Our Supreme Court: A History with 14 Activities (For Kids series) [Paperback]

Richard Panchyk (Author), Nadine Strossen (Introduction), James Baker Iii (Afterword), Senator John Kerry (Foreword)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: For Kids series

This lively and comprehensive activity book teaches young readers everything they need to know about the nation's highest court. Organized around keystones of the Constitution—including free speech, freedom of religion, civil rights, criminal justice, and property rights—the book juxtaposes historical cases with similar current cases. Presented with opinions from both sides of the court cases, readers can make up their own minds on where they stand on the important issues that have evolved in the Court over the past 200 years. Interviews with prominent politicians, high-court lawyers, and those involved with landmark decisions—including Ralph Nader, Rudolph Giuliani, Mario Cuomo, and Arlen Specter—show the personal impact and far-reaching consequences of the decisions. Fourteen engaging classroom-oriented activities involving violations of civil rights, exercises of free speech, and selecting a classroom Supreme Court bring the issues and cases to life. The first 15 amendments to the Constitution and a glossary of legal terms are also included.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up—The history and evolution of the court and how it works are discussed in the first chapter. Thematic sections follow, covering such topics as free speech, privacy, and civil rights, with significant decisions included. The cases are arranged chronologically, giving readers a sense of how the court's opinions have changed over time. Throughout, interviews with a variety of people involved in Supreme Court cases add to the text. They include former attorneys general, politicians, lawyers, and litigants. Some of the interviews contribute a wider perspective on issues, while others give personal insight into the case and the time period. The variety and arrangement of photos, drawings, posters, and news clippings add interest and help to break up the text into manageable chunks. Some of the activities are of dubious value ("Be a Court Stenographer"—court cases are now recorded, not typed), and others may be too time-consuming for many of today's standards-based, high-stakes-testing classrooms (electing a class Supreme Court and holding mock trials). All in all, though, this a solid work that makes a complex and important subject accessible to students.—Anthony C. Doyle, Livingston High School Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This wide-format paperback presents the U.S. Supreme Court by describing some of its significant cases. Interspersed with discussions of legal issues and historical precedents are short interviews with dozens of individuals--among them Dick Thornburgh, Walter Mondale, Kenneth Starr, and Norma McCorvey. The book's arrangement is chronological within thematic chapters that explore cases in areas such as civil rights, freedom of speech, and the regulation of business. Panchyk's explanations are clear, and the interviews, appearing in sidebars, offer interesting perspectives. Drawings, portrait paintings, and photos reproduced in shades of blue and black break up the text. Varied in difficulty and usefulness, the activities range from making a "Supreme Court scrapbook" to holding a mock trial in the classroom. A list of Supreme Court justices and when they served, a glossary of legal terms, and an annotated list of recommended Internet sites are among the appended resources. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556526075
• ISBN-13: 978-1556526077
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 10.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,202,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Queens, New York, Richard Panchyk attended the prestigious Stuyvesant High School. He received a Master's degree in Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, and also completed doctoral coursework there. He knew he wanted to be a writer by the time he was seven years old. He sold his first "book," a four-page handwritten trivia booklet, to a third grade classmate for five cents. In college, he held numerous positions on the student newspaper, including Editor-in-Chief. Among other things, he wrote more than 100 articles and published a cartoon called "Over the Ledge." He printed a small book of his poems at the age of 19, and published his first book with Van Nostrand Reinhold at the age of 21. Since then has published 17 books for a total of more than 2,400 pages, including eight books in the "For Kids" series published by Chicago Review Press.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Content good/Activities less so, July 28, 2008

By 

Elise Harding "Homeschool Teacher" (Lake Worth, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Our Supreme Court: A History with 14 Activities (For Kids series) (Paperback)

As a homeschool teacher, I love the "For Kids" series and purchased this book while planning an American government class. While I enjoyed the text, I can't imagine any child curling up with this book and reading it unless it is assigned. The "activities" are largely instructions for making up your own skits based on court cases. If complete scripts were included, that would have helped make it useful to me, but there are none. There is very little "activity" included in this book, it's mostly reading and writing.