Responding to the need for online civic education programs for elementary students in the coming school year, Discovering Justice has created virtual mini-mock trial units for schools to be piloted in Lowell and Boston this fall. 

The units will be showcased at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Civic Literacy Conference Civic Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions: Building Student Capacity for Civic Engagement which will take place virtually on the evenings of September 23rd and 24th. 

Education Program Director Laura Brenner is working with teachers in Lowell and Boston to develop the curriculum. The units incorporate videos with legal experts, such as state judges Gabrielle Wolohojian and Diana Maldonado to enhance students’ real world connections to the units of study, as well as give elementary school students exposure to possible career paths.

 These interviews, which also include discussions with Linda Walsh (Official Court Reporter at the U.S. Moakley Courthouse), and Jean Shirley (Records and Argument Specialist at the John Adams Courthouse) will deepen students’ understanding of the workings of the judicial system and the many roles within it. 

In this clip, Judge Wolohojian explains to students what happens when there are disagreements and the importance of having discussions with each other.