1. Question The United States Supreme Court consists of 9 justices, including one chief justice. Justices are appointed to their positions by presidents and are confirmed by members of the Senate.

These justices must make decisions on a number of controversial issues to ensure that laws follow the ideals of our Constitution in the United States.

You have learned about political parties, interest groups, elections and the media in a previous unit. Each of these linkage institutions influences the Legislative and Executive branches of government but acts differently with the Judicial branch.

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How does the Judicial Branch modify their opinions of Constitutionality in the United States?

Judicial Branch & DOMA

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2. Information Sources

The Supreme Court should be an entity that is not influenced by the linkage institutions that you have previously learned about. However, over time, the opinion of the Supreme Court can change based on changing public opinion. By choosing the Defense of Marriage Act, you can investigate how the Supreme Court changes based on which political party is in control of the Congress, which President appoints them to the bench and how the media changes their ideas on topics.

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Political Parties

Split Definitive

Influence and Independence: Politics in Supreme Court Decisions

Elections Biographies of Supreme Court Justices

NBC Learn – Hillary Clinton’s Gay Marriage Stance Sparks 2016 Rumors

Media NBC Learn – Supreme Court to hear Two Challenges on Gay Marriage

NBC Learn – Supreme Court May Strike Down DOMA

NBC Learn – Supreme Court Rulings Bolster Gay Marriage

Everything you would ever want to learn about DOMA from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Public Interest Law Groups Appearing frequently before the Court

3. Student Activity

Using the resources on the previous slide, create your own notes pages or use the following to organize your ideas about how the Judicial Branch changes their opinions based on changes occurring in the linkage institutions:

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One-Pager

4. Assessment Activity

Use your notes to create a voki describing how the Judicial Branch made the decision regarding the Defense of Marriage Act. How does the Judicial Branch modify their

opinions of Constitutionality in the United States?

Be sure to include the following in your vokis: How were the linkage institutions mentioned

on the resource page involved in the creation and defeat of DOMA?

How does that linkage institution impact how the Judicial branch conducts their business of interpreting laws?

Follow the rubric to earn an A!

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5. Enrichment Activities

There are a number of games that you can play to virtually participate in court decisions.

We the Jury

Argument Wars

Court Quest

Do I have the Right?

Supreme Decision

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6. Teacher Support Materials

BCPS CurriculumUnit 7 – The Federal Judiciary Indicator 1: Students will analyze the structures and powers of the federal judiciary in order to evaluate its impact on the political process. (IV-AB) Objective 7: Analyze the relationship between the court and linkage institutions.Maryland State Curriculum 1. The student will demonstrate understanding of the structure and functions of government and politics in the United States B. Individual and Group Participation in the Political System Indicator 1. The student will explain roles and analyze strategies individuals or groups may use to initiate change in governmental policy and institutions (1.1.4). b. Analyze the external factors that influence the law-making process including the roles of the media, lobbyists, Political Action Committees (PACs), special-interest groups, citizens and public opinion (Unit 3) d. Evaluate how the media, political parties, special-interest groups, lobbyists, Political Action Committees (PACs) influence public opinion and government policies k. Analyze various methods that individuals or groups may use to influence laws and governmental policies including petitioning, letter writing and acts of civil disobedience (Unit 7)Common Core State Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.3 Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.7 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.Standards for the 21st Century Learner 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g. textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.

Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students3.0: Use a variety of technologies for learning and collaboration.

Time Frame: 1 90 minute class period

Differentiation: Each graphic organizer can be created by the students - does not need to use the provided resources. Databases have text-to-speech features for some articles. Teacher can choose to divide students in class by linkage institution and have students create Infographic on 1 institution.

Learning Styles: Field Dependent, Field Independent, Visual, Auditory, Tactile, Reflective, Global

AVID Strategies: inquiry based learning, one pager, rubric

Notes to the teacher:Consult with your School Library Media Specialist to implement this Slam Dunk Lesson. Students can turn in activities by saving one pager and copying it to your school’s student drive/printing and turning in.

Last updated: July 2015Created by Jamie Higgins Shaull, Department Chair – Social Studies/Library Media Intern

BCPS Slam Dunk Research Model, Copyright 2013, Baltimore County Public Schools, MD, all rights reserved. The models may be used for educational, non-profit school use only. All other uses, transmissions, and duplications are prohibited unless permission is granted expressly. This lesson is based on Jamie McKenzie’s Slam Dunk Lesson module.

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