Idaho Social Studies 9-12.GOV.38
The Standard
Analyze Article III of the Constitution as it relates to judicial power, including the length of terms and the jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Function And Structure of the U.S. Political System
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain what kinds of cases federal courts can decide. They distinguish cases the Supreme Court hears first from cases it hears on appeal. They explain why justices do not have fixed terms.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students identify a dispute between two states as a case the Supreme Court can hear first. They trace a federal-law case through lower courts and know the Court does not take every appeal. They know justices serve during good behavior, not for a set number of years.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think any lawsuit can start at the Supreme Court or that the Court must hear every appeal. They may also think justices have fixed terms or can never be removed.
How to Assess It
- Ask: A dispute between two states and an appeal about federal law reach the Supreme Court. Which case can begin there, which comes from a lower court, and when does a justice's term end?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Use yarn and three labeled desks to trace a federal-law case from district court through appeals court to the Supreme Court.
Write a two-sentence reply to someone who says Supreme Court justices must retire after ten years.
Play Original, Appeal, or Neither using case cards about two states, a federal-law appeal, and a local parking ticket.
Open a recent Supreme Court appeal docket, find the lower court listed, and draw the case's path to the Supreme Court.
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