Course Outline
Course Title
Course #
Credits
Department
Board Approval Date
Course Description
Youth and the Law
2097
5
Electives
This course is designed to give students the skills they need to understand how American
government protects the rights of its citizens, particularly citizens under the age of 18.
This course will focus on the state established English and Social Studies standards
which include: Academics, Communications, Government, Historical Research, Moral
and Ethical Principles, Economics, Principles of American Democracy, Ethics and Legal
Responsibilities, and Presentation & Public Speaking. Students will also conduct a
research essay, use speech and debate to present both facts & opinions, learn how to read
and understand laws, create public podcasts, become familiar with interviews, and
conduct field research.
Student Outcomes
The student will be able to:
1) Use factual based evidence to write a research essay on law(s) that interest them.
2) Learn the basics of speech & debate, using research, opinions, and proper public
speaking techniques.
3) Understand the Bill of Rights, Amendments, and the Constitution.
4) Identify the ethics and responsibilities of being a law-abiding citizen in the United
States.
5) Prepare written materials in preparation for a podcast.
6) Create public podcasts that are both informative and expressive concerning
different laws, past court cases, and the state of public policy today.
7) Conduct multiple interviews using research, public speaking, and
8) Describe ways to behave ethically in particular public situations.
9) Identify how America’s juvenile detention centers operate.
10) Conduct field research including visiting courthouses, police stations, and local
government offices.
11) Use all information gathered to make informed decisions about government
issues including voting, city council meetings, and community safety.
Evaluation
Assessment of student outcomes will be based on student performance through individual
assignments, research essay, online portfolios, interviews, field experience and written
reports.
5 credit course- 90 hours
Module 1: Foundations of Government (Part I)
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Lesson 1 Skills Lesson: Amendments – Analyze the 27 Amendments an how they
affect the United States. Choose 1 Amendment to focus on and locate one past
court case where this Amendment came into play. Use the evidence you find to
write an opinion piece on the outcome of the court case.
Lesson 2 Analysis: Branches of Government – Complete the webquest to
understand the different branches of government in the United States.
Lesson 3 Short Story: The Affordable Care Act is a two part legislation
(Affordable Care Act & Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act) that used
all three branches of government in its enactment. Analyze and explain the
process of how all three branches were involved.
Module 2: Foundations of Government (Part II)
 Lesson 1 Vocabulary: Identify the terms listed to gather a better understanding of
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national and local government structures
Lesson 2 Process: How a Bill Becomes a Law – Analyze and evaluate the process
of how a bill becomes a law. Use a medium of your choice (cartoon, book, short
film, etc.) to walk a person through this process.
Lesson 3 Analysis: Choose one local law (to your city or school’s city) and
research the history of the bill. Use a timeline to track how the bill became a law.
Module 3: Serial Podcast (Part I)
 Lesson 1 Listening: Listen to the first 6 episodes of the Serial Podcast. Use the
graphic organizers to track your understanding of the story.
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Lesson 2 Skills Lesson: Track the storyline of Serial using the timeline graphic
organizer – be sure to include characters, times, and places.
Lesson 3 Analysis: Complete a character analysis of the characters in the first 6
episodes – this includes who they are, what part they play, and your opinion
Module 4: Serial Podcast (Part II)
 Lesson 1 Listening: Listen to the last 6 episodes of the Serial Podcast. Use the
graphic organizers to track your understanding of the story.
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Lesson 2 Skills Lesson: Track the storyline of Serial using the timeline graphic
organizer – be sure to include characters, times, and places.
Lesson 3 Analysis: Complete a character analysis of the characters in the first 6
episodes – this includes who they are, what part they play, and your opinion
Lesson 4 Skills Lesson: Complete a five paragraph essay analysis using one of the
three prompts provided.
Module 5: Youth and the Law
 Lesson 1 Skills Lesson: Two pages of notes on the following: juvenile detention
centers, laws that shift between juvenile and adult, court cases involving juveniles
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Lesson 2 Short Story: Analyze the situation that arises between the city and a
juvenile. Using what you know (from your notes about laws and juveniles), make
a decision about how you would address the case appropriately and correctly.
Identify what the law is that is broken, and who is at fault, and how the city
should handle the case.
Lesson 3 Skills Lesson: Research your local juvenile detention center and answer
the following questions: How much does it cost to run the center for one year?
How do the inmates access the necessities of education? Exercise? Food?
Friends?
Lesson 4 Analysis: Five different scenarios about youth and the law are given.
Out of the five, choose two to create timelines for from the start of the incident to
the time they may be convicted or on trial (or after if need be)
Lesson 5 Creation: Create a feasible solution for juvenile crime and juvenile laws.
Based on the information learned in this unit, create a citywide proposal that
would help lower juvenile crimes. All proposal parts need to be based off of what
was gathered from the unit.
Lesson 6 Speech: Record your proposal as if you were presenting this to your
city/town at a townhall/city wide meeting.
Module 6: Creating a Podcast
 Lesson 1 Skills Lesson: Choose a real or create a fictitious scenario involving a
juvenile and the law. Once chosen, write an outline of your podcast using the
Serial Podcast as a guideline.
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Lesson 2 Analysis: Research background information (no matter if your scenario
is real or fake) that you can use in your podcast – accuracy matters.
Lesson 3 Skills Lesson: Using your outline, create a storyboard for your podcast
and place it in chronological order.
Lesson 4 Speech: Record your podcast for your listeners. Your one podcast
episode must include: background music, stories, two interviews, and a
conclusion that leaves your listener feeling finished
Lesson 5 Critique: A peer must listen to the episode and give you direct feedback
about what worked/didn’t work
Lesson 6 Speech: Record a final draft of your podcast (refine where needed) for
your audience.
Module 7: Research Essay
 Lesson 1 Skills Lesson: Choose a topic for your research paper from the list:
juvenile halls in America, juvenile crime cases, juvenile laws, or create your own
(clear with teacher)
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Lesson 2 Research: Conduct research on your chosen topic. This includes
websites, books, news reports, interviews, etc. With the research, you must keep
track of all citations you use
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Lesson 5 Outline: Create an outline for your research paper – include evidence
that you have found while researching
Lesson 4 Writing: Write a 3-4 page research paper on your particular topic. Citing
evidence correctly (MLA format) in your paper
Lesson 5 Peer Review: Have two peers review/edit your paper, checking for
grammar, punctuation, and citations.
 Lesson 6 Writing: Create a final draft of your research paper
Module 8: Speech and Debate
 Lesson 1 Analysis: Watch a section of the 2012 Mitt Romney/Barack Obama
Debate and take notes while watching. Focus especially on social cues, words and
phrases, and emphasis
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Lesson 2 Skills Lesson: Read the proposed issue up for debate. Make a list of all
pros and cons of the proposed issue
Lesson 3 Skills Lesson: Choose a side (pro or con) and use the speech guide to
create an actual speech for the debate
Lesson 4 Public Speaking: Using others who are taking the course, you will
establish a true debate on the issue of youth and the law. This will follow proper
speech and debate guidelines
Module 9: Field Work
 Lesson 1 Analysis: Students will venture to the city courthouse to witness a trial
happening. Students will take notes during the trial.
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Lesson 2 Discussion: Students will engage in a post trial discussion following the
visit and weigh in on thoughts and opinions
Lesson 3 Interview: Students will conduct research and find one of the following
people to interview: juvenile lawyer, probation officer, juvenile hall worker,
police officer/law enforcement. Students will write interview questions to get a
better understanding of youth and the law
Lesson 4 Creation: Students need to create a propaganda piece to promote
awareness and understanding of youth and the law. This can be in the form of a
short documentary, propaganda art piece, guerilla art, etc.