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Chapter Planner and Suggested Pacing Guide

UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN®

Enduring Understanding

  • The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights and later amendments guarantee certain basic rights and freedoms that are essential to our democracy.

Essential Questions

  • How does our democracy protect the rights of individuals suspected, accused, convicted, or acquitted of crimes?
  • How does our democracy balance the rights of the defendant and the search for truth?

Students will know:

  • the stages of the criminal justice process and the safeguards in each stage.
  • how the Fourth Amendment protects Americans from unreasonable searches and seizures.
  • that Fourth Amendment rights are limited at schools and international borders.
  • what racial profiling is and how it differs from using appearance to stop someone.
  • that the Fifth Amendment protects people from self-incrimination and requires police to inform suspects in custody of their rights before questioning them.
  • that the presumption of innocence means that the judge or jury must regard the defendant as innocent until the government proves that he or she is guilty.
  • that the Sixth Amendment provides for the rights of the accused to an impartial jury trial, speedy and public trials, the confrontation of witnesses, and the right to an attorney for defendants in criminal cases.
  • that courts must provide attorneys for defendants who cannot afford them.
  • that Gideon v. Wainwright expanded the right to an attorney for indigent defendants in state courts.
  • that “taking the Fifth” refers to the Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate oneself.
  • the ways in which the juvenile justice system differs from the adult criminal justice system.
  • the purpose of punishment in the criminal justice system includes incapacitation, deterrence, restitution, retribution, and rehabilitation.
  • that the ex post facto clause means that the government cannot punish someone for doing something that was not a crime at the time the act was committed.
  • that the Eighth Amendment prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment.”
  • that capital punishment is only used for those convicted of murder, treason, and espionage.
  • that double jeopardy means that a defendant cannot be prosecuted a second time for the same offense.
  • how applying for a writ of habeas corpus allows a defendant to challenge his or her confinement.

Students will be able to:

  • identify the rights of the accused.
  • describe how the Fourth Amendment protects from unreasonable searches and seizures.
  • explain what remedies are available when the government violates the rights of the accused.
  • describe the presumption of innocence and explain its importance in criminal trials.
  • discuss the importance of an impartial jury in a trial.
  • explain how Gideon v. Wainwright ensured the right to an attorney for indigent defendants in state courts.
  • identify the rights protected by the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.
  • identify the purpose of punishment in the criminal justice system.
  • explain how the Eighth Amendment places limits on punishments available to the government.
  • describe constitutional protections available to those convicted or acquitted of a crime.

Predictable Misunderstandings

Students may think:

  • that police can never conduct a search without a warrant. Students may know that a search warrant is required in many situations, but not know the circumstances under which a search may be carried out by police without first acquiring a warrant.
  • that Fourth Amendment rights regarding searches and seizures apply equally to all cases. Ask students if they can think of any situations in which these protections may not apply to them or to any other groups of people.
  • that plea bargains are not used often as a normal part of the criminal justice process. Many students will have some idea of what a plea bargain is, but, because it involves making a deal of sorts, in which the person charged with a crime is let off with a lesser punishment, they may believe these bargains are generally not approved of or are used infrequently. They may be surprised to learn how often plea bargains are used to save time and other resources by avoiding taking cases to trial.

 

Assessment Evidence

Performance Tasks:

  • Hands-On Chapter Project

Other Evidence:

  • Guided Reading Activities
  • Vocabulary Activity
  • Lesson Quizzes
  • Chapter Tests, Forms A and B

 

SUGGESTED PACING

½ Day — Introducing the Chapter
 1 Day — Lesson 1
½ Day — Lesson 2
½ Day — Lesson 3
½ Day — Chapter Wrap-Up and Assessment

3 Days— Total

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

The activities presented are suitable for all levels. Modifications for student ability levels are available for many of the activities. The types of modifications available are indicated by the icons below.

DI for AL Approaching Level

DI for BL Beyond Level

DI for ELL English Language Learner

All students benefit from activities that utilize different learning styles. Activities are designated with the labels below to help you differentiate teaching by the types of learners.

Intrapersonal
Logical/Mathematical
Visual/Spatial
Verbal/Linguistic
Interpersonal
Auditory/Musical
Kinesthetic
Naturalist

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills

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  • Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills

    Below are the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills covered in this chapter.

    (1) History. The student understands how constitutional government, as developed in America and expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution, has been influenced by ideas, people, and historical documents. The student is expected to:

    (D) identify the contributions of the political philosophies of the Founders, including John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Jay, George Mason, Roger Sherman, and James Wilson, on the development of the U.S. government

     

    (7) Government. The student understands the American beliefs and principles reflected in the U.S. Constitution and why these are significant. The student is expected to:

    (A) explain the importance of a written constitution

    (D) evaluate constitutional provisions for limiting the role of government, including republicanism, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, popular sovereignty, and individual rights

    (F) identify how the American beliefs and principles reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution contribute to both a national identity and federal identity and are embodied in the United States today

     

    (8) Government. The student understands the structure and functions of the government created by the U.S. Constitution. The student is expected to:

    (C) analyze the structure and functions of the judicial branch of government, including the federal court system, types of jurisdiction, and judicial review

     

    (13) Citizenship. The student understands rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The student is expected to:

    (A) understand the roles of limited government and the rule of law in the protection of individual rights

    (C) identify the freedoms and rights guaranteed by each amendment in the Bill of Rights

    (D) analyze U.S. Supreme Court interpretations of rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution in selected cases, including Engel v. Vitale, Schenck v. United States, Texas v. Johnson, Miranda v. Arizona, Gideon v. Wainwright, Mapp v. Ohio, and Roe v. Wade

    (E) explain the importance of due process rights to the protection of individual rights and in limiting the powers of government

    (F) recall the conditions that produced the Fourteenth Amendment and describe subsequent efforts to selectively extend some of the Bill of Rights to the states, including the Blaine Amendment and U.S. Supreme Court rulings, and analyze the impact on the scope of fundamental rights and federalism

     

    (19) Science, technology, and society. The student understands the impact of advances in science and technology on government and society. The student is expected to:

    (B) evaluate the impact of the Internet and other electronic information on the political process

     

    (20) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. The student is expected to:

    (A) analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions

    (B) create a product on a contemporary government issue or topic using critical methods of inquiry

    (C) analyze and defend a point of view on a current political issue

    (D) analyze and evaluate the validity of information, arguments, and counterarguments from primary and secondary sources for bias, propaganda, point of view, and frame of reference

    (E) evaluate government data using charts, tables, graphs, and maps

     

    (21) Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to:

    (A) use social studies terminology correctly

    (B) use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a decision, gather information, identify options, predict consequences, and take action to implement a decision

    (C) transfer information from one medium to another, including written to visual and statistical to written or visual, using computer software as appropriate

    (D) create written, oral, and visual presentations of social studies information