Teaching plan for Commonwealth v. Carnegie

Teach the Gilded Age. Here is the master PowerPoint, covering observation/inference, objects, primary documents, lectures, readings, and political cartoons, plus the social media project.
Distribute case materials and interest sheet. I drop this on students as they turn in their unit test on the Gilded Age. I try to give the test on a Friday and give them a weekend to familiarize themselves with the case materials.
Set the scene. I do a 20-minute lecture with a timeline slideshow, then a guided tour of the case materials.
Demonstrate the mechanics of the trial. This includes the adversarial process, reasonable doubt and burden of proof, courtroom procedure, direct and cross examinations, how to use exhibits as evidence, and any objections that will be permitted.
Show 10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America: July 6, 1892.
Collect interest sheet from students.
Assign roles; distribute tips for preparation; assign alternate task to the jurors. I don’t assign the closing argument, instead allowing each side to choose the attorney (or witness) they want to deliver it. Usually the jurors work on a difficult crossword puzzle that requires research in primary documents.
Post the mission statements for each side.
Allow students class time to prepare. Most years I allot four to five class periods, as I constantly rotate from group to group. Direct exam attorneys should be working with their witnesses, and cross exam attorneys work together on each side. I have a big whiteboard on wheels; I divide the class, and they build their case on either side. There are many, many extra resources available on the assignment page.
Run the case. First, quote Shakespeare. Then give the jurors their scorecards. As the case runs, I always ask additional questions of each witness if key points are unclear or underrepresented. This is usually 4-6 class periods, depending on how the students respond.
Deliver verdict. I put the jurors in a fishbowl setting as they deliberate. Assign a foreman. Walk them through how a jury comes to a verdict, review the burden of proof, then initiate a “secret” ballot for both charges. Facilitate their deliberation.
Culminating discussion. Talk about the fallout, who was actually charged, what happened afterward to the key characters, and (crucially) how the labor movement suffered in Homestead’s wake.
Only now do you show the edited version of The Men Who Built America. Accompany the film with their critical viewing historiography assignment.
Put Homestead in context with this chart.
Distribute unit test, a culminating essay that should be mostly unGoogleable. Question five is my favorite.
Field trip to Clayton.