access every lesson online, along with every other unit in the course.
Day-by-Day Flow
How the unit runs
The unit plan guide includes lesson plans for every day, so you always know which resource to use and how. Here's how the unit moves from start to finish.
Basics of the Judicial System
The Case of the Shipwrecked Sailors gets students debating justice right away. After a PowerPoint on the court system, they rotate through stations deciding whether each case belongs in state or federal court.
The Supreme Court
Students learn how cases reach the Supreme Court and how justices are chosen. Then groups play the justices in a "Cases for the Court" activity, deciding which cases deserve a hearing.
Judicial Review & Activism
Students learn how Marbury v. Madison gave the Court the power of judicial review and find a law a court recently struck down. Then they debate judicial activism versus restraint in a Socratic seminar.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases
Each student researches a landmark case and creates a project on it, using the same career roles as the earlier democracy PBL. A Court Cases to Know PowerPoint makes sure everyone learns the rest.
Cyberbullying and the Law
Acting as law firms, groups use precedents like Tinker v. Des Moines to decide whether to take on real cyberbullying cases. Students also look up the cyberbullying laws in your state.
Review & Assessment
A landmark cases matching worksheet, unit outline, vocabulary sheet, and online review games lead into the editable unit assessment.
What's Included
Over 30 resources, ready to teach
Every resource comes in both print and digital formats, plus a unit plan guide with lesson ideas for each day and links to videos and online resources.
- A complete unit guide packet students use throughout the unit
- A full set of digital notebook activities for Google Drive
- 3 PowerPoint lessons with guided notes on the basics of the judicial system, the Supreme Court, and court cases to know
- A US court system reading
- A state vs. federal courts case study and a "Who Hears the Case?" activity
- A Supreme Court interactive notebook foldable
- A "Cases for the Court" activity
- A Judicial Branch DBQ project
- An early Supreme Court cases activity and a judicial review digital notebook page
- A judicial activism and restraint worksheet and a reading on the Supreme Court and civil rights
- A project-based learning assignment on landmark Supreme Court cases
- A lesson on the First Amendment and cyberbullying
- A Citizens United lesson plan
- A court cases matching review, unit outline, vocabulary sheet, and review activities
- An editable unit assessment
Teacher Reviews
What teachers say about this unit
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βThis is an easy-to-use, zero prep unit that really helped my students understand the judicial branch!β
Kayla W.Teacher
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βI LOVE this bundle! An abundance of materials and resources for students and takes so much hassle out of planning. Buy this NOW!β
Savannah V.Teacher
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βExcellent materials. Every lesson was in detail and well done. My students loved the unit.β
Joshua L.Teacher
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βThis was an extremely engaging unit. My students loved all the different activities especially the Supreme Court PBL.β
Sam F.Teacher
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βGood resource! Helped supplement my Government unit! Well organized.β
Hanna H.Teacher
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βI love the worksheets that are included. Very well done.β
Pam G.Teacher
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This is unit 8 of 11 in my complete Civics and American Government curriculum.
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