Name: Kathleen Sewell
Subject/Grade: 12th Grade American Government
Title/Topic of the Lesson: Landmark Supreme Court Cases: Miranda v. Arizona
Sunshine State Standards Addressed in this Lesson:
SS.912.C.3.10 Evaluate the significance and outcomes of landmark Supreme Court cases.
Learning Objectives:
 Students will recite and interpret the four Miranda warnings.
 Students will examine the background and decision of Miranda v. Arizona.
 Students will analyze the impact of Miranda on the criminal justice system.
Lesson Content:
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you
in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be
provided for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?” Almost
everyone recognizes these words as the Miranda warning, which police officers must read to
suspects in police custody before they are interrogated. The warning originates from the
Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Miranda v. Arizona. In its 1966 ruling, the Court stated
that suspects’ Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and Sixth Amendment to
counsel are so basic that they must be safeguarded. After the Court handed down its decision,
many law enforcement officials and prosecutors argued that Miranda went too far to protect the
the rights of the accused. In this lesson, students will examine the Miranda warnings and the
background of Miranda v. Arizona in order to analyze whether Miranda favors the accused.
Student Grouping:
For this lesson, students will work in student-selected groups of three or four. (In an
actual grade school classroom, students will already be organized in groups of four chosen by the
teachers to be heterogeneous by academic ability, gender, and race, and take into consideration
which students work well together and which students do not.) Groups will work together to
interpret the four Miranda warnings and analyze the impact of Miranda on the criminal justice
system.
Methods:
The opening of the lesson uses a variety of methods to engage students and access their
prior knowledge. The clip from 21 Jump Street (2012) is a hook designed to grab students’
attention through humor. This clip leads in to the next activity, in which students are asked to
recall the Miranda warning. Students will most likely already know the wording of the Miranda
warning from police procedural television shows, and so activity will access their prior
knowledge. The activity in which students must rewrite the Miranda warning in their own words
ensures that students understand the warning.
During the main activity of the lesson, groups will use the “RoundRobin” Kagan
structure to regulate their discussion on whether Miranda goes too far to protect the rights of the
accused. With RoundRobin, group members take turns stating responses to the questions posed
by the teachers. Each group member is given one minute to give their opinion. After all group
members have responded, students may comment on what others in their group have said. This
structure will ensure equal participation by all group members in the conversation.
Activities:
Opening:
 Students will be placed into groups of four (or three) students.
 The teachers will show a clip from the movie 21 Jump Street. In the clip, rookie police
officers Jenko and Schmidt arrest a drug dealer but are forced to release him because
Jenko forgot the wording of the Miranda warning.
 To assess the students’ prior knowledge of the wording of the Miranda warning, the
teachers will ask the whole class to recite the warning in its entirety. The students’
responses will be added to the lesson’s Prezi. If students are not able to remember the
warning on their own, the teachers will provide hints to help students complete the
warning.
 In their groups, students will rewrite the four statements of the Miranda warning in their
own words. One member in each group will write the group’s version of the Miranda
warning on a sheet of paper. Groups will have five minutes to work on their
interpretation. A timer displayed on the board will keep track of time.
 Each group will share their interpretation of the Miranda warning. Students may
comment on other groups’ interpretations if they wish.
Main Activity:
 The teachers will present a Prezi presentation on Miranda v. Arizona. The presentation
will cover Miranda’s arrest, conviction, and appeal, and the Supreme Court’s ruling in the
case. It will also cover the impact of the Miranda case on the criminal justice system,
and reactions to the Miranda ruling.
 The teachers will pose two questions for consideration:
o Do Miranda rights protect the accused at the expense of justice?
o Do Miranda rights prevent law enforcement officials and prosecutors from
convicting criminals?
 Students will have one minute to consider these questions.
 The teachers will introduce the RoundRobin structure to students. It will be described as
follows:
o Each group member will be given one minute to respond to the questions posed
by the teachers. A timer displayed on the board will keep track of time.
o The group member with the longest last name will respond first and responses
will continue in a clockwise direction.
o After each group member has had a chance to respond, all members may
comment on what has been said.
 Groups will follow the RoundRobin structure to regulate their discussion of the two
questions posed above.
 The teachers will then call on individual students to share what their group discussed in
the RoundRobin activity.
Closing:

The teachers will show a second clip from 21 Jump Street. In this clip, Jenko and
Schmidt arrest a drug dealer and celebrate after they are able to remember the wording of
the Miranda warning.
Materials:
 Forgotten Miranda rights clip from 21 Jump Street:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T45aF1NLMyM
 Prezi presentation: prezi.com/zjfspct8qrgy/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
 High five clip from 21 Jump Street: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGOyzAaD_MI