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The author, David Sherrin, describes how mock trials function as both instruction and assessment: students perform with historical authenticity, prepare through rigorous analysis of primary texts, and use evidence, credibility, and bias to build arguments. 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They serve both learning and assessment by showing understanding and growth through performances and outcomes.","Answer",{"name":114,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":115},"How does preparation for a mock trial support students’ skills?",{"text":116,"@type":112},"Preparation requires close reading of texts to break them down, identify what is present or missing, and use details to match a character’s goals. It also trains students in legal-style questioning and careful use of evidence.",{"name":118,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":119},"What concepts are emphasized through mock trials beyond answering questions?",{"text":120,"@type":112},"Mock trials focus on students figuring out unasked answers and writing questions for others to respond to. They also highlight evidence use, credibility, bias, perspective, and sourcing as students build counterclaims and strengthen arguments.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":123,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":125,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":127,"site_id":62},591568,1792072741,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":130},{"doc_id":127,"user_id":131,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":132,"doc_module":4,"category_id":52,"category_name":53,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":133,"file_id":134,"file_url":135,"file_type":136,"file_size":137,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":29,"language":138,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":139,"faqs":140,"seo_title":141,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":128,"read_time":44},962088121634,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","ADayin Court  \nHow Mock Trials Bring Learning to Life  \nILLUSTRAT IONS BY ER IC WESTBROOK  \nBy David Sherrin  \nW  \ne are at a courthouse in Brooklyn for a mock Rwandan genocide trialofAthanase Seromba, a Catholic priest who allegedly participated in Hutu massacres ofthe Tutsi. A student playing a defense  \nattorney strides to the podium to question the witness for the prosecution. They are both confident and prepared.  \n“Isn’tit true,” she begins,“that you said you never saw Seromba at his house while the meeting was taking place?” The witness pauses.“Incorrect, he was there.” She shuffles through papers, looking for the evidence.“That’s not what you said in your affida-  \nDavid Sherrin teaches social studies and English at Harvest Collegiate High School in New York City. The 2014 recipient of theRobertH. Jackson Center National Award for Teaching Justice, he is the author of two books, The Classes They Remember: Using Role-Plays to Bring Social Studies and English to Life and Judging for Themselves: Using Mock Trials to Bring Social Studies and English to Life (© 2016 Routledge), from which this article is excerpted with permission.  \nvit,” she retorts. The silence of the crowd transforms into oohs and claps, as ifit were a sporting event.“You never saw Seromba with a gun, right?” she continues.“You never saw Seromba killing anyone?”The witness has no place to go.“No, I did not,” he replies.“No further questions,” the lawyer finishes, as she turns away.  \nExperiences like this one in the courtroom are some of the moments that I most look forward to during the school year, and these are the times I know I’ve truly witnessed my students’ learning. Role-plays infuse much of my teaching and are at the heart of what I value and do in the classroom.  \nMy passion for mock trials runs deep. In my book Judgingfor Themselves: Using Mock Trials to Bring Social Studies and English to Life, from which this article is drawn, I discuss their effectiveness as tools for learning and assessments. As a mock trial day approaches, Iteachintop gear, filled with adrenaline and excitement, more than at any other point in the year. The reasons are multiple: students are performing and their knowledge is public; the outcome depends entirely on their work, but it is based on my effective preparation and scaffolding; students are taking on  \n32 AMERICAN EDUCATOR | FALL 2016  \nroles of historical or literary characters; outside partners, friends, and family are involved; and the students are engaging in some of the most challenging and multifaceted intellectual work that we can provide.  \nI first began using mock trials a decade ago as a first-year teacher, when I created an early ancestor of my current Galileo and Martin Luther trials. After looking at primary sources together, I divided students into roles of various historical figures ranging from Pope Urban to Copernicus, and I watched gleefully as prosecuting lawyers pinned down witnesses under withering cross-examination.  \nOver the years, my mock trial repertoire and strategies developed far beyond that first attempt. I began emphasizing historical authenticity and the use of actual trial testimonies in my genocide tribunal trials for the Holocaust and Rwanda. As my teaching started to include a humanities and English component, I created a mock trial for the famous case in To Kill a Mockingbird and also for imaginary literary trials, such as one based on the actions of characters in The Pearl. My mock trials have always been criminal trials, though my colleagues have shown me the value of civil ones as well.  \nWhy We Should Do Mock Trials  \nHere is why I do mock trials: they are challenging, authentic projects in which students create and then do something “real.” The projects serve as both learning and assessment tools since students learn from doing the work and teachers have a tangible product for evaluating understanding and growth. Mock trials are engaging for students, and the role-playing ","cbCaiiBia9KPkIuW","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiiBia9KPkIuW","pdf",205866,"English","# ADayin Court\n# Why We Should Do Mock Trials\n## Learning, assessment, and public outcomes\n## Preparation as rigorous intellectual work\n## Evidence, perspective, sourcing, and credibility","[{\"question\":\"What is the main educational purpose of mock trials in the article?\",\"answer\":\"Mock trials are used as challenging, authentic projects where students create and engage in “real” courtroom work. They serve both learning and assessment by showing understanding and growth through performances and outcomes.\"},{\"question\":\"How does preparation for a mock trial support students’ skills?\",\"answer\":\"Preparation requires close reading of texts to break them down, identify what is present or missing, and use details to match a character’s goals. It also trains students in legal-style questioning and careful use of evidence.\"},{\"question\":\"What concepts are emphasized through mock trials beyond answering questions?\",\"answer\":\"Mock trials focus on students figuring out unasked answers and writing questions for others to respond to. They also highlight evidence use, credibility, bias, perspective, and sourcing as students build counterclaims and strengthen arguments.\"}]","How Mock Trials Bring Learning to Life | PDF"]