A realistic criminal mock trial built around genuine Australian legal principles — not just a mystery to solve. When a security camera at a local skate park is deliberately damaged, a 16-year-old regular is charged with criminal damage. Students step into a full courtroom simulation to decide: has the prosecution proven the charge beyond reasonable doubt?
Unlike a typical whodunit, this case is deliberately built so the evidence is genuinely open. There’s no hidden “aha” clue — students must apply the actual criminal standard of proof to real uncertainty, exactly as a jury does in real life.
What’s included:
• Full teacher guide with lesson sequence, timing, and classroom management tips
• Curriculum connections mapped to genuine Australian Curriculum v9.0 codes (AC9HC7K03, AC9HC8K05, English) — checked against ACARA/QCAA documentation, not invented
• A Legal Concepts Primer teaching rule of law, presumption of innocence, burden of proof, and types of evidence
• Honest teacher notes on how real Children’s Court procedure differs from the classroom simulation (including why a real matter like this wouldn’t usually have a jury)
• Courtroom roles for classes of 8–30 students (Magistrate, prosecutor, defence, witnesses, jury)
• 5 pre-trial mini-lessons, student case file, 8-exhibit evidence pack (each tagged with its evidence type: direct, circumstantial, hearsay), 5 detailed witness profiles
• Full courtroom script, 14 printable student worksheets
• Differentiation: support, core, and extension tasks
• Confidential teacher-only solution guide that supports either a guilty, not guilty, or hung-jury outcome
• Debrief discussion questions
Best for: Years 7–8 | Class sizes 8–30 | 4–6 lesson sessions