Opportunities for Integration

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Unit 3: Criminal Law and the Pursuit of Justice

Opportunities for Integration

Integrated units, taught in the other academic disciplines, help students incorporate what they are learning in Foundations in Law into their core academic classes. Throughout the course, Opportunities for Integration identifies how the activities and content in the units connect with other academic subjects. For Unit 3, you may want to work with other teachers on the following activities:

  • ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Career has developed integrated lessons in English language arts (ELA), math, and science that link to Foundations in Law. Unit 3 was designed to be used with the integrated unit Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Unit on Forensics, which can be taught in a science class. In that unit, students take on the role of crime scene investigators to solve a murder. Math, science, and language arts are integrated into the study of forensic science. The Unit 3 project, introduced in Activity 1B, is designed to pick up where the integrated unit ends. See Media Resources for a link to the CSI unit.
  •  In Activity 1A: Perceptions of Crime and Justice, work with an arts teacher to explore how visual arts, dance, theater, and music have contributed to a public discussion on crime and incarceration. Have students plan, develop, and present an arts project drawing on their work in Unit 3 and representing their response to one of the framing questions from the unit. See Media Resources for links to sample arts projects.
  •  In Activity 1I: Creating a Theory of the Case and Activity 2E: Finalizing the Theory of the Case, collaborate with an ELA teacher on analyzing persuasive writing and storytelling techniques. Have students practice reading nonfiction documents, such as opening statements in criminal cases, to identify the author’s point of view, evaluate arguments and reasoning, and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance a claim.
  •  In Activity 4A: Thinking Critically About Incarceration, work with a mathematics teacher to assist students in understanding and practicing how to interpret categorical and quantitative data. Have students research, compile, and analyze data on capital punishment and incarceration, looking for possible associations and trends.