Sunset View Sixth Graders Tackle Wizarding Courtroom Drama in Mock Trial

October 15th, 2024 /
Spencer Tuinei /
CTE, Elementary School, News, Schools, Sunset View

“How dare these ungrateful children accuse this kindly old woman of a crime! What crime? Is hospitality a crime?”

It’s a quote from the accused on trial at Fourth District Juvenile Court—a fictitious trial, that is.

Never have harsher words uttered by a sixth grader sounded as comically cute.

Under the guidance of Sunset View Elementary School Teacher Melinda Morriss and in collaboration with Work-Based Learning Coordinator, Jan Jardine, sixth-grade CAS (Center for Accelerated Studies) students recently engaged in a mock trial at the Fourth District Juvenile Court. The activity, overseen by Judge F. Richards Smith III, offered a unique opportunity for each student to assume various court roles.

From prosecution and defense members, witnesses, judge, bailiff, and jury, students worked to resolve if the accused deserved their charges across two cases: an assault case, Harry Potter VS Draco Malfoy, and a kidnapping case, Miss Witch VS Hansel & Gretel.

The trial was a big deal. Parents drove out to the Spanish Fork courts to watch their children tackle legal proceedings. You couldn’t help but be impressed by the complexity of the student arguments and rulings; students examined differences between circumstantial and direct evidence before reaching their conclusion, a challenge for most laypeople, let alone children.

Questionable mythic eyewitnesses and entertaining rule-bending on magic misuse aside, every student received a hands-on, real-world experience requiring critical thinking, communication, and collaboration while gaining a deeper understanding of the legal system.

Melinda Morriss applied and received a Work-Based Learning grant, which funded the transportation. Morriss is a major proponent of Project Based Learning; parents of Morriss’s students have mentioned that she delivers authentic and unique learning experiences with shocking regularity. We think that’s pretty magical, too.

Sunset View Elementary for expanding its student’s learning into real-world applications of civic responsibility and law, and we look forward to continuing these valuable experiences in the future.