Great simulation tied which eventually tied to real cases

Good introduction for the Congressional Hearing that my students do at the end of the year. It helped them understand part of the process involved in Supreme Court decision. They wanted to hear and learn more after this lesson. It also got them thinking about the fact that you have to look at all sides of an issue, not just the possible obvious one. You definitely need to work further through the process after doing this, but it is a good start.

I think that this lesson is great as a supplement during a unit on the US government and/or the Constitution. It is not comprehensive enough to be a stand-alone lesson on the Supreme Court but is good as entry into thinking about the different arguments the Supreme Court has to weigh. It's good also for my students who are struggling readers or need multiple opportunities with the similar content because it's audio-based (though the text is also supplied so students who are limited English could read and listen at the same time). It's a bit slow as a game, and my students think of it as an enriched assignment rather than a game. Even though you can get points for getting comprehension questions correct, the points weren't much of an incentive for my students. I use many of the iCivics games (on the iCivics website and through Everfi's Commons), and this isn't as engaging as some of the other games. Students complete the assignment, but rarely choose to replay it.

Overall, this is a good tool for introduction as long as it is used only in that manner. This product should not be used as substitute for teaching about the Supreme Court. I like that the game utilizes an actual Supreme Court case to help introduce the decision-making process. However, the game could serve a better purpose if there were multiple cases that were used.