Surprised and Unexpectedly Happy- Chasity

A few weeks ago I found an online courtroom game that would allow my students to go through the trial process while competing against one of their classmates.  I usually teach each section of the trial process and use a mock trial to bring it all together, but I have found in the past that since there is so much information to retain students tend to get frustrated.  Last week I went over the basic steps in the trial process and used the game to bring it all together.  The game allowed students to choose questions, notes, objections, etc. (with prompting) and they were able to gain and lose points as they went through the game.  I was elated to find that ALL of my students were actively engaged. Not only were they engaged, but also they were learning.  They were using terms correctly and they were having fun.  The following day, we did the actual mock trial and my students were excited and prepared.  I was unexpectedly happy at the end of the week because, I finally found a way to get everyone to understand the trial process without loosing the interest of a few students.