The Trial of Humans

• This resource is a simulation of a trial between humans and animals, where the humans are accused of numerous crimes against animals, habitats, and the environment. 
• Students are divided into two groups, animals and humans, and they present their arguments to the judge and a jury of students selected from both groups. 
• The judge and jurors get to decide if humans are guilty and therefore get banished from Earth. 

Positives

• This is a fun and engaging role-play activity.
• The activity is helpful for practicing public speaking.

Additional Prerequisites

• Teachers may need to review some characteristics of good public speaking. One to do this is by using these three categories: eye contact, voice, and body language.

Differentiation

• Teachers could invite other staff members to participate as members of the jury or as the judge.
• Teachers can extend this activity by asking the students to write the contents of their argument into an article.
• Some ideas for the human group include higher intellect, the ability to create technology, the ability to think, reason, and solve problems, animal companionship and love, and veterinary science.
• Some ideas for the animal group include biodiversity loss, industrial agriculture, overfishing, plastic pollution, illegal wildlife trade, poaching, deforestation, habitat destruction, and suburban sprawl.
• If students enjoy this lesson, they may also like the lesson Solve Climate Change While Acting.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.