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After reading Romeo and Juliet as a class, the 8th graders performed a mock trial in which the Montagues and Capulets were suing Friar Lawrence, blaming him for the deaths of their children. Some students acted as witnesses (characters from the play), some were lawyers, and some, after playing the role of a lawyer or witness in the classroom practice trial, switched roles to become jurors in the courtroom.
Mr. Darren Burns (father of Saint Andrew's alumni Michael Burns and Will Burns) not only acted as a judge, but also secured a ceremonial courtroom in the Circuit Court of Anne Arundel County for the students to perform their mock trial. This project was great for encouraging students to analyze the text closely as they kept submitting portions of it as evidence and asked the characters superb questions.
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