BMUFSD: Sixth Graders Put Book Characters On “Trial”

Press release from the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District:

2024-05-08

Sixth graders in Ali Mazza’s ELA class at Briarcliff Middle School donned suits and ties and played lawyers and jury members for the day when they recently put several book characters on “trial.”

After reading the book “Out of My Mind,” by Sharon Draper, students held a trial to find out which character in the book was the biggest villain.

“The story, which is told from the point of view of Melody, an 11-year-old with cerebral palsy, has a lot of characters who were unkind to her in different ways,” Ms. Mazza said. “The story presents valuable lessons about inclusivity, and this activity allows us to explore whether each character's actions were malicious or rooted in ignorance or a lack of understanding of Melody's disability.”

Ms. Mazza was inspired to hold a trial based on her work with high school students.

“I used to work at a high school and I did something similar, such as ‘Who was responsible for the murder in “The Great Gatsby?” or ‘Which character was the most responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s death?’ in “Romeo and Juliet.” I thought this would be a good opportunity to introduce an argumentative way of writing in a fun, interactive way,” she said. “Of course, I modified this activity to make it more accessible for middle school students.”

Ms. Mazza assigned roles to all students in the class: prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, or jury members.

The classroom was set up to mimic a courtroom and students were encouraged to dress as lawyers. Ms. Mazza herself dressed as a judge, complete with a black gown and a white wig.

“I assigned the roles to the students” she said. “So, part of the fun was creating a case that they might not personally agree with. This made it challenging for some to defend or prosecute someone when they did not think they deserved it.

The jurors had to make an impartial decision and discussed how to remain unbiased with Ms. Mazza. They wrote down who they thought was the biggest villain and why, and how they planned to ensure that they would remain unbiased in their decision.

The attorneys discussed with Ms. Mazza their stance. They wrote opening statements and evidence on why the character is the biggest villain (or not the biggest villain) and closing statements. They used examples and quotes from the book.

When the trial began, the prosecuting and defense attorneys took turns discussing the characters’ behavior and then the jury voted.

After Dr. Hugely’s prosecutor discussed him, jurors Isaac and Yoshi were convinced he was the biggest villain, but after Clare prosecuted Rose, opinions changed.

At the end, the class took a final vote on who they thought was the biggest villain. The top characters were Rose, the Principal and Dr. Hugely.

I think it’s going to be Rose,” Meg said. “She was supposed to be her friend but she didn’t act as a friend.

When Ms. Mazza announced that Rose was voted as the biggest villain, many students cheered.

Clare was thrilled that she won the trial.

“I was a little bit nervous because my friend Sam was defending Rose,” she said. When I read the book I didn’t like Rose because I felt that she betrayed Melody. She was supposed to be her best friend, so I was expecting her to be more supportive.

“I have a big group of friends and I respect my friends’ opinions, so if a bully said something mean to me, I wouldn’t think much of it, but if my friend said something it would hurt because I care about them more and respect their opinion. I think people found my argument more convincing because they know what it feels like to be hurt by a friend.”

Ms. Mazza was pleased with the students’ response to the activity.

“This was a lot of fun and a big hit with the students,” she said. “I am so proud of them.”

This press release was produced by the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.