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Michelle E. Colquitt October 31, 2015 Student Centered Learning Lesson Plan Name of Lesson: The Juvenile Justice System and You Grade Level: 8 th Grade Subject: Georgia Studies Prepared By: Michelle Colquitt Completion Time: One Week Overview and Purpose This lesson is taught about all aspects of the Juvenile Justice system in Georgia. This lesson identifies misdemeanor and felony level criminal offenses and possible consequences within the Juvenile Court and Department of Juvenile Justice in Georgia. This is taught as part of the civics component of Georgia Studies. All learners will be informed of the Juvenile Justice system in Georgia and will be assessed over topics learned in this area. Georgia Education Standards Addressed SS8CG6 The student will explain how the Georgia court system treats juvenile offenders.

Student-Centered Learning Lesson Plan

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This is my first attempt at creating a lesson plan ever. I created a Student-Centered Lesson Plan addressing Georgia's Eighth Grade GA Studies standard where students learned about the Juvenile Justice system.

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Page 1: Student-Centered Learning Lesson Plan

Michelle E. Colquitt

October 31, 2015

Student Centered Learning Lesson Plan

Name of Lesson: The Juvenile Justice System and You

Grade Level: 8th Grade

Subject: Georgia Studies

Prepared By: Michelle Colquitt

Completion Time: One Week

Overview and Purpose

This lesson is taught about all aspects of the Juvenile Justice system in Georgia.

This lesson identifies misdemeanor and felony level criminal offenses and possible

consequences within the Juvenile Court and Department of Juvenile Justice in Georgia.

This is taught as part of the civics component of Georgia Studies. All learners will be

informed of the Juvenile Justice system in Georgia and will be assessed over topics

learned in this area.

Georgia Education Standards Addressed

SS8CG6 The student will explain how the Georgia court system treats juvenile

offenders.

a. Explain the difference between delinquent behavior and unruly behavior and the

consequences of each

b. Describe the rights of juveniles when taken into custody.

c. Describe the juvenile justice system, emphasizing the different jurisdictions,

terminology, and steps in the juvenile justice process.

Page 2: Student-Centered Learning Lesson Plan

d. Explain the seven delinquent behaviors that can subject juvenile offenders to the

adult criminal process, how the decision to transfer to adult court is made, and the

possible consequences.

Anticipation Guide

Adapted from: Facing History and Ourselves

Teacher will facilitate an open ended discussion of the Georgia Juvenile Justice

System. The teacher will ask students “what do you know about getting into “trouble”

here in Georgia?” Teacher will provide notecards and roughly five to ten minutes of time

to brainstorm questions before delving into the topic discussion. Students and teacher

will face one another in a “circle the wagons” discussion setting. This discussion is

taking place later in the semester, so students are well aware of the guidelines for

discussion established by the teacher. The most important guideline being that we treat

all opinions, even if they are vastly different than our opinion, with dignity and respect,

listening and considering all opinions. In playing a devil’s advocate role, the teacher

could introduce multiple negative opinions, such as:

All teenagers commit crimes, some are just better at hiding them

All teenagers should be punished to the maximum for crimes, regardless

of how serious these criminal offenses are.

Teenagers who cannot get along with their parents should be removed

from the home.

Ideally, this discussion would last roughly 20 to 30 minutes and a wide variety of

opinions would be presented. The teacher would facilitate an open discourse of

opinions, not imparting which opinions were correct or abjectly incorrect.

Page 3: Student-Centered Learning Lesson Plan

Material Presented

The teacher would utilize the classroom text resource to present materials

related to definitions of the juvenile justice system. Also utilized during this process

would be materials presented by the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, the Annie

E. Casey Foundation, and the Georgia Division of Family and Children’s Services. The

teacher will define key concepts relating to all aspects of the Juvenile Justice System to

include CHINS (Child in Need of Services), Informal Adjustment, Probation, and

Commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Guest Panel and Tour of Juvenile Court

The teacher will conduct a field trip to the Athens-Clarke County Juvenile Court,

located within the County Courthouse at 325 East Washington Street, Room 115,

Athens, GA 30601 upon completion of this unit. During this field trip, which will last

approximately 3 hours (including transportation time) there will be a conversation with

representatives from the ACC Juvenile Court, the Department of Juvenile Justice Clarke

Court Services Office Staff, Clarke County Sheriff’s Department, ACC Police

Department, University of Georgia Police Department, and a representative from Clarke

County DFCS. This panel will reemphasize what was taught during this unit and provide

students with a practical understanding and conceptual framework of a juvenile’s

potential involvement with the Juvenile Justice System.

Assessment

Students will pick from one of two options: (1) write an essay about a juvenile

who becomes involved with the Juvenile Justice system from roughly two weeks before

their offense to two weeks after successfully completing their case, or (2) work together

Page 4: Student-Centered Learning Lesson Plan

in groups of 3 to 4 and complete a media based presentation about a juvenile offender.

For example, if students complete a video project, they are expected to complete a

script, film the video, narrate the video (to include sound editing), present to teacher

(and if teacher approves), upload to YouTube or other video sharing site.

Summary

Involvement with the Juvenile Justice system is a very important part of learning

about civics within Georgia Studies. Students have the opportunity to learn about this

topic through utilization of the Georgia Studies text, online resources, and an in person

discussion with Juvenile Justice officials. Students will be expected to complete a

project based learning assessment (either an in depth writing assignment or a group

media project). Students will be prepared to see questions about this topic on

cumulative tests and high stakes tests, but will be prepared to answer these questions

while grappling with any potential testing anxiety because they are empowered with

knowledge about how the Juvenile Justice system works.