Emma Dazzo

Just Mercy Unit Plan Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan 1 (Pre-literacy)

Central Question: Can students define “Capital Punishment” and cite examples of crimes guilty
of Capital Punishment depending on the state?

Time:
High School Junior, English Classroom, 50 min class period

Setting
This is an 11 grade high school Honors, English class in a suburban, public high school.
th

Our class consists of 24 students, 12 students identify as female and 12 students identify as male,
2 identify as trans male. In our class, there are 5 white students, 1 indigenous student, 6 African
American students, 6 Latinx students, 2 Filipino-American students, 2 Indonesian students, and 1
Vietnamese-American student. Three of the students are AAVE dominant and two students are
Spanish dominant.

Conceptual/Theoretical Framework
As we teach “Just Mercy,” we understand that there will be places of differing opinion
and perspective on issues around mass incarceration, the death penalty, police brutality, and
overall racism in the U.S. and different strategies of resistance. Students, as well as the teachers,
are encouraged to share their thoughts on these issues that come up via curriculum. This
ultimately promotes good dialogue and understanding of the text that goes beyond just reading
comprehension, engaging students in a much more personal way. For this particular lesson, I
want to present both sides of the argument on the death penalty to students prior to getting into
Stevenson’s personal opinions throughout the book. Students will eventually be expressing their
own opinions on the debate.
The idea to bring in supplemental texts in the form of short informational resources came
from Burke’s strategies on good reading instruction. He says, “The teacher brings together a set
of short, complex texts—both literary and informational, fiction and poetry, literary criticism and
cultural commentary—to create a sequence of readings that build on each other but all relate to a
larger anchor text such as a major literary work” (168). By giving students a variety of sources to
choose from they will use the nonfiction texts to build upon concepts and themes from the
anchor text, Just Mercy.

Prior Knowledge
The only background knowledge students would need to know for this lesson would be
how to do simple research and it will be scaffolded for them because they will be given the
sources to find the information they are looking for. Students have worked with the laptops
before, so I know they have some prior knowledge. They also need to have some familiarity with
how to fill out a T-chart, which we have worked with before when comparing and contrasting
texts, characters and ideas.
 This lesson will set students up to begin thinking about capital punishment as the major
debate it is in the US today. They will be coming back to the question of, “Is capital punishment
moral and should it be allowed in our justice system?” throughout the story. This lesson will give
students background information on the issue of capital punishment and allow them to start
forming opinions before they really get deep into the text. Their knowledge and opinions on
capital punishment will grow and change as they get further into the text.

Objectives
• Students will be able to define “capital punishment”
• Students will be able to identify crimes punishable by the death penalty
• Students will be able to list arguments for both sides of the debate on capital punishment

Materials
• class-set of laptops
• whiteboard
• notebooks
• death penalty info. based on state resource: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/crimes-
punishable-death-penalty
• death penalty info. based on state resource in Spanish:
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/versión-en-español
• T-chart worksheet (see attached)
• Research materials (English)
For:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/capitalpunishment/for_1.shtml

https://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002000

• Against:
https://oadp.org/facts/13-reasons

https://www.amnesty.org.au/5-reasons-abolish-death-penalty/

• Research materials (Spanish)

For:
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=es&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.u
k%2Fethics%2Fcapitalpunishment%2Ffor_1.shtml

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=es&u=https%3A%2F%2Fdeathpenalty.
procon.org%2Fview.resource.php%3FresourceID%3D002000

Against:
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=es&u=https%3A%2F%2Foadp.org%2F
facts%2F13-reasons

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=es&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amnesty
.org.au%2F5-reasons-abolish-death-penalty%2F

Preparation
For this class, there needs to be 24 copies of the death penalty printed off from the above
website in English, giving credit to the source and 2 copies of the source in Spanish for the
Spanish dominant speaking students, if they choose to read it in Spanish. The room also has to be
divided down a middle aisle with 12 desks on each side. On the board the recommended sources,
seen above, need to be written for both the English and Spanish resources. Lastly, 30 copies of
the T-chart should be printed and waiting for students to pick up on their way in. (see attached)

Procedure
• As students walk in, instruct them to grab a class set laptop
• begin discussion by asking whole class what they know about capital punishment
• students can use their phones, computers or the dictionary to look up a definition
• clarify that capital punishment is the same as the death penalty
• as a class, agree on a working definition of “capital punishment”
• write the definition on the board and have students write the definition in their notebooks
• pass out sheets with the list of crimes punishable by capital punishment based on state:
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/crimes-punishable-death-penalty
• give students about 3 min to look through resource
• 10 min
• split class up half and half
• the desks will already be organized so they are split down the middle with 12 desks on
one side of the aisle and 12 desks on the other side
• pass out T chart worksheet, one to each student
• half the class will be instructed to research arguments FOR capital punishment
• the other half will research arguments AGAINST capital punishment
• give students a list of resources to guide their research, write on board
• resources FOR capital punishment (listed above)
• resources AGAINST capital punishment (listed above)
• students will have 15 minutes to find arguments for their assigned “side”
• instructor should be monitoring classroom, keeping students on task and offering
assistance to students who are struggling with their research
• students can listen to music for the 15 minutes they have to research
• students will fill out one side of the T chart depending on which argument they
researched
• Students should get with a partner of their choosing from the opposite side of the
classroom and share findings of opposing arguments
 • Both students in a pair have to fill out the T-chart to turn in at the end of the class period
• Around 15 minutes
• Wrap up and draw students’ attention to the homework written on the board: begin
reading ch.3 up until pg. 49
• Wrap up and remind students to keep in mind their research from today as they read
chapter 3 for homework
• 50 min total

Discussion Ideas

1. How would you classify the type of offense that warrants the death penalty, based on
your research?
2. What is your opinion of capital punishment/the death penalty?
3. Can you propose an alternative to the death penalty?
4. What facts would you choose to show that the death penalty is “dehumanizing”?
5. Can you predict the outcome of Walter in Just Mercy?

Planned Supports:

• Language Accommodations
o For the two Spanish dominant speaking students I will translate the directions into
a written form so they can better understand. They will be given all resources in
both English and Spanish and can choose whichever they prefer. I will also make
sure they know they can work together and complete the assessment T-chart in
Spanish and I can translate later, but they do not have to work together.
o For the AAVE dominant speaking students, they can speak or write in whichever
dialect they prefer as long as they are effectively communicating with their
partner on the T-chart assessment.
• Special Ed Accommodations
o The student with ADD will be paired with a specified peer to complete both tasks,
the peer will know ahead of time who he is and they will move to the back of the
classroom to work together out loud. This way the student with ADD will remain
on task and not be distracted.
o For the three students with general anxiety they will be given the choice to move
to the library or stay in the room during the first 15 minutes and soothing music
will be playing in the room.
o The three students with EDs can also choose to work with a pre-assigned partner
for the first 15 minutes instead of working alone. They will also get an extension
to turn in the T-chart the next day instead of the day of.
Assessment
This lesson’s formative assessment will eventually be the foundation for which they
complete the summative assessment in two days’ time. The assessment for this lesson is the
filled-out T-chart that students completed both individually and through collaboration with a
partner.
 This assessment aligns with all three targets because they will have to demonstrate that
they understand what capital punishment is, as well as what crimes constitute the death penalty.
However, this assessment is really checking for understanding that through cooperative learning
students were able to build a framework of the debate on capital punishment by researching one
side of the argument and learning about the other side from a classmate. They will need these
notes for the summative writing assessment. The evidence of student understanding will be
elicited by collecting their T-charts and making sure they have enough information to build upon
going in to the during-literacy lesson.
The T-charts will have to be collected that day and returned to students the next morning.
They will either have a check, meaning the information is adequate at least, or it will have an X
meaning that the partners need to add some information before they can move on the next day.

Extension Ideas
Students could have to look up other cases where capital punishment was ruled for or
ruled against and compare and contrast cases. They could look at the crimes, the defendants,
locations and other details which may have played into the court’s decision. This way students
are getting even more nonfiction content that build their knowledge of the issues discussed in the
anchor text.
Students can also look at the death penalty in other countries and why/how justice
systems are different around the world. From there students can get into what effects certain
countries’ policies on the death penalty have had on their incarceration rates and country as a
whole.

Source of Activity

Most of the activity was my own, but the idea did stem from “BOOKRAGS” unit plan
for Just Mercy (attached below).

Resources and References

Burke, J., & Claggett, M. F. (1999). The English teachers companion: A complete guide to
classroom, curriculum, and the profession. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.

Crimes Punishable by the Death Penalty. [Crímenes punibles con la pena de muerte] (n.d.).
Retrieved from
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/crimes-punishable-death-penalty

Ethics - Capital punishment: Arguments in favour of capital punishment.[ La pena capital:

argumentos a favor de la pena capital] (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/capitalpunishment/for_1.shtml

Five reasons to abolish the death penalty – Amnesty International Australia. [Cinco razones para
abolir la pena de muerte - Amnistía Internacional Australia ] (2018, August 09).
Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org.au/5-reasons-abolish-death-penalty/

Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson) Lesson Plans, BookRags, 2017,

www.gavilan.edu/student/civic/docs/bookrags_just-mercy-lessonplan.pdf.
The Facts: 13 Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty. [Los hechos: 13 razones para oponerse a la
pena de muerte] (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://oadp.org/facts/13-reasons

Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments - Death Penalty - ProCon.org. [Top 10 Argumentos Pro & Con -
Pena de muerte - ProCon.org.] (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002000

(n.d.). Retrieved from

http://assist.educ.msu.edu/ASSIST/classroom/assesses_learning/Sec1_plan_teach/Str2_o
ngoing_assessment/tool_open_question.htm

CC Standards

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.

This lesson aligns with CC.11-12.W.7 because it is a short research activity to build
students’ background knowledge on capital punishment, which is a major issue presented in the
story. Essentially students are doing research while considering both sides of the argument and
creating their own opinions on capital punishment. The self-generated question they will begin
thinking about now and will fully address in their final has to do with is the death penalty
immoral? They are beginning to explore this inquiry through this mini research lesson and
demonstrating understanding of the topic through their T-charts.
 T-chart for Lesson #1
Arguments in favor of the Death Penalty Arguments against the Death Penalty
Argumentos a favor de la pena de muerte Argumentos en contra de la pena de muerte
 Lesson Plan 2 (During Literacy)

Central Question: How is capital punishment talked about in the story? How does it relate to
flaws in the justice system with Walter’s case?

Time:
High School Junior, English Classroom, 50 min class period

Setting:
This is an 11 grade high school Honors, English class in a suburban, public high school.
th

Our class consists of 24 students, 12 students identify as female and 12 students identify as male,
2 identify as trans male. In our class, there are 5 white students, 1 indigenous student, 6 African
American students, 6 Latinx students, 2 Filipino-American students, 2 Indonesian students, and 1
Vietnamese-American student. Three of the students are AAVE dominant and two students are
Spanish dominant.

Conceptual/Theoretical Framework:
The theoretical framework for this lesson comes from Burke’s ideas on reciprocal
teaching. He says, “Discussions come in an array of formats: from more structured discussion
strategies like “shared inquiry” (Great Books 1999) and reciprocal teaching… Ask authentic
questions that require interpretation, analysis, and evaluation as students struggle to make sense
of texts, topics, and information—as well as their own or class- mates’ questions, all of which
are linked or contingent so as to develop a sustained line of inquiry and deeper understanding
(Hillocks 1999, 27)” (218). Students’ silent discussion will be guided by the list of questions
given to them, but it also gives them an opportunity to take their conversations in whichever
direction they need it to be to comprehend the big ideas in the text.
This lesson comes at the beginning of the unit and focuses on sensory detail in order to
gain a deeper understanding of capital punishment, as an extension of yesterday’s lesson.
However, eventually students will be able to utilize silent conversations without any instruction
and choose entirely the line of inquiry their conversations will take on.

Prior Knowledge
For this lesson, students will have to have some prior knowledge on sensory details and
imagery, which they should have by this point in their education. We will review sensory details
briefly at the beginning of class to get them thinking. They will also need their prior knowledge
on capital punishment/ death row from yesterday and how to use google docs.

Objectives
• Students will be able to analyze the core text Just Mercy for sensory details and imagery.
• Students will be able to demonstrate that they can relate research from the nonfiction text
in yesterday’s lesson to Just Mercy.

Materials
• Class-set laptops
• Just Mercy text
 • Discussion questions (25 copies printed for each student)
• blank paper & markers

Preparation
This lesson does not require too much physical preparation. The desks can be organized
in any formation because students will be working with partners, but only silently until the end,
which will not require a lot of room. The questions should be printed out, one copy for each
student to refer to during the activity. The teacher should also translate all questions into Spanish
and print out two copies for the students who are Spanish dominant. Teacher should make sure
laptops are charged, and that there is blank paper and markers available.

Procedure
• Students should once again get laptops on their way in to the classroom
• Teacher should pass back T-chart sheet from day before
• Spend 5 min reviewing sensory details (5 senses)
• Teacher reads ch. 3 pages 49-61 out loud modeling tone and inflection
• Students read along in their books (Spanish version for Spanish-dominant speaking
students)
• Stopping points at the end of every other page
• Students are to have a silent dialogue with a new partner than yesterday
• Students should log into google docs and share a document with their partner and the
teacher to have their silent discussion on
• At the end of every other page students will have 2 min to “discuss” in the google doc
one of the questions below or ask one another a different question, but they should also
be responding to and posing questions while the teacher is reading
• Each student in the partnership should have an equal amount of inquiries and responses
• Teacher types up the following questions and prints a copy for each student, pass out
questions prior to activity
o The overall question is to get an idea of what capital punishment looked like in
1980s Alabama
o What does capital punishment look, sound, smell, feel like in the 1980s in
Alabama?
o Use specific words and phrases from the text that give the reader a visual of what
is happening in the story?
o What were the cells like? What were they supposed to be like?
o How much social interaction did prisoners on death row get?
o What was the emotional tow on prisoners awaiting capital punishment?
o Why were McMillian and Myers sent to death row even before the trial? Why was
this wrong?
o Include in your silent dialogue how these sensory details make you feel and why
they are or are not effective?
o Write to your partner any other reactions or questions you may have.
o Make predications for chapter 4.
o Make comparisons to research yesterday.
• Not all questions have to be answered
 • Students should make comparisons to research yesterday
• Focus on sensory details
• 35 minutes
• At the conclusion of the chapter partners will draw the scene using sensory details they
pulled from the text and little to no words
• Teacher should pass out blank paper and markers to each partner set
• Student should focus on setting, character, reader response
• 10 minutes
• wrap up and have students read Ch. 4 for homework
• 50 min total

Discussion Ideas

1. How would you improve conditions of the death row prison cells?
2. What information from Just Mercy would you use to support that view that death row is
dehumanizing?
3. How would you apply what you have learned to develop an opinion on the death penalty?

Planned Supports
• Language Accommodations
o My Spanish speaking students will have a version of the text in Spanish. If they
choose to read the book in Spanish, they can do the exact same activity and have
the book read to them in the library by an aid who speaks Spanish. They can also
choose to stay in the room, listen to the chapter in English, but complete the silent
dialogue with each other in Spanish. The guiding questions for the silent dialoge
will also be translated into Spanish for their reference
o The students who are AAVE dominant can complete their silent dialogue in
whichever dialect they prefer.

• Special Ed Accommodations
o For the student with ADD have him sit next to where the teacher will sit and read
aloud, this way he will be less distracted.
o For the students with anxiety, they can choose where they sit and make sure it is
clear that if they need to get up and move they can leave the classroom to get
water, etc. without asking and the teacher will catch them up on what they missed
of the text during one of the stopping points.
o For the student with ED and the students with anxiety and ADD, they will have
extra time to complete the activity if it is not done today.

Assessment
The formative assessment of today’s lesson is the silent dialogue with guided questions.
It will be shared with the teacher and has to be complete in class. The dialogue aligns with the
objectives because it asks students to analyze the texts for sensory details and imagery, as well as
to incorporate research from yesterday and discuss with their peers. Evidence of student learning
will be apparent through their ability to point to specific words and phrases in the text that
exemplify imagery and sensory details as well as they are able to answer most of the guiding
question with their partners. Students will be given feedback through the comments section on
Google Docs where they can access the document and see my comments after it is graded for
completion.

Extension Ideas
One option for students to is to continue this silent dialogue with their partner throughout
the whole book. This way they can share annotations and ask each other questions if they are
confused. This can be a valuable way to get students to engage with the text and pick up on
details they may have missed, but their partner paid attention to. It will also give students a
resource to look back on when the final summative assessment comes around at the end of the
unit. They can look back on this conversation broken down by chapter and review main plot
points, character traits, themes, etc.

Source of Activity
I took one lesson idea from “BOOK RAGS” and broke it down into two lessons, a pre-
literacy lesson and a during literacy lesson.

Resources and References

Burke, J., & Claggett, M. F. (1999). The English teachers companion: A complete guide to
classroom, curriculum, and the profession. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.

Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson) Lesson Plans, BookRags, 2017,

www.gavilan.edu/student/civic/docs/bookrags_just-mercy-lessonplan.pdf.

Just Mercy: a Story of Justice and Redemption. Spiegel & Grau, 2015.

(n.d.). Retrieved from

http://assist.educ.msu.edu/ASSIST/classroom/assesses_learning/Sec1_plan_teach/Str2_o
ngoing_assessment/tool_open_question.htm

CC Standards

CC.11-12.R.L.4 Craft and Structure: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are
used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific
word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is
particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
In this lesson, students are still focusing on the theme of capital punishment, but they are
specifically focusing on how the meaning of words and phrases affects readers through the use of
figurative language. Specifically, they are focusing on how sensory details work in the story
what effects they have on the reader.
 Lesson Plan 3 (Post-literacy)

Time:
High School Junior, English Classroom, 50 min class period

Setting:
This is an 11 grade high school Honors, English class in a suburban, public high school.
th

Our class consists of 24 students, 12 students identify as female and 12 students identify as male,
2 identify as trans male. In our class, there are 5 white students, 1 indigenous student, 6 African
American students, 6 Latinx students, 2 Filipino-American students, 2 Indonesian students, and 1
Vietnamese-American student. Three of the students are AAVE dominant and two students are
Spanish dominant.

Conceptual/Theoretical Framework:
When teaching writing Burke recommends using compare and contrast when dealing
with two texts to help students be more organized and analytical. He says, “Focus on the
similarities to compare; examines the differences to contrast. It’s possible, even wise, to both
compare and contrast” (90). I want students to start making connections between other real-life
examples and the issues discussed in this book because that is the real message of the story,
Stevenson is an activist, but first he studied many cases. Ultimately, I want students to apply
their critical thinking and analytical skills to real-life situations and this is one way to get them to
start getting those ideas down on writing.

Prior Knowledge
Students will have to have some prior knowledge working with the 6 journalistic
questions: who, what, where, when, why, how. They will have to know what these questions are
and how they look in a story. We have worked with these elements before when annotating texts
earlier this year, so they should not need any reviewing. They will also need to be caught up
from the last two days to complete the in-class writing assignment, if they are not they can work
independently in the library. They will have prior knowledge on how to write a thesis and use
text evidence to support their claims.

Objectives
• Students will be able to compare and contrast two texts on a similar issue in their quick-
write assignment
• Students will be able to classify how the information from the text supports one side of
the argument on the death penalty

Materials
• Class-set laptops
• “NY Times” article printed (25 copies in English, 2 in Spanish)
• https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=es&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.n
ytimes.com%2F1975%2F09%2F20%2Farchives%2Fits-over-for-2-wrongly-held-
12-years-its-over-for-two-men-wrongly.html (Spanish)
 • https://www.nytimes.com/1975/09/20/archives/its-over-for-2-wrongly-held-12-years-
its-over-for-two-men-wrongly.html (English)
• Just Mercy text
• 25 copies of the quick write prompt in English and Spanish

Preparation
The desk should be arranged so there are 6 pods of 4 desks each for group reading. The
“NY Times” article has to be printed, 25 copies need to be made in English and 2 copies in
Spanish. The quick write prompt should be printed and distributed, 25 in English 2 in Spanish.

Procedure
• Students will walk in and grab a laptop
• Teacher should ask students to take out research from Monday and Just Mercy text
• begin by asking students what research they found for and against the death penalty
• ask students to share as a class what they found on other court cases
• give students an article about a similar case:
https://www.nytimes.com/1975/09/20/archives/its-over-for-2-wrongly-held-12-years-its-
over-for-two-men-wrongly.html
• read article in small groups
• each group can choose how they read the article as long as they get through the article in
20 min
• 6 groups of 4 pre-determined by teacher so that there are mixed reading levels in each
group
• teacher should walk around and try to read with each group and check annotations
• Students should be annotating for some of the demographics of the case: what was the
crime? Who were the defendants?
• Annotate for 6 journalistic questions: Who, what, where, when, why, how
• Students can write on the article or on a notebook sheet of paper
• 20 min
• students will have a 30-min quick write comparing what they know about Walter’s case
in Just Mercy so far and the case they just read about
• Quick Write Question handed out to each student: Compare and contrast the two court
cases. What was similar about them what was different? How did race and legal
injustice play a role in each case? Use research from Monday and text evidence
from today and yesterday to ultimately argue which side of the debate the evidence
from the last 2 days supports.
• Students write on notebook paper
• 50 min
Discussion Ideas
1. What conclusions can you draw about the US legal system given these two court cases?
2. What facts can you compile that prove the cases were handled poorly?
3. How would you compare the facts and people of the two court cases?

Planned Supports
• Language Accommodations
o The students who are Spanish-dominant speakers can choose to read the article in
Spanish and work in a partnership, the article will be provided for them in both
languages. They can also choose to write in Spanish and the teacher should
translate when grading.
o The students who speak AAVE can speak and write in whichever dialect they
choose
• Special Ed Accommodations
o The student with ADD will be working with select students to help him stay
focused and prepare for the writing task. He will also get extended time for the
writing assignment if he needs it he can finish tomorrow. This student will also
complete the writing assignment in the library away from distraction.
o The three students with EDs can have extended time to finish the writing
assignment the next day if they need.
o The students with anxiety can type their quick writes if they want to and can also
choose to work in the library away from distractions.

Assessment
The in-class write will serve as a summative assessment of the last three days. They will
have to use examples from their research on the first day and the chapter we read in class on
Tuesday to complete the in-class writing assignment. It aligns with both objectives because
students will have to compare and contrast the two court cases as well as argue that the evidence
they find supports one side of the debate on the death penalty. Evidence of student understanding
will be shown by students’ ability to use text evidence from their research, Just Mercy and the
“NY Times” article to compare and contrast and make a convincing argument. Students will get
written feedback on their ability to use text evidence that supports their claims. The assessment is
out of 5 points. Three points for text evidence, one for each point, one point for a clear thesis and
one point for making an argument that is supported by evidence.

Extension Ideas
Another idea that can continue this lesson after today is to have students each take turns
researching and creating a short brief on other court cases that involve capital punishment and
how they were ruled. Students would have different due dates to bring in their research and they
would be posted around the room for other students to learn more about the real life examples
that relate to the text.
Source of Activity
This activity was a wrap up of the three-day sequence on capital punishment that we
talked about mainly with chapters 3 and 4. The overall lesson sequence was inspired by “BOOK
RAGS” however this lesson and writing assignment was my own idea.

Resources and References

Burke, J., & Claggett, M. F. (1999). The English teachers companion: A complete guide to
classroom, curriculum, and the profession. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.

“For Teachers.” Emotional Disturbance, elementaryemotionaldisturbance.weebly.com/for-

teachers.html.

JAMES T. WOOTEN Special to The New York Times. “'It's Over' for 2 Wrongly Held 12
Years.” ["'Se acabó' para 2 erróneamente 12 Años."] The New York Times, The New
York Times, 20 Sept. 1975,
www.nytimes.com/1975/09/20/archives/its-over-for-2-wrongly-held-12-years-its-over-
for-two-men-wrongly.html.

Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson) Lesson Plans, BookRags, 2017,

www.gavilan.edu/student/civic/docs/bookrags_just-mercy-lessonplan.pdf.

Just Mercy: a Story of Justice and Redemption. Spiegel & Grau, 2015.

(n.d.). Retrieved from

http://assist.educ.msu.edu/ASSIST/classroom/assesses_learning/Sec1_plan_teach/Str2_o
ngoing_assessment/tool_open_question.htm

CC Standards

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.

In this writing assignment students will have to use their information from analyzing
different sources to address the prompt. They will be addressing questions concerning legal
injustice and racism within the justice system institution to get them to begin grappling with big
idea concepts we will be working with throughout the unit.