About landmarkcases.org
This site was developed to provide teachers with a full range of resources and activities to support the teaching of landmark Supreme Court cases, helping students explore the key issues of each case. The "Resources" section features basic building blocks such as background summaries and excerpts of opinions that can be used in multiple ways. The "Activities" section contains a range of short activities and in-depth lessons that can be completed with students. While these activities are online, many of them can be adapted for use in a one-computer classroom or a classroom with no computer.

Depending upon the amount of time you have to teach the case, you may want to use one or more of the "Resources" or "Activities" in conjunction with one or more of the general teaching strategies. These general teaching strategies include moot court activities, political cartoon analysis, continuum exercises, and Web site evaluation.

Time constraints? Click here for Teaching Recommendations Based on Your Time.

Feel free to experiment with these materials!

Resources
About landmarkcases.org
 
Teaching Recommendations
Based on Your Time

 
Background Summary
and Questions

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Reading Level
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Reading Level
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Reading Level
 
Historical Background and Resources from "Africans in America" by PBS / WGBH
 
Diagram of How the Case Moved Through the Court System
 
Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion
 
Key Excerpts from the Dissenting Opinion
 
Full Text of the Majority Opinion

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Activities
    The Case
Read a Dred Scott Chronology
 
Trace Dred Scott's Travels on a U.S. Map
 
Classifying Arguments in the Case
 
Political Cartoon Analysis
 
Accounts from the Courtroom

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    After the Case
Read Newspaper Editorials on the Supreme Court's Decision
 
Read Abraham Lincoln's Speech on the Dred Scott Decision
 
Read a Historian's Discussion of Dred Scott's Significance
 
Visit Dred Scott's Grave
 
How Difficult is it to Become a Citizen?

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