Science+and+the+Courts

Science and the Courts Unit


 * TASK**:


 * Students will work in small groups to produce a collaborative wiki space that illustrate an understanding of topics discussed in the unit, how to research court cases, and explain how science applies to the American justice system in the past and present. The wiki space should incorporate the use of at least three technology strategies that you have learned during the technology program. **

Day 1

= Day 1 Objectives: = 1. Define Evolution in their own words 2. Evaluate social, cultural, and political events of the early 1900s
 * // Students will be Able to //** :

Video: The objective of the video was to show the evolution of mankind from the smallest of sea creatures to the homo sapiens that we are today. It goes through every single step of evolution that has occurred in mankind. Questions about video: 1. What was each step in the evolution exactly? 2. Why did they particularly pick Homer Simpson?

3 Minute Pause: 1. Evolution is based on inheritance through many generations and not within oneself 2. Evolution can be gained through adaptations and/or mutations that affect the specie at hand, which can affect future generations We can all see that all of us are part of a current evolution as we speak, as our genes will affect those of our family's future generations 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of evolution?



America in the 1920's: The 1920's in America were both positive and negative for the nation as a whole, but eventually allowed the country to grow. It was filled with the Ku Klux Klan, who were white supremicists, and did all they could to eliminate minorities. Another con was the eventual Great Depression that it devastated the United States economy. Even so, the 20's also brought positive change as women received more rights than before and were now allowed to vote. Also, the first automobiles were being built to expand transportation more than ever before.



Question: Yes, I believe that the scientific research and discovery conflicted with the ideals of the 1920's. It provided a more liberal thought to more traditional ideas that were still in place because of the time period. For example, the teachings of John Scopes about the theory of evolution sparked controversy and outrage among certain members of the public. At that time, many people were stuck to traditional ideas and their religions that they could not accept such a new and outreaching idea.

Summarizing Activity: The 19th Amendment gave women more rights than ever before that now, females are able to pursue any type of job they want. For example, the politician Hillary Clinton is a prime example of a women that has utilized her rights to the highest power. As for the case of the theory of evolution, it can be possible because evolution provides the thought of a species evolving over several generations, allowing their genetics to pass down and be inherited by their future generations. = Day 2 Objectives: = 1. Explain the controversy of teaching evolution in schools 2. Identify the different views about teaching evolution in schools 3. Evaluate the impact of the Scopes trial in America
 * // Students will be Able to //** :

** Extended Opener: **
We will be discussing the contents of a picture depicting a situation about the theory of evolution through an 'I See/It Means' format.

Activity 1: The Simpsons Tackle Evolution

1. The message of the Simpsons clip was to suggest that not all people agree on the origin on mankind and that there will always be words exchanged between both sides. The part where Lisa Simpson is arrested showed the lack of the 1st Amendment being enforced. It boldly shows how so cities are more leaning toward the theory of creationism rather than the theory of evolution. It is an ongoing battle that will never be resolved because of people's traditional beliefs.

2. I do not believe something like this could happen nowadays, but certainly back in the 1900's. Back then, cities were more old-fashioned and upheld traditions that lasted since the colonial times. This is a strong case when cities are filled with Christians that follow the traditional teachings of the Bible when they were young.

Activity 2a: The Scopes Monkey Trial



Activity 2b: The Scopes Monkey Trial Task: On a PiratePad, as a group of 4, we will be discussing Judge Raulston and his role/presence on the Scopes trial.

The following link gives the PiratePad we used to collect all of our information: Judge Raulston



Final Summary: 1. Judge John T. Raulston played a very important role in the case as he had an influence on what the grand jury would decide as the verdict of the case. The biased Raulston often conflicted with the defense attorney, Clarence Darrow, who constantly did all he could to combat Raulston’s attempts to indict Scopes. John Scopes was the root of the case as he was the teacher of evolution, which violated the Butler Law. Clarence Darrow was the defense attorney for John Scopes. He was an atheist and wanted the court to allow the teaching of evolution so that schools would progress forward and allow more than one belief to co-exist. William Jennings Bryan was a Christian who was called upon to testify against John Scopes. Bryan believed in Creationalism, which was the same as life being created by what the Bible told. He was a figure representing the people who did not believe in the theory of evolution and testified for them. The ACLU was not a well known organization during the 1920’s but used the Scopes hand to gain promotion. They used it to gain profit, but also used this particular case in order to demonstrate the use of the freedom of speech and religion. Although Scopes lost the case, the ACLU’s presence ceased the Butler Law in the years to come and the ACLU would continue to last and continue advocating free speech and religion. 2. Raulston was a conservative Christian who stuck to his traditional values. He clearly opposed the teaching of evolution in schools and showed it through his constant negotiating and conflicts with Clarence Darrow. Darrow was an atheist who defended John Scopes and belived that both thoughts, creationism and evolution, should co-exist so that people could believe what they wished and allow the country to progress forward instead of staying backing in the old ages where everyone would be stuck to traditional beliefs. John Scopes was a substitute teacher who was called upon by Darrow to testify about the unconstitutionality of the Butler Law, but Scopes’ own perspective was that he believed that teachers should be able to teach evolution so that students would be able to be exposed to the lights of creationism and evolution. The ACLU advocated freedom of speech and religion, so they used the case in order to gain publicity for themselves since they were nearing bankruptcy. Even so, the union definitely supported the thought of evolution and allowing anyone to accept it or be taught in school with it. William Jennings Bryan was called upon to testify in defense of creationism and Christian ideals. He did not support the theory of evolution since he strongly supported the traditional values of creationism. 3. Personally, I do not agree with the outcome of the trial because I believe that Scopes should have won easily since they were dealing with a freedom of speech/religion case. He was facing a conservative Christian judge who definitely influenced the jury as well as calling upon William Jennings Bryan to demonstrate the Bible’s teachings and shoot down the theory of evolution. Even so, this case caught America’s attention and allowed for the battle between creationism and evolution to grow and have created a country where both are accepted and can co-exist.

Day 3: Objectives
//Students will be able to:// Explain how their Glog/Slide represents the signifcance of events that occurred during the Scopes Trial Identify and explain the connection between science and the justice system in today's world

media type="custom" key="6582089"
 * __Slide__**

Well, first and foremost, I think I'd be much happier if my Slide project didn't get deleted, but oh well, life isn't always fair. Regardless, my photos were all represented equally to the topic at hand. First, I used a picture of each actual person that played some role in the case and added a short description on their role or their perspective on the theory of evolution. After introducing these people, I added random pictures that I found online to represent the social, political, and economic factors behind the Scopes trial to give a different and more interactive view to the case itself.

Opener:

 * In **10** words or less summarize the Scopes Trial
 * Find/Create a visual that best symbolizes the trial

10 words activity: A struggle of ideals that ends in greater acceptance. Visual:



** Day 4: ** We continued our group projects on the investigation between science and how it affects the outcome of court cases. Our final project can be linked to the following page: DNA and the Courts I worked on the 'DNA Viability in Court Cases' page.

The project of creating a new wiki based on DNA's role in the courts was enjoyable, but also challenging at points. I honestly did not know how much I needed to put on the page, so I used three different types of displays to exemplify the type of work I researched and information found to show the roles that DNA played for important court cases. While doing this, I am not sure how well my other group mates were doing, but I could trust that they were putting up a good effort and developing their pages nicely.