3 1 2 the supreme court (social studies)

H O UG H T O N MIF F L IN


by Lisa Scorza

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Introduction
Sometimes people think laws are
unfair. Let’s say you think that you
should be able to go to any school you
want. But the law says you can’t. What
do you do?

You go to court. In court, the two
sides argue about how a law should work.
The court decides which side is right.

When people disagree about
a law, they may take their
argument to court.

2


The Supreme Court
meets in this building in
Washington, D.C.

When other courts can’t answer
questions about a law, the Supreme
Court may get involved. The Supreme
Court is the most important court in
the land.
3


What Is the Supreme Court?
The people who formed our
government were convinced that the
power to make decisions should not
belong to just one person. So they
separated power into three parts, or
branches. One branch is the judicial

branch, which is made up of our nation’s
courts. The courts protect our rights.
They keep them safe.

Each branch of our government keeps the
other branches from having too much power.

4


The words above the front door of
the Supreme Court building read,
“Equal Justice Under Law.”

The Supreme Court’s job is to explain
the law. The court does this by deciding
who is right in a case. The Supreme
Court does not decide who is guilty of
crimes. It only makes sure that laws are
fair, honest, and legal.
5


These nine justices are on the
Supreme Court today.

How Does the Supreme Court Work?
The Supreme Court has nine justices,
or judges. The president of the United
States picks them. The Senate then votes

for or against them. The justices serve
for life.

6


The Supreme Court meets in this room.

The Supreme Court meets in a
special room. Lawyers from each side of
a case make speeches. There is no trial.
There is no jury. No witnesses take the
stand. The justices are there only to
hear about the law.

7


Justices meet once a week in a
conference room to decide cases.

After the speeches, the justices talk
about the case. They meet in a private
room behind closed doors. All you can
hear is the murmur of their voices. Then
the justices vote. Months later, the court
gives a decision about the case, based on
whether they think the law is fair. The
decision is final. Only the Supreme
Court can change its own decisions.

8


Earl Warren was Chief Justice during
the case that ended separate schools
for black and white children.

The court only hears a few cases
each year, but those cases can change
the laws and our lives.
One famous case changed our
schools. The court had to decide if it
was fair to have separate schools for
black and white children.
9


The justices pointed to the
Constitution, which said that everyone
had the same rights. So the nine justices
decided that separate schools were illegal
because they were not equal or fair.
Conclusion
The Supreme Court has a special job.
The court makes sure that our laws are
fair. It makes rules and laws that work
for everyone.

The Supreme Court works for us all.

10


Responding
Word Builder
The word stand has multiple meanings.
Copy this word web and list different
meanings in the circles.
TARGET VOCABULARY

something
to place
things on

put up
with
stand

?

?

Write About It
Text to Self Write a short paragraph telling
when you took a stand, or position, on
something. Tell why you took a stand and
what it meant to you.

11

TARGET VOCABULARY

convinced
guilty
honest
jury

murmur
pointed
stand
trial

Infer/Predict Use clues to
figure out more about the selection.
TARGET STRATEGY

Which word has a sound so nice, they
spelled it twice?

12


Level: M
DRA: 28
Social Studies
Strategy:
Infer/Predict
Word Count: 583

3.1.2 Build Vocabulary

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

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ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02132-4
ISBN-10: 0-547-02132-1

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