PragerU has produced several videos related to the Supreme Court within their huge collection of “5-minute” videos, some of which stretch to about six and a half minutes. They have selected ten of them to offer as their Supreme Court 101 course, and they have a few more that are useful. All of them are free. Sign up for Supreme Court 101 and receive a link to one video per day via email. Or enter “Supreme Court” in the search field on the PragerU website, and you will discover these and other related videos that are great for teen and adult audiences.
The videos included in Supreme Court 101 focus on ten of the most significant court decisions. Each video is presented by an expert in the legal field.
The videos and their presenters are:
- Marbury v. Madison: How Much Power Does the Supreme Court Have? By Haley Proctor
- McCulloch v. Maryland: The Birth of Big Government by John Yoo
- Dred Scott v. Sandford: A Slave’s Fight for Freedom by Jancie Rogers Brown
- Lochner v. New York: Opening Pandora’s Box by Robert George
- West Virginia v. Barnette: Forcing the Pledge of Allegiance by Kurl Lash
- Brown v. Board of Education: Separate is Not Equal by Sherif Girgis
- Engel v. Vitale: Banning Prayer in School by Joel Alicea
- Miranda v. Arizona: The Right to Remain Silent by John Malcolm
- Brandenburg v. Ohio: Hate Speech is Free Speech by Joseph Fornieri
- Roe v. Wade: The Battle over Abortion by Stephanie Barclay
You can download a transcript for each video, and the sources used for each video are linked beneath each one. This makes these videos especially helpful for students writing research papers on any of the topics touched on by these videos, since they don’t have to search for documentation.
A few other videos on the Supreme Court might also be used with teens.
The Constitution: The Supreme Court by Sherif Girgis discusses the role of the Supreme Court.
What Do You Know About the Supreme Court?, a 3:34-minute video, has an interviewer ask man-on-the-street questions.
Constitution Explained: Is the Supreme Court Supreme?, a 3:29-minute video for middle school and through high school, explores the changing role of the court throughout our country’s history. It has a lesson plan, two worksheets, and an answer key.
Street Smarts: The Supreme Court, another video for young people, engages them by offering cash for correct answers to questions. This also has a lesson plan, worksheet, and answer key.
These PragerU videos are great for supplementing history, civics, and government courses.
