Dred Scott Decision: Peel the Fruit Routine
Historians examined one of the most important cases in U. S. Supreme Court history: the Dred Scott Decision. This decision was a huge step backward for all those against slavery and it directly impacted the course of American History. Students analyzed the decision in four ways; writing down what they noticed about the court case, generating questions that were raised by it, examining viewpoints from the people/groups impacted by the decision, and what they felt the heart of the issue dealt with. This type of analysis is called "peeling the fruit" because students are thinking and working toward the heart or core of the topic being studied. Student answers were deep and meaningful--I will post some examples tomorrow.