Idaho Social Studies 9-12.GOV.42

Social StudiesGrades 9–12American Government

The Standard

Compare and contrast different judicial philosophies including activism vs. conservatism, originalism vs. living constitution, and textualism.

Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Function And Structure of the U.S. Political System

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain when judges rely on a statute’s words, the Constitution’s original meaning, or its application to new conditions. They compare assertive and restrained uses of judicial power without assuming either reflects a judge’s political views.
What Mastery Looks Like: Given short rulings, students name each judge’s approach and point to words that support their choice. They can explain why using original meaning does not automatically make a ruling restrained.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think a conservative judge must belong to one political party, or that any ruling striking down a law is activist. They may confuse reading a statute’s enacted words with asking what constitutional words meant when adopted. They may think applying the Constitution to new conditions means ignoring its text.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Give students these claims: “Use the statute’s words”; “Use the Constitution’s original meaning”; “Apply its principles to new conditions.” Ask them to name each approach and explain whether any one requires striking down a law.

Lesson moves

Hand pairs cards with a phone-search statute, the Fourth Amendment, and three judges’ reasons; sort the reasons by statutory text, history, or changing conditions.
Ask: “Can a judge use the Constitution’s original meaning to strike down a law?” Have students defend their answers using a sample ruling.
Read a one-sentence ruling; teams score by naming its interpretive method and explaining whether its reasoning limits or expands the court’s role.
Give students a paragraph from Bostock v. Clayton County; have them highlight references to Title VII’s wording and explain why that is textualism.

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