Mock Talk: Questions From the Mock Trial
Story by Angela Kim, Kirsten Huh, Kaylen Ko
Edited by Jeffrey Kim
Design by Helaine Lee
Edited by Jeffrey Kim
Design by Helaine Lee
Over the winter break, the students of 8th grade were busy reading the exciting historical fiction novel, The Notorious Benedict Arnold. All students were required to read this novel and discuss it with their Literacy classmates. The week after returning from Winter Break, the two Literature teachers of Grade 8, Mr. Brodhead and Mr. Tong, assigned the entire 8th grade a project: putting Benedict Arnold and John Andre on trial. This project was not one that used traditional tools like iMovie or PowerPoint; it was a class project that everyone had to contribute to. However, a large number of students were not experienced with the concept of a mock trial and the roles of lawyers, the jury, and witnesses.
Jeffrey Kim, lawyer, stated that the preparation process for the mock trial was not easy. “Many people had never experienced an environment like a mock trial before, so it was difficult to cooperate effectively.” Mr. Tong and Mr. Brodhead divided the class into two groups: prosecution and defense. The prosecutors’ role was to prove Benedict Arnold or John Andre guilty on the charge of high treason and espionage; the defenders’ job was to prove their innocence. The students had to coordinate with their group in order to defend, prosecute, or judge the accused without personal bias. Within the groups, certain roles were chosen; there were four lawyers and four to five witnesses while other members acted the part of the media. This presented challenges as well; lawyers had to learn how to cross-examine and witnesses had to coordinate with attorneys. By the end of the project, the prosecution and the defense faced off in a mock trial overseen by Mr. Schwartz, US History teacher. At the end of the day, each person had played an important role in their team’s victory in the mock trial. Mr. Schwartz stated, “I think that it was the best assignment throughout the year. I felt like all the students were engaged.” Through their knowledge of the events within the book, each team were able to consolidate their side and coordinate their statements to convince the Jury to rule in favor of their position. |
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