Vocab Warmup

FRIDAY: 32-34

MONDAY 35-38

TUESDAY 39-40

WED: Whatever is left!

In class we will be watching the film Just Mercy . It deals with similar themes to To Kill a Mockingbird.

The film, which takes place in the late 1980s and early 90s, tells the TRUE story of Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer, just out of Harvard who gets a grant from the Federal Government to start a law clinic designed to help people who are in prison but perhaps were not given proper legal assistance when on trial. The most important client we see him work with is a man named Johnny D, who has been convicted of a murder that he says he did not commit. (Interestingly, Johnny D’s crime took place in Harper Lee’s home town).

Expectations when watching the film

• You should be watching attentively (your unit test will have items on it from the film and at least one essay option will include the film).
• No sleeping, no computer, no doing homework for other classes.

LEARNING TARGETS: as a result of watching the film, you should be able to

• recount the important elements from the plot
• be able to compare the justice system in Alabama in the late 1980s/early 90s (the film) with the system we see in the novel (1930s).
• Be able to explain what obstacles lawyers like Stevenson had to go through to get clients access to fair justice.