Mock trial gives 7th graders insight
While the concept of a utopian society is appealing to most, some 7th-grade students at Poplar Grove are learning that there may not ever be a perfect society. Gifted Specialist Mary Norton has threaded the theme of utopia throughout her lessons all year, incorporating every subject area.
This month, her students are applying what they have learned during their novel study on Lord of the Flies by Nobel Prize winning author William Golding. The book tells the story of a group of English schoolboys marooned on a tropical island after their plane is shot down during a war. The boys unsuccessfully try to set up a perfect society, free from rules or social order. The group splinters and two social orders emerge – one that attempts to work and live peacefully while the other seeks only anarchy and violence.
Norton’s class studied the death of one of the characters, Simon, and will be conducting a mock trial on Wednesday, March 18, from 10:30-11:30, to determine if another character is guilty of murder. In preparation for this trial, students have been assigned parts to play, including a judge, prosecuting and defense attorneys, and witnesses. Two students will film the trial so that the case can be presented to an impartial jury of 7th graders who have not yet read the novel.
On Monday, March 16, from 10:30-11:30 a.m., the students will participate in a live videoconference with an attorney in Kansas City, who will explain the roles of the key players and how to prepare for a trial. Loyd Gattis, Ms. Norton’s brother, is a practicing attorney in Kansas City with Spencer, Fane, Britt and Browne, LLP. He will explain how attorneys build their cases and how to prepare witnesses for testimony, as well as facilitate a general discussion about a career in law.
“In conducting a mock trial, I hope that my students will further develop their creative and persuasive communication skills,” Norton said. “I want them to hone their analytical and interpretive skills as they study literature. I also think that this experience will help my students develop stronger reasoning abilities and give them practice in developing logical arguments. They are excited about this project and are taking their roles very seriously.”
Utopian themes have carried these students through their studies in Ms. Norton’s language arts classroom, where they draw heavily on multiple subject areas. They have discussed artwork by Edward Hicks, Konstantin Rodko and Thomas Hart Benton and their vision of a perfect society. They used math skills to draw a perfect bedroom to scale, taking care to make sure the dimensions were accurate and furniture placement would work.
Ms. Norton incorporated social studies by discussing World War II and the evacuation of British children to escape the German bombing. The students have also created timelines, a graphic representation of symbolism in the novel, and a character study on each of the main characters.
They have participated in Socratic discussions and a readers’ theater, where each student took on a part to read aloud. These discussions give students the opportunity to increase their proficiency in the two primary liberal arts – speaking and listening.
You are invited to visit Ms. Norton’s classroom on either Monday, March 16, for the videoconference or Wednesday, March 18, for the actual mock trial. Both lessons will be from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at Poplar Grove School, Room 301.
The Franklin Special School District is a K-8 public school system with serving 3,850 students in seven schools. The District gets its unique name from a special act of the state legislature that provides the Board of Education its own taxing authority, enabling the schools to be funded appropriately in order to maintain “Excellence in Teaching and Learning for All.” For more information about the district, please visit www.fssd.org on the Internet.
Poplar Grove School is located 2959 Del Rio Pike in Franklin. The school serves approximately 900 students in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. The middle school phone number is 790-4721 and the principal is Vanessa Garcia.
