"Was Plessy v. Ferguson a Case of Judicial Activism?"
A Focus on the 14th Ammendment

III. CONCLUSION

The following pieces of student work show mastery in some areas but also reveal a need for re-teaching.

The student work shows that students understood

1] the key issues in the case of Plessy v Ferguson
[Essay A, Paragraph 1]

2] the meaning of the 14th amendment
[Essay B, Paragraph 3]

3] the significance of the ruling
[Essay C, Paragraph 3]

4] how to apply the 14th amendment to the case
[Essay A, Paragraph 3]

The student work also shows that students were unclear about:

1] nuances of judicial activism and judicial restraint
[Essay B, Thesis in Paragraph 1]

2] the structure of an argumentative essay
[Essays B & C]

3] the court’s role in judging the constitutionality of law rather than the guilt/innocence of the appellants/appellees
[Essay B, Paragraph 1]

What we learned and how might the lesson be revised:

What we learned:

The lesson:

• deepened student learning through role playing
  
• engaged students in academic subject matter
  
• stimulated individual research
  
• encouraged empathy

How the lesson might be revised:

• Provide more details about the principals in the case, Plessy and Ferguson
  
• Provide more activities to enable students to understand the meaning of the 14th amendment
  
• Provide in-depth teaching of the argumentative essay format earlier in the year.
  
• Model Supreme Court procedures, using a video on the Marbury v. Madison case
  
• Narrow the focus of the paper topic, excluding the concepts of judicial activism/restraint
  
• Provide support to students playing “amicus” roles so that they will focus on the constitutionality part of their pro/con argument
  
• For weaker skilled students, debrief or review the pro/con arguments before students write their essays and/or give oral presentations
  
• Create mechanisms to ensure students use their own words

How did what we learned impact our “entire curriculums”?

This lesson made us understand the need to:

• include more role playing in other lessons we attempt
  
• re-teach writing formats, especially the argumentative essay