Introduction:Withoutadoubt,thequestion,“wheredohumanscomefrom?”wasaskedlongbeforeCharles
DarwinpublishedOriginofSpeciesin1859.Yetthroughoutthetwentiethcenturyandintothetwenty‐irstcentury,thedebateamongstmembersofthescienti icandreligiouscommunitieshascontinuedtobeadivisiveandwidelydebatedtopic.TheScopes“Monkey”Trialisperhapsoneofthecriticaleventsofthiscontroversyandoneofthelandmarklegaldecisionsofthetwentiethcentury.
GuidingQuestions: Whowerethemajor iguresoftheScopesTrial?
WhatwerethemainargumentsonbothsidesoftheScopesTrial?
WhatwastheoutcomeandthelegacyoftheScopesTrial?
LearningObjectives: ThestudentswillwritealettertotheeditoroftheChattanoogaDailyTimesbasedonthearticle,Plan
AssaultonStateLawonEvolution. ThestudentswillmakepredictionsontheoutcomeoftheACLUwantingtotesttheanti‐evolution
legislationinTennesseein1925. ThestudentswillresearchandcreatemockinterviewsofparticipantsintheScopesTrialtobeper‐
formedinfrontoftheclass. ThestudentswilltellthestoryoftheScopesMonkeyTrialthroughtheuseofprimarysources. Thestudentswillbeassessedthroughanessaytestconsistingofthethreeguidingquestionsdirectly
linkedtotheTennesseestandardUS.38.
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ScopesTrialLessonplansforprimarysourcesattheTennesseeStateLibrary&Archives
Author:KristySproles,SullivanCentralHighSchool
GradeLevel:HighSchool
DateCreated:May2015
Visithttp://sos.tn.gov/tsla/educationforadditionallessonplans.
CurriculumStandards:US.38DescribetheScopesTrialof1925,includingthemajor igures,thetwosidesofthecontroversy,itsoutcome,anditslegacy.(C,P,H,TN)
CommonCoreGrade11‐12ELAStandards: Readcloselytodeterminewhatthetextsaysexplicitlyandtomakelogicalinferencesfromit;
citespeci ictextualevidencewhenwritingorspeakingtosupportconclusionsdrawnfromthetext.
Integrateandevaluatecontentpresentedindiverseformatsandmedia,includingvisuallyandquantitatively,aswellasinwords.
Conductshortaswellasmoresustainedresearchprojectsbasedonfocusedquestions,demonstratingunderstandingofthesubjectunderinvestigation.
Drawevidencefromliteraryorinformationaltextstosupportanalysis,re lection,andre‐search.
MaterialsNeeded: AccesstoTSLAwebsiteandTheScopes'Monkey'TrialCollection CopiesoftheMay4,1925,ChattanoogaDailyTimesarticle,PlanAssaultonStateLawonEvo-
lution(foundattheendofthislessonplan) Copiesoftheletters,photographs,andanynecessarydocumentsfromthecollectiontobe
usedinthetimelineactivity AccesstotheinterviewswithSueK.HicksontheTSLAwebsite
CopiesoraccesstothebackgroundinformationonTheScopes'Monkey'Trial
Background:“TheScopesTrial” Author:GeorgeE.WebbSourceLocation:TennesseeEncyclopediaofHistory&Culture“JohnWashingtonButler” Author:GeorgeE.WebbSourceLocation:TennesseeEncyclopediaofHistory&Culture
LessonActivities:IntroductoryActivity
Withnointroductionorbackgroundinformation,studentswillreadthearticleintheMay4,1925,ChattanoogaDailyTimes'article,PlanAssaultonStateLawonEvolution.Studentswillwritealet‐tertotheeditorwiththeiropiniononthenewspaperarticle.Studentswillsharetheselettersinsmallgroupsorinalargegroupdiscussion.TheteachershouldthenaskstudentswhattheythinkwillhappeninTennesseewiththeACLUtestcase.Willateacherbechargedwithacrimeforteachingevolution?Ifyes,willheorshebefoundguilty?BeforemovingontotheInstructionandClassActivity,havethestu‐dentsreadtheintroductionfromtheTSLATheScopes'Monkey'Trialcollection.
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LessonActivitiesContinued:
InstructionandClassActivity: StudentsmustreadtheintroductiontoTheScopes'Monkey'TrialcollectionontheTSLAwebsiteandtheteachermustprovidethebackgroundinformationconcerningtheScopesTrial.Theteachershoulddisplaythephotograph, DaytonLeadersinRobinson'sDrugstore,andexplainhowtheleadersofDayton,Tennessee,wantedtobringattentiontotheirsmalltownsothey"selected"JohnScopestoviolatetheButlerAct.Theteachermaychooseoneorbothofthefollowingclassactivities:Activity1ThestudentswilllistentotheinterviewclipsA‐DwithSueHicks,alawyerfromDayton,TN.Theteachershoulddiscusstheimportanceofinterviewsasaprimarysourcebutalsomentionthatthisinterviewwasconducted iftyyearsaftertheScopesTrial.Studentsshouldbeallowedtoaskquestionsanddiscusstheinterviewsaftereachone. InterviewA:studentslookattheHunterCivicBiologytextbook InterviewB:studentslookatthephotographofWilliamJenningsBryanarrivinginDayton
InterviewC:studentsviewthephotographofClarenceDarrow
InterviewD:studentsviewthephotographofWilliamJenningsBryanandClarenceDarrow
TheteacherwilldividetheclassintopairsandassigneachpairapersoninvolvedintheScopesTri‐altoresearch.Thelistcanincludethefollowing:JohnT.Scopes,WilliamJenningsBryan,ClarenceDarrow,GovernorAustinPeay,acitizenofDaytonin1925,aTennesseeSupremeCourtjudge,CharlesDarwin,Sun‐daySchoolteacher,JohnW.Butler,JudgeJohnT.Raulston,WilliamJenningsBryanJr.,anACLUmember,alocalpreacher,JoeMendi(ifhecouldspeak),etc.Thestudentswillcon‐ductresearchonthepersonassignedtothem.Thestudentsmustcreate10interviewquestionswiththeanswersbasedononeprimarysourcefromTSLAandotherresearch.Thestudentswillperform/conductthein‐terviewinfrontoftheclasswithonepersonbeingtheinterviewerandtheotherstudentbeingthepersonfromtheScopesTrial.Theinterviewwilllasttwominutes,theprimarysourcemustbepresentedasevidence,andthepairmustanswerthe3guidingquestionsintheirinterview/presentation.Theclasswillthenbegiven1minutetoaskquestionsandthestudentsmustanswerastheythinkthatthepersonwouldin1925.
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LessonActivitiesContinued:
Activity2
TheteacherwillsupplyeachstudentwithadifferentprimarysourcefromTSLA'sTheScopes'Monkey'TrialCollectionsuchasaphotograph,letter,Bryan'sdeathcerti icate,textbook,cartoon,etc.EachstudentistoresearchtheirsourceandthenwriteabriefsummaryexplainingtheimportanceoftheirsourcetotheScopesTrial.Asawholeclass,thestudentsaretoputtheirsourcesinchronologicalorderbyliningupintheclassroomorinahallwayifnecessary.Beginningwiththe irstsource,studentsexplaintheimportanceofthesourceandcontinueuntilallsourceshavebeendescribed.Byexplainingthesources,thestudentswilltellthestoryoftheScopesMonkeyTrialthroughtheuseofprimarysources. Afteroneorbothoftheactivitieshavebeencompleted,studentswillviewtheinterviewwithSueK.Hicks,partsE,F,andG.Studentswillwritedown2possibleeffects(shorttermand/orlongrange)oftheScopesTrial.ThestudentsarethentoturntoaneighborandaddanothereffectoftheScopesTrialtohisorherlist.Eventually,studentsshouldmeetwithalloftheirclassmatesandcompilealistoftheeffectsandbeabletodescribethelegacyoftheScopesTrial.
Assessment: Studentswillcompleteanessaytest/quizinwhichtheywillanswerthethreeguidingquestions:
(1)Whowerethemajor iguresoftheScopesTrial?(2)WhatwerethemainargumentsonbothsidesoftheScopesTrial?(3)WhatwastheoutcomeandthelegacyoftheScopesTrial?
Ifstudentscansuccessfullyanswerthethreequestions,thenthestudentswillhavemasteredTennesseestandardUS.38. Page4of7
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