Grade 7 Puts Of Mice and Men Characters on Trial

English teachers and honorary judges Allison Ehrenreich and Caroline Ford took the bench in the Whitson Building and Dolven Center respectively as seventh grade students moonlighted as district and defense attorneys, character witnesses, researchers, reporters, and jury members in a mock trial exercise based on the novella Of Mice and Men by author John Steinbeck.

The mock trial focused on the fate of character George Milton and his crimes against Lennie Small; specifically: first-degree murder. The initiative served as a collaborative, project-based learning project that allowed the students to deep dive into the novel and use critical thinking and textual evidence to answer two essential questions: “How does justice determine justice? How does our perception of right and wrong allow us to make decisions?

“The trial is a great way to experiment with writing persuasively, defending an argument based on carefully chosen evidence, and making further meaningful connections across the text,” said Ms. Ford. “The students can engage with the material in a new and exciting way and have the opportunity to embody roles with real-world implications that depend on strong writing skills. I also enjoyed seeing their personalities shine through this project.”

Court was now in session and over the two-day period, each side had between five to seven minutes to present their arguments and ask questions using the novella text as their primary source. It was the role of the students, who were either prosecution or defense, to convince the jury that their side was correct. The students who served as witnesses had descriptions of their characters to guide their testimony. The questioning of witnesses was lively--witnesses came dressed as their character and some supplied southern accents while on the stand.

For the final assessment, students submitted a portfolio with all of the trial materials for an essay grade. They were also graded on their participation, preparation work, a list of questions for defense and opposition, opening and closing statements, and overall courtroom behavior. Additionally, knowledge of the novella and their character essays were part of the overall grade.

Ms. Ford noted that she hopes students come away with a sense of accomplishment following the mock trial and a deeper appreciation of the complex ending to the story.