Ho 1

Day 1
CENTRAL FOCUS -
The purpose of this lesson is to activate prior knowledge of the student’s comprehension of the
other minor injustice court cases that occur in Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy. This activity will
help students develop minor details into major ideas by breaking down minor court cases and
prepare them for the final unit project by breaking down the text.

TIME
1 Regular Period (50 Minutes)

SETTING
Our classroom is an 11th grade honors English classroom in a working to middle class Chicago
suburb. The town and the school district is majority white with a sizable African American and
Latinx population. In the classroom, a majority of students speak English, with two students
whose first language is Spanish. One student must be accommodated for their anxiety. Five
students receive free or reduced lunches.

There are 24 students in the classroom--

 6 of the students have IEP’s or 504’s (1 student with ADD, 1 student with type II
diabetes, 3 students with emotional disabilities, 1 student who has generalized anxiety
disorder)
 There is an even split amongst female/male students (with 2 students who identify as
trans-male)
 There are 2 Indonesian students, and both practice Islam
 Half of the class identifies as atheist or agnostic, although there are a lot of students who
come from Christian/Catholic backgrounds
 The class has 1 Indigenous student, 10 white students, 5 Black students, 5 Latinx
students, and 3 Asian-American students (the 2 Indonesian students and 1 Vietnamese-
American student)
 3 of the 5 Black students are AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) dominant
 2 of the 5 Latinx students are Spanish dominant
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 3 of the students are undocumented

 Part of the class comes from low/lower-income families (close to, on, or under the
poverty line)

CONCEPTUAL/THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Learning about the minor cases within Just Mercy, these cases deserve just as much recognition as the
main plot of the novel. By reflecting upon the injustices that occur within these cases, students improve
their ability to recognize how minor plot lines affect the bigger picture and analyze different scenarios
where society and its institutions fail the common people. Straying away from the main case with Walter
McMillian, “multicultural education must go beyond the ‘contributions approach,’ which focuses on
inserting discrete ethnic ‘heroes, holidays, and discrete cultural elements’ (Banks & Banks, 2001, p.
229) into the mainstream core curriculum because in this approach, students see ethnic issues and events
as a sideline to ‘the main story’” (Haviland, 2008, 41) By learning through these supporting roles,
students will be able to advanced towards a multicultural and transformative education where these roles
have just as large of an impact and value.

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Throughout the whole unit, students have been reading Just Mercy and have been tackling the chapters
in chunks. They have been reading, watching, and learning from various different resources that build
upon central themes and motifs in Stevenson’s novel. Through these other resources, they have built an
understanding of how the judicial system operates, its flaws, the systematic oppression of prisons, and
other common themes in the novel.
In the previous weeks, students have developed their abilities to read texts closely, work in groups, teach
their peers, journal, and other writing/reading techniques. With this lesson, they will be prefacing the
final project by developing minor details into key concepts. In the final project, students will develop
minor court cases into an exhibit and presentation for the classroom and the school. Through all of these
activities, students will have the ability to work in groups with the final project and collaborate their
ideas with one another to create a cohesive and representative final project of all of their abilities.

OBJECTIVE/S
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By the end of this lesson students will be able to …

1. Identify and elaborate on the minor court cases in Just Mercy.
2. Create an accurate and engaging news article representative of the court case.
3. Analyze how the case develops the plot of the novel and its importance in the text.

MATERIALS
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Projector (Warm up slides, writing activity, assessments, directions etc.)
Presentation Slides
Paper/Notebooks
Pen/Pencil
Printer/poster paper
Laptops (optional)
Printer
Coloring supplies

PREPARATION
 One of the preparations required for this lesson is for the presentation slides to be made prior to
the lesson. These slides will include the agenda for the day, directions, or specific activities for
students to complete.
 The environment of the room will also have to be prepared in the ways where the desks are set
up for individual work, group work, and how the classroom is set up. The message the rooms
sends to people in the classroom is that it accepts all kinds of people from different races,
backgrounds, identities, and supports equality and justice. The students’ projects will further this
environment when they are posted on the board.
 Students should have basic school supplies such as paper and pencil. Laptops can be utilized to
type down ideas and complete assignments if the school provides students to have laptops.
Students can then print text and other pictures for there is assignment.
 Students will be given other resources such as magazines, color supplies, and other school
resources to complete their assignment. It will allow them the opportunity to bring their work to
 Ho 4

life and make their work engaging and better reflect their ideas and messages.

PROCEDURE
I. Introduction – Pre-assessment (7 Minutes)
a. Students walk in and ask them to take a seat in the classroom. (30 seconds)
i. Desks should be arranged in pairs and in columns where students can work with
their partners
b. Bring their attention to the front and read directions for the introduction activity
on Just Mercy. (4 Minutes)
i. Prompt: With a partner or in a small group with the people around you,
talk about one of the minor cases found within the novel. What happened?
Where did this take place? Who was involved? What were the results of
the original hearing? What happened afterwards?
1. Research the case online. Did your group find any other important
and interesting details that the book excluded?
2. How does this court case affect the plot of Just Mercy as a whole?
Why do you think Stevenson chose to include this case in his
novel?
c. Bring the classroom’s attention to a whole to have groups share their analysis and
findings on the court case.
(3 Minutes)

II. Minor Court Case News Article (~40 Minutes)

a. Project instructions on the board and review with the class (3 Minutes)
i. Pass out sign-up sheet for specific court case
1. Special accommodations for a student would be made if they really
wanted a specific court case. They could then add their name to it even if
it exceeds the 2-group limit to sign up for that case
ii. Students will write a news article on one of the minor court cases presented in the
novel. (37 Minutes)
1. News article should be at least two paragraphs long
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a. One paragraph summarizing and expanding on the minor court

case.
b. One paragraph connecting the case to the overall plot and
overarching themes within the novel.
2. Students must cite some form of evidence and information found in the
book that shows key concepts and ideas of the court case
3. Students will cut, color, print, and add any other images or supplemental
material that could make their article lively.
a. Students can utilize newspaper templates, images, colored paper,
and other classroom materials to enhance the news article.
4. Remind students when they have 15 minutes and 5 minutes left.

III. Wrap-Up (3 Minutes)

a. Have students clean up and put away all the material.
b. After putting the material away, have students tape up their mini news article project
around the room.
c. Remind students to think or research about current news articles that relate to or are
similar to the court case they did their article on.

DISCUSSION IDEAS
- Why do you think Stevenson decided to include this other court case within his
novel? What role does it play in forwarding the story?
- Does your case mainly reflect issues stemming from race or poverty? Both?
- What specific aspects of your case stood out to you the most? Are there any similar
cases going on today reflecting the court case you elaborated on?
PLANNED SUPPORTS
Due to the class being honors, one of the needs is to be able to challenge the students. To do this,
students are given a time-limit to complete the objectives and other requirements such as two
paragraphs, supplemental resources, and evidence from the novel.
 Ho 6

Another challenge would also be to choose a specific court case that is not taken by any other members
to split it amongst evenly. If accommodations were to be made for a student, they would be allowed to
sign up for a specific case if they really desired it.
For other students who had anxiety or other needs, I would allow them to either work by themselves or
give them extra time to complete the project. They would be able to take it home and do it for
homework rather than turn it in at the end of the class like all of the other students. If the whole class
needed more time, I would expand the project until the next day and give them some time to work on it
then.
I would let this project be a partner project because it would allow students to use each other as
resources when they had any questions or feedback to give.

LANGUAGE ACCOMMODATIONS
Having a student who are Spanish dominant, I would first work with the special education department in
order to have and follow an IEP. Having this, I will be aware of the goals planned for the student and
work towards reaching benchmarks to increase student fluency.
I would have different resources in the classroom for the student such as a dictionary, translator, and
other materials that the student may use in the classroom. This will allow them to clarify vocabulary and
other terms that may be confusing to them.
I would also hope that the school provides a translator to utilize so that the student will have a resource
available when they needed extra help figuring out assignments or have questions.
By having partners and small groups, I would pair the ELL students with other students who could
answer any questions or clarify any confusion regarding the assignment.
For the assignment, groups will be able to look at news articles and understand the type of writing that is
expected. In this case, students who are not English dominant or speak other English dialects can
understand the expectations and successful examples for the assignment.

SPECIAL EDUCATION ACCOMMODATIONS

Working with students with emotional disabilities, my priority would be to work alongside the
school and make sure I am following the IEP for the student. On top of this plan, I would make
sure the students are receiving the proper services associated with the disability.
 Ho 7

I would provide emotional and behavioral support as well as “attention to providing emotional
and behavioral support as well as helping them to master academics, develop social skills, and
increase self-awareness, self-control, and self-esteem” (“Emotional Disturbance,” 2018). It is
important to work with the student, the school, the student’s family, and other groups involved
with the development of the student to provide a successful educational plan for the student.
The services I would provide would be dependent on the student’s needs. If the student did not
want to interact with most of their peers, I would try my best to accommodate for them by
making a group with individuals they are comfortable sharing their opinions with and give them
preferential seating in the classroom.
Students would also receive more time to complete the assignment depending on their work
habits. They would be allowed to finish this at home if needed and work individually if
preferred.
I would also provide specific directions on how to complete the assignment on paper as well as
project them on the board and verbally address the instruction. These directions would contain
all the components needed to successfully complete the assignment and how to complete each
step.

ASSESSMENT
Alignment with objectives
The assessment requires students to draw upon the text to create their news article and other resources to
supplement and enhance their article. By drawing from specific court cases in the text, students will cite
evidence from the book and relate it to overarching themes found within the novel. Beyond the material,
students will attempt to make their news article more engaging for readers by utilizing other resources to
format and design it. Lastly, students write and reflect upon the importance of the case on how it relates
to the plot and their understanding of why Stevenson decided to incorporate it into his novel. Students
have requirements they must fulfill yet they have a lot of room for freedom and creativity within this
mini project.

Evidence of Student understanding

Due to the requirements of the assessment, students will have to fulfill all of these and the results will be
provided through the holistic final project of all of the components put together. Students will be able to
 Ho 8

demonstrate their understanding of the court case and their analysis of the importance of it in the novel
through the paragraphs they write. They will also be able to understand the format and writing style of a
news article by researching it and then writing the article itself. The content of the writing has different
components that are required and can only be accomplished by higher level thinking. Students develop
this ability by practicing it and their interpretation of the court case and relating it back to the text as a
whole will be supported by their own claims and justifications.

Student Feedback
Students will receive feedback from each other as they will be working in partners to bounce ideas and
questions to one another. The instructor will also provide feedback while the students work and walk
around to groups to give feedback to their ideas and any other questions they may have. Another form of
feedback occurs the next day that builds into the next sequence of the lesson being taught. Students will
give each other feedback, comments, and questions on their news articles through the form of sticky
notes. They will walk around the room and comment on other student articles.

EXTENSION IDEAS
This lesson can also be compared with another current event article that relates to the news article. In
this, students would have different resources and compare and contrast the two to each other. They
would then be able to relate these back to the overall themes of the novel.

Another way this lesson could be extended is that these would be a series of articles that would be
written and then student could publish them on an online format such as a school newspaper or blogging
page for the classroom. Technology could take a large role in publishing.

SOURCE OF ACTIVITY
Bryan Stevenson contributed to this activity as his book is the forefront that leads the activity. Credit is
also given to news organizations that create a specific style of writing that students learn from.

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

“Emotional Disturbance.” (2017). Center for Parent Information and Resources.
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/emotionaldisturbance/#info.
 Ho 9

Haviland, V. S. (2008). “Things Get Glossed Over”. Journal of Teacher Education, 59(1), 40-54.
doi:10.1177/0022487107310751
Stevenson, Bryan. (2014). Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. First edition. New
York: Spiegel & Grau.

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (9-12), Addressed:

- CC.11-12.R.I.3 Key Ideas and Details: Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of
events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop
over the course of the text.
o In the news article, students are required to write 1 paragraph relating the
court case to the overall development of the novel and its importance.

- CC.11-12.W.2 Text Types and Purposes: Write informative/explanatory texts to

examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately
through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content
o Students write a news article that conveys deeper level thinking towards a
court case in Just Mercy and develop this by researching upon a specific court
case and writing a rationale of its importance and development in the novel.
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Day 2
CENTRAL FOCUS -
The purpose of this lesson is to compare and contrast Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy minor court
cases to current event cases so that students may be aware of similar injustices still relevant in
today’s society and criminal justice system.

TIME
1 Regular Period (50 Minutes)

SETTING
Our classroom is an 11th grade honors English classroom in a working to middle class Chicago
suburb. The town and the school district is majority white with a sizable African American and
Latinx population. In the classroom, a majority of students speak English, with two students
whose first language is Spanish. One student must be accommodated for their anxiety. Five
students receive free or reduced lunches.

There are 24 students in the classroom--

 6 of the students have IEP’s or 504’s (1 student with ADD, 1 student with type II
diabetes, 3 students with emotional disabilities, 1 student who has generalized anxiety
disorder)
 There is an even split amongst female/male students (with 2 students who identify as
trans-male)
 There are 2 Indonesian students, and both practice Islam
 Half of the class identifies as atheist or agnostic, although there are a lot of students who
come from Christian/Catholic backgrounds
 The class has 1 Indigenous student, 10 white students, 5 Black students, 5 Latinx
students, and 3 Asian-American students (the 2 Indonesian students and 1 Vietnamese-
American student)
 3 of the 5 Black students are AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) dominant
 2 of the 5 Latinx students are Spanish dominant
 3 of the students are undocumented
 Ho 11

 Part of the class comes from low/lower-income families (close to, on, or under the
poverty line)

CONCEPTUAL/THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Learning about the minor cases within Just Mercy, these cases deserve just as much recognition as the
main plot of the novel. By reflecting upon the injustices that occur within these cases, students improve
their ability to recognize how minor plot lines affect the bigger picture and analyze different scenarios
where society and its institutions fail the common people. Straying away from the main case with Walter
McMillian, “multicultural education must go beyond the ‘contributions approach,’ which focuses on
inserting discrete ethnic ‘heroes, holidays, and discrete cultural elements’ (Banks & Banks, 2001, p.
229) into the mainstream core curriculum because in this approach, students see ethnic issues and events
as a sideline to ‘the main story’” (Haviland, 2008, 41) By learning through these supporting roles,
students will be able to advanced towards a multicultural and transformative education where these roles
have just as large of an impact and value.
Rather than looking at the main case of McMillian in Just Mercy, it is important to compare the
other cases to present ones, “unfortunately, the most lasting frameworks for asset pedagogies—
the funds of knowledge (Moll & González, 1994), the pedagogical third space (Gutiérrez,
Baquedano-López, Alvarez, & Chiu, 1999; Gutiérrez, 2008), and culturally relevant pedagogy—
have too often been enacted by teachers and researchers in static ways that focus solely on the
important ways racial and ethnic difference was enacted in the past without attending to the
dynamic enactments of our equally important present or future” (Paris, et al., 2014, 91-92). By
comparing these past cases to current ones, students can understand how the text is still relevant
and how these injustices are still relevant in their lives.

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Throughout the whole unit, students have been reading Just Mercy and have been tackling the chapters
in chunks. They have been reading, watching, and learning from various different resources that build
upon central themes and motifs in Stevenson’s novel. Through these other resources, they have built an
 Ho 12

understanding of how the judicial system operates, its flaws, the systematic oppression of prisons, and
other common themes in the novel.
In the previous weeks, students have developed their abilities to read texts closely, work in groups, teach
their peers, journal, and other writing/reading techniques. With this lesson, they will be prefacing the
final project by developing minor details into key concepts. In the final project, students will develop
minor court cases into an exhibit and presentation for the classroom and the school. Through all of these
activities, students will have the ability to work in groups with the final project and collaborate their
ideas with one another to create a cohesive and representative final project of all of their abilities.
In the assessment prior to this, students have created a news article based on one of the minor court
cases in the novel. Students use their research to be able to compare and contrast it to a current ruling
where they will then be able to further their understanding of the improvements and flaws of the justice
system.

OBJECTIVE/S
By the end of this lesson students will be able to …
4. Evaluate a minor court case in Just Mercy by comparing and contrasting it to a current events
court case.
5. Synthesize an infographic representative of an analysis of the two cases researched.

MATERIALS
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Projector (Warm up slides, writing activity, assessments, directions etc.)
Presentation Slides
Paper/Notebooks
Pen/Pencil
Sticky Notes
Laptops
Printer

PREPARATION
 Ho 13

 One of the preparations required for this lesson is for the presentation slides to be made prior to
the lesson. These slides will include the agenda for the day, directions, or specific activities for
students to complete.
 The environment of the room will also have to be prepared in the ways where the desks are set
up for partner work and the classroom environment. The message the rooms sends to people in
the classroom is that it accepts all kinds of people from different races, backgrounds, identities,
and supports equality and justice. The students’ news articles will be posted around the room and
help facilitate the opening activity.
 Students should have basic school supplies such as paper, pencil, and their laptops. If there are
no laptops, students should go to the computer lab after the opening activity.

PROCEDURE
IV. Opening Activity - NEWSFLASH (6 Minutes)
a. Students walk in and ask them to take a seat in the classroom. (30 seconds)
i. Desks should be arranged in pairs within rows and columns.
b. Bring their attention to the front and read directions for the introduction activity
on Just Mercy. (5 Minutes)
i. Give students 3 sticky notes.
ii. Have students walk around the room and read other students’ news article
on a minor court case.
iii. Using the sticky notes, students should comment on another students’
work with 2 requirements on each note.
1. The sticky note should state something they thought was
interesting from their article.
2. It should also contain a question they have for the author about the
article or court case.
3. Remind students that they have to post comments on articles that
do not have any comments yet and each article should have at max
3 other student comments.
c. Have the class go back to their seats (30 Seconds)
 Ho 14

V. Past vs Present Infographic (~42 Minutes)

a. Project instructions on the board and review with the class (2 Minutes)
b. Based on previous small groups from the previous assignment, students will now
research a current events court case that will be compared and contrasted to the case the
group wrote a news article on. (40 Minutes)
i. Students will use the news article they have already expanded on.
ii. Students will research another current court case online.
iii. Using free websites such as piktochart.com, venngage.com, and/or canva.com,
students will create an infographic that completes the following requirements.
1. Compare and contrast the two court cases
a. At least 3 key similarities between the two and rationale
b. At least 2 key differences between the two and rationale
2. Justification on why the group chose their current events case in
comparison to the Just Mercy case.
3. Students must cite some form of evidence and information found in the
book and other resource that shows key concepts and ideas of the court
cases.
iv. Remind students when they have 15 minutes and 5 minutes left.
c. If students finish early, have them print their infographic and post them up somewhere in
the classroom.
1. Students who finish can also can take more sticky notes and leave
comments on other news articles.

VI. Wrap-Up (2 Minutes)

a. Have students clean up and put away all the material.
b. After putting the material away, have students tape up their infographic around the room.

DISCUSSION IDEAS
- Do you think wealth attributes to our justice system?
- In what ways has the justice system remained stagnant?
 Ho 15

- In what ways have our justice system improved for the better or changed for the worse over
time?

PLANNED SUPPORTS
Due to the class being honors, one of the needs is to be able to challenge the students. To do this,
students are given a time-limit to complete the objectives and other requirements such as supplemental
resources and evidence from the novel.
For other students who had anxiety or other needs, I would allow them to either work by themselves or
give them extra time to complete the project. They would be able to take it home and do it for
homework rather than turn it in at the end of the class like all of the other students. If the whole class
needed more time, I would expand the project until the next day and give them some time to work on it
then.
I would let this project be a partner project because it would allow students to use each other as
resources when they had any questions or feedback to give.
With the opening activity, students who need additional support would receive more time to look at less
articles so that they could give a more thoughtful response to their peers.

LANGUAGE ACCOMMODATIONS
Having a student who are Spanish dominant, I would first work with the special education department in
order to have and follow an IEP. Having this, I will be aware of the goals planned for the student and
work towards reaching benchmarks to increase student fluency.
I would have different resources in the classroom for the student such as a dictionary, translator, and
other materials that the student may use in the classroom. This will allow them to clarify vocabulary and
other terms that may be confusing to them.
I would also hope that the school provides a translator to utilize so that the student will have a resource
available when they needed extra help figuring out assignments or have questions.
By having partners and small groups, I would pair the ELL students with other students who could
answer any questions or clarify any confusion regarding the assignment.
For this assignment, groups will be able to look at different news articles and understand the type of
writing that is expected. In this case, students who are not English dominant or speak other English
dialects can understand the expectations and successful examples for the assignment.
 Ho 16

SPECIAL EDUCATION ACCOMMODATIONS

Working with students with emotional disabilities, my priority would be to work alongside the
school and make sure I am following the IEP for the student. On top of this plan, I would make
sure the students are receiving the proper services associated with the disability.
I would provide emotional and behavioral support as well as “attention to providing emotional
and behavioral support as well as helping them to master academics, develop social skills, and
increase self-awareness, self-control, and self-esteem” (“Emotional Disturbance,” 2018). It is
important to work with the student, the school, the student’s family, and other groups involved
with the development of the student to provide a successful educational plan for the student.
The services I would provide would be dependent on the student’s needs. If the student did not
want to interact with most of their peers, I would try my best to accommodate for them by
making a group with individuals they are comfortable sharing their opinions with and give them
preferential seating in the classroom.
Students would also receive more time to complete the assignment depending on their work
habits. They would be allowed to finish this at home if needed and work individually if
preferred.
I would also provide specific directions on how to complete the assignment on paper as well as
project them on the board and verbally address the instruction. These directions would contain
all the components needed to successfully complete the assignment and how to complete each
step.

ASSESSMENT
Alignment with objectives
Students will be assessed on the objective to evaluate a court case in Just Mercy by comparing and
contrasting it to another current court case. Students will have multiple requirement they will have to
complete in order to earn full credit. Furthering their comprehension, students will provide justifications
and rationale for what they include in their infographic to support their design.
By creating an infographic, students will add different creative elements to enhance their message.
Depending on what they choose to include, the justifications and rationale will provide evidence for
 Ho 17

their representation and understanding of the assessment.

Evidence of Student understanding

Due to the requirements of the assessment, students will have to complete each task assigned in order to
receive full credit. Not only that, there are different components of justification and rationale that
provide evidence of understanding of the tasks assigned.
By looking at two different court cases, students have the opportunity to compare the two to each other
and learn from it. They can sort out differences and similarities and relate it back to themes revolving
around Just Mercy.

Student Feedback
In the opening activity, students provide feedback to each other on their past work through the form of
sticky note comments. They are able to see each other’s work and learn from it as well. During the main
assessment, students will receive feedback from each other as they will be working in partners to bounce
ideas and questions to one another. With the directions of the activity, there is a requirements list that is
also the rubric for their assessment. Through this, they can understand the work that must be completed
in order to receive full credit and show evidence of learning. The instructor will also provide feedback
while the students work and walk around to groups to give feedback to their ideas and any other
questions they may have.

EXTENSION IDEAS
Another interesting activity that could be done with this assessment is that the students could compare
their own article to another student’s article. With this, students have more room for discussion and
collaboration with one another. Students will then be able to choose a more current third article that
would relate to both of their articles and evaluate them altogether.
Another way to expand this idea is to add another component of resource such as adding another case
from Just Mercy or finding 2 different resources on top of their own news article they wrote. With this,
more time would be needed to complete the activity to successfully research and execute the assessment.

SOURCE OF ACTIVITY
Bryan Stevenson contributed to this activity as his book is the forefront that leads the activity.
 Ho 18

Other news articles and court cases going on in the world also contributes to this activity as students
research them are compare them to cases found in Just Mercy.
Lastly, free programs that allow for the creation of infographics are thanked because without them being
free resources, this assessment could never be done.

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

“Emotional Disturbance.” (2017). Center for Parent Information and Resources.
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/emotionaldisturbance/#info.
Haviland, V. S. (2008). “Things Get Glossed Over”. Journal of Teacher Education, 59(1), 40-54.
doi:10.1177/0022487107310751
Paris, D., & Alim, H. S. (2014). What are we seeking to sustain through culturally sustaining
pedagogy? A loving critique forward. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 85-100.
Stevenson, Bryan. (2014). Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. First edition. New
York: Spiegel & Grau.

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (9-12), Addressed:

- CC.11-12.W.2.a Text Types and Purposes: Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas,
concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to
create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables),
and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
o In making an infographic, students organize complex ideas and elements together
in a unified way. There are different elements that come into creating an
infographic and the students create and find these various requirements.

- CC.11-12.R.I.7 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Integrate and evaluate multiple

sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually,
quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
o Looking at Stevenson’s Just Mercy and more relevant court cases, students
evaluate this information to answer multiple questions and more.
 Ho 19

Day 3
CENTRAL FOCUS -
The purpose of this lesson is to evaluate a current court case and the justice system. Students will
do this through a formal written response to a government official in regard to these issues and
cite evidence from Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy minor court cases in order to provide
introspective on the justice system from the past, present, and to the future.

TIME
1 Regular Period (50 Minutes)

SETTING
Our classroom is an 11th grade honors English classroom in a working to middle class Chicago
suburb. The town and the school district is majority white with a sizable African American and
Latinx population. In the classroom, a majority of students speak English, with two students
whose first language is Spanish. One student must be accommodated for their anxiety. Five
students receive free or reduced lunches.

There are 24 students in the classroom--

 6 of the students have IEP’s or 504’s (1 student with ADD, 1 student with type II
diabetes, 3 students with emotional disabilities, 1 student who has generalized anxiety
disorder)
 There is an even split amongst female/male students (with 2 students who identify as
trans-male)
 There are 2 Indonesian students, and both practice Islam
 Half of the class identifies as atheist or agnostic, although there are a lot of students who
come from Christian/Catholic backgrounds
 The class has 1 Indigenous student, 10 white students, 5 Black students, 5 Latinx
students, and 3 Asian-American students (the 2 Indonesian students and 1 Vietnamese-
American student)
 3 of the 5 Black students are AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) dominant
 2 of the 5 Latinx students are Spanish dominant
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 3 of the students are undocumented

 Part of the class comes from low/lower-income families (close to, on, or under the
poverty line)

CONCEPTUAL/THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Learning about the minor cases within Just Mercy, these cases deserve just as much recognition as the
main plot of the novel. By reflecting upon the injustices that occur within these cases, students improve
their ability to recognize how minor plot lines affect the bigger picture and analyze different scenarios
where society and its institutions fail the common people. Straying away from the main case with Walter
McMillian, “multicultural education must go beyond the ‘contributions approach,’ which focuses on
inserting discrete ethnic ‘heroes, holidays, and discrete cultural elements’ (Banks & Banks, 2001, p.
229) into the mainstream core curriculum because in this approach, students see ethnic issues and events
as a sideline to ‘the main story’” (Haviland, 2008, 41) By learning through these supporting roles,
students will be able to advanced towards a multicultural and transformative education where these roles
have just as large of an impact and value.

Rather than looking at the main case of McMillian in Just Mercy, it is important to compare the
other cases to present ones, “unfortunately, the most lasting frameworks for asset pedagogies—
the funds of knowledge (Moll & González, 1994), the pedagogical third space (Gutiérrez,
Baquedano-López, Alvarez, & Chiu, 1999; Gutiérrez, 2008), and culturally relevant pedagogy—
have too often been enacted by teachers and researchers in static ways that focus solely on the
important ways racial and ethnic difference was enacted in the past without attending to the
dynamic enactments of our equally important present or future” (Paris, et al., 2014, 91-92). By
comparing these past cases to current ones, students can understand how the text is still relevant
and how these injustices are still relevant in their lives.

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Throughout the whole unit, students have been reading Just Mercy and have been tackling the chapters
in chunks. They have been reading, watching, and learning from various different resources that build
upon central themes and motifs in Stevenson’s novel. Through these other resources, they have built an
 Ho 21

understanding of how the judicial system operates, its flaws, the systematic oppression of prisons, and
other common themes in the novel.
In the previous weeks, students have developed their abilities to read texts closely, work in groups, teach
their peers, journal, and other writing/reading techniques. With this lesson, they will be prefacing the
final project by developing minor details into key concepts. In the final project, students will develop
minor court cases into an exhibit and presentation for the classroom and the school. Through all of these
activities, students will have the ability to work in groups on the final project and collaborate their ideas
with one another to create a cohesive and representative culminating project of all of their abilities and
knowledge.
In the assessment prior to this, students have created a news article based on one of the minor court
cases in the novel. Students use their research to be able to compare and contrast it to a current ruling
where they will then be able to further their understanding of the improvements and flaws of the justice
system. They have also created infographics relating cases that are relevant today and will be able to
identify reoccurring injustices from the past to the present.

OBJECTIVE/S
By the end of this lesson students will be able to …
6. Provide positive and useful feedback on the work of their peers.
7. Evaluate the current justice system in the United States by writing a letter to a government
official and relating it back to minor cases presented in Just Mercy and other recent court cases.

MATERIALS
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Projector (Warm up slides, writing activity, assessments, directions etc.)
Presentation Slides
Sticky Notes
Paper/Notebooks
Pen/Pencil
Laptops
Printer
 Ho 22

PREPARATION
 One of the preparations required for this lesson is for the presentation slides to be made prior to
the lesson. These slides will include the agenda for the day, directions, or specific activities for
students to complete.
 The environment of the room will also have to be prepared in the ways where the desks are set
up for individual work and the classroom environment. The message the rooms sends to people
in the classroom is that it accepts all kinds of people from different races, backgrounds,
identities, and supports equality and justice. The students’ news articles and infographics will be
posted around the room and help facilitate the opening activity.
 Students should have basic school supplies such as paper, pencil, and their laptops. If there are
no laptops, students may go to the computer lab after the opening activity. If there is no
technology available, students can complete the main assessment on paper and pencil.

PROCEDURE
VII. Opening Activity – NEWSFLASH 2.0 (6 Minutes)
a. Students walk in and ask them to take a seat in the classroom. (30 seconds)
i. Desks should be arranged in rows and columns.
b. Bring their attention to the front and read directions for the introduction activity
on Just Mercy. (5 Minutes)
i. Give students 4 sticky notes.
ii. Have students walk around the room and read other students’ infographics
iii. Using the sticky notes, students should comment on another students’
work with 2 requirements on each note.
1. The sticky note should state something they thought was
interesting from the infographic
2. It should also contain a question they have for the author about the
infographic
3. Remind students that they have to post comments on infographics
that do not have any comments yet and each article should have at
max 3 other student comments.
 Ho 23

c. Have the class go back to their seats (30 Seconds)

VIII. Letter to a Government Official (~43 Minutes)

a. Project instructions on the board and review with the class (3 Minutes)
b. Pass out an example of a letter to a government official and go over the requirements
i. Students will identify key components of a professional letter
ii. After identifying as many key components, project on the board the requirements
of the letter
iii. Using Google documents, have students write a letter to a government official
evaluating the current justice system. Make sure the document contains the
following requirements
1. Formal Greeting
2. Textual evidence from at least two different court cases
a. 1 court case from Stevenson’s Just Mercy
b. 1 current court case
3. Justification on why the court cases relates back to evaluation of the
current justice system.
4. Compare and contrast the past justice system to the present
5. Plans of change for the future of the American justice system
6. Closing statement
iv. Remind students when they have 15 minutes and 5 minutes left.
c. When students finish, have them turn their project in google classroom.
d. If any student finishes early, they can take more sticky notes to add comments on to other
student projects.

IX. Wrap-Up (2 Minutes)

a. Have students clean up and put away their laptops and any other material
b. Remind students about the different resources they can write and send letters to.
Government officials, court cases, judges, schools, and/or any other institutions.

DISCUSSION IDEAS
 Ho 24

- How has your judgement and understanding of the justice system change over the course of the
unit?
- What are any possible solutions to improve the United States justice system?
- What can we do, as students, to take action against injustices?

PLANNED SUPPORTS
Due to the class being honors, one of the needs is to be able to challenge the students. To do this,
students are given a time-limit to complete the objectives and other requirements such as comprehensive
questions, supplemental resources, and evidence from the novel.
For other students who had anxiety or other needs, I would allow them to either work by themselves or
give them extra time to complete the paper. They would be able to take it home and do it for homework
rather than turn it in at the end of the class like all of the other students. If the whole class needed more
time, I would expand the project until the next day and give them some time to work on it then.
With the opening activity, students who need additional support would receive more time to look at less
articles so that they could give a more thoughtful response to their peers.

LANGUAGE ACCOMMODATIONS
Having a student who are Spanish dominant, I would first work with the special education department in
order to have and follow an IEP. Having this, I will be aware of the goals planned for the student and
work towards reaching benchmarks to increase student fluency.
I would have different resources in the classroom for the student such as a dictionary, translator, and
other materials that the student may use in the classroom. This will allow them to clarify vocabulary and
other terms that may be confusing to them.
I would also hope that the school provides a translator to utilize so that the student will have a resource
available when they needed extra help figuring out assignments or have questions.

SPECIAL EDUCATION ACCOMMODATIONS

Working with students with emotional disabilities, my priority would be to work alongside the
school and make sure I am following the IEP for the student. On top of this plan, I would make
sure the students are receiving the proper services associated with the disability.
 Ho 25

I would provide emotional and behavioral support as well as “attention to providing emotional
and behavioral support as well as helping them to master academics, develop social skills, and
increase self-awareness, self-control, and self-esteem” (“Emotional Disturbance,” 2018). It is
important to work with the student, the school, the student’s family, and other groups involved
with the development of the student to provide a successful educational plan for the student.
The services I would provide would be dependent on the student’s needs. If the student did not
want to interact with most of their peers, I would try my best to accommodate for them by
making a group with individuals they are comfortable sharing their opinions with and give them
preferential seating in the classroom.
Students would also receive more time to complete the assignment depending on their work
habits. They would be allowed to finish this at home if needed and work individually if
preferred.
I would also provide specific directions on how to complete the assignment on paper as well as
project them on the board and verbally address the instruction. These directions would contain
all the components needed to successfully complete the assignment and how to complete each
step.

ASSESSMENT
Alignment with objectives
Students will provide feedback to their peers in the opening activity of the classroom through sticky
notes. By providing feedback on something interesting and a question, students can practice their ability
to identify strong material and learn from that.
In creating a letter, students evaluate the current justice system by comparing it to recent cases and cases
in Stevenson’s Just Mercy. They also answer other questions listed in the requirements that require
deeper level comprehension.

Evidence of Student understanding

Due to the requirements of the assessment, students will have to complete each task assigned in order to
receive full credit. Not only that, there are different components of justification and rationale that
provide evidence of understanding of the tasks assigned.
By looking at an example letter, students are then able to learn from that model and then execute it
 Ho 26

themselves. By thoughtfully and comprehensively answering the questions from the requirements,
students are able to show evidence of learning.

Student Feedback
In the opening activity, students provide feedback to each other on their past work through the form of
sticky note comments. They are able to see each other’s work and learn from it as well. With the
directions of the activity, there is a requirements list that is also the rubric for their assessment. Through
this, they can understand the work that must be completed in order to receive full credit and show
evidence of learning. The instructor will also provide feedback while the students work and walk around
to groups to give feedback to their ideas and any other questions they may have.

EXTENSION IDEAS
An extension of this activity is that it could be posted on a school newspaper or a blog where other
students can read and comment on their peer’s posts.
This essay could actually be sent out to a government official and students can await their response and
see the impact they could have when they come together to send a message.

SOURCE OF ACTIVITY
Bryan Stevenson contributed to this activity as his book is the forefront that leads the activity.
Other news articles and court cases going on in the world also contributes to this activity as students
research them are compare them to cases found in Just Mercy.
Lastly, government officials and the justice system contribute to this activity as they are addressed to
them and the implications residing in it.

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

“Emotional Disturbance.” (2017). Center for Parent Information and Resources.
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/emotionaldisturbance/#info.
Haviland, V. S. (2008). “Things Get Glossed Over”. Journal of Teacher Education, 59(1), 40-54.
doi:10.1177/0022487107310751
Paris, D., & Alim, H. S. (2014). What are we seeking to sustain through culturally sustaining
pedagogy? A loving critique forward. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 85-100.
 Ho 27

Stevenson, Bryan. (2014). Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. First edition. New
York: Spiegel & Grau.

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (9-12), Addressed:

- CC.11-12.W.7 Research to Build and Present Knowledge: Conduct short as well as more
sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or
solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple
sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
o In writing a letter to a government official, students study the judicial system
through a variety of resources such as Stevenson and online resources. Through
these different resources, they write a letter in order to express their understanding
of the past, present, and desired future of the justice system.

- CC.11-12.W.2 Text Types and Purposes: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine

and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the
effective selection, organization, and analysis of content
o Students write a news article that conveys deeper level thinking towards a court
case in Just Mercy and develop this by researching upon a specific court case and
writing a rationale of its importance and development in the novel