Literature-Based Mock Trial

Have you ever thought about putting one of the characters in your favorite book or play on trial? There are a lot of conflicts in books and plays, and some make for an interesting mock trial experience.

Hi! My name is Danielle and after 20 years of homeschooling, mock trials have been some of the most fun ways to fit drama into our homeschool.

There are a lot of engaging ways to bring a book and its characters to life. A mock trial is a great way for students to dig deeper with a book or play and its conflict.

Formal Mock Trial vs. Literature-Based Mock Trial

My kids both presented a formal mock trial when they each were in 8th grade. In one semester, they went from not knowing anything about the law, a courtroom or a trial to creating an argument, playing a witness or an attorney, and defending their case against another team in an actual courtroom with an actual judge. What an incredible experience! The judge was so impressed with these 8th graders commenting that he thought they were in high school and better than some of the actual attorneys that stand in his courtroom.

In this experience the witness statements were supplied, along with evidence and guidelines for how a case is argued and how to use objections. They had to analyze the witness statements to look for points that would argue their side of the case and consider what the other side would argue so they could defend themselves well. They had to work as a team and get into character to make the case believable whether they were a serious attorney or the star witness.

In a literature-based mock trial the book holds the key to the witness statements. Instead of just reading through a book, you study the characters and the actions they take that are related to the case. Does a character seem to be a better witness for the prosecution or the defense? Did their actions help the case or hurt the case, or do they have nothing to add to the case and therefore should not be included? The important thing is to stick to the facts in the book.

Shakespeare Mock Trial

When we were studying Shakespeare, our high school class did a mock trial from Hamlet. After watching the movie to get familiar with the characters and the plot, the students chose the conflict to put on trial. Then we read through the play and they had to consider every time something happened if that helped the prosecution or the defense. It was important to write it all down and stick to the facts of the play because no matter what side you were on, you wanted to be able to think through what the other side might argue.

One class put Hamlet on trial for killing the new king, his Uncle Claudius. Since most of the witnesses were dead at this point, we couldn’t take the trial too seriously and just had to enjoy the process. In one regard they could come back from the dead to be a witness since Hamlet’s dad came back as a ghost. So maybe you have all ghosts as your witnesses. In another regard you could interview them assuming it was when they were alive and witnessed the events leading up to the crime. Even though we were keeping it light, these students still wanted to include objections and some of the formalities that they learned from their previous experience in mock trial. It’s fun to watch kids build from what they’ve learned in the past.

One class took it incredibly seriously, requiring a judge, jury and proper attire conducting themselves with the etiquette of an actual courtroom. At the end they demanded the jury come to a verdict. I think once you’ve done a formal mock trial, you can’t help but be competitive and have a verdict to determine a winner. That is certainly not the goal, nor the heart behind the project, but these students do usually put a lot more into it as they want to be successful and win their case. 😉

One year one of my students, who didn’t necessarily love the formalities of a trial, really got into character. Since none of the girls wanted to be Ophelia, this boy willingly offered to play the insane character. He really got into the role with a scarf over his head and a delirious demeanor.  He had practiced his role well and was able to answer as if he was Ophelia. The bantering back and forth between him and the attorney was hilarious. Everyone broke out of character to laugh every time he spoke. 

You Can Choose Any Book or Play for a Mock Trial

Some people don’t have the time to invest tons of effort into a mock trial with so much other work to do. If you’ve never done a mock trial before, then you can be more relaxed and enjoy the process of analyzing the characters and coming up with a prosecution and defense. Some kids have chosen a conflict from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and put Mr. Tumnus on trial. You could also use many of Shakespeare’s plays including Macbeth, The Scarlett Letter, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Animal Farm, or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. You could even use Jack and the Beanstalk as an introduction to mock trial with a book or mini play that has a limited number of characters. Is Jack guilty of stealing the property of the Giant's wife?

You can use a book you're already studying so you are incorporating it into what you are doing instead of adding an additional subject to the list. The trial can be done in your living room or a classroom at your co-op. It can even be done online if everyone is not together. Just have fun with it! 

The goal is to change things up a bit. Discuss a conflict in a book in a different way by making the characters come to life and considering the actual facts of the story. It can be as light-hearted as you’d like or as serious as the more competitive students desire. It can be with a small number of students in your home or a larger class at a co-op. Some kids can play the prosecution while others play the defense. You can have multiple attorneys on each side or stick to one because you have limited actors. Mock trial is a fun way to experience a book and a play with many benefits beyond the comprehension of the story you are studying.

In college, my son had another opportunity to do a mock trial with a book he was studying in one of his freshman classes. Another former student decided to study pre-law and was accepted on the mock trial team her first semester because of her experience. You never know what the kids will do with this in the future.

Your Students Can Dig Deeper with a Literature-Based Mock Trial

You do have the time to fit drama into your homeschool by conducting a mock trial based on one of the conflicts of a book you are already reading. You can keep it light and basic or go full out with all the formalities of a courtroom. Whatever you think your students can handle. I’ve had years where the students thought it would be too much work and therefore didn’t want to do it. I pushed for it because I knew it was a great experience, and they all ended up loving it when we were done. Sometimes the students worry about the workload not understanding the project and can miss out on a great opportunity.

You can do it!!! All you need is a conflict and someone to charge for the crime. Pick a prosecuting attorney and some witnesses that will best represent that side, then choose the team for the defense. Each side gets an opening statement, time to question and cross exam each witness, and a closing argument beginning and ending with the prosecution, or the plaintiff in a civil trial, because they have the burden of proof.

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Want to put a character on trial? Now you can with our drama curriculum, Macbeth - The Mock Trial (6th grade - adults) or Jack and the Beanstalk - The Mock Trial (4th - 8th grade).

Thanks for joining us!

Danielle at homeschooldrama.com