Kelley McDermott, History teacher in a Massachusetts Department of Youth Services facility developed this lesson to attract her 8th grade students interest in research and public policy. Historically, students with disabilities are disproportionally caught up in the juvenile justice system. The lesson employs many strategies and tools for accessibility from Emerging America's Accessing Inquiry course. These include a focus vocabulary analysis and Universal Design for Learning plan. Specific tools include: students analyze primary sources, using the Library of Congress Observe-Reflect-Question form. Then students analyze a rich text set. Finally they research and create a persuasive RAFT on the effectiveness of special education programs in juvenile justice systems.
Lesson PDF. Lesson-related Text Set.
Download: