BOOK IT! USING CHILDREN S LITERATURE TO TEACH LAW AND CITIZENSHIP GRADES K-5

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1 BOOK IT! USING CHILDREN S LITERATURE TO TEACH LAW AND CITIZENSHIP GRADES K-5 1

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3 THE THREE LITTLE PIGS Learning Objectives: Students will develop an understanding of the court system, advocacy, and the justice involved in allowing both sides of an issue to bring their position to the court for a fair hearing. TEKS: Materials: SS 3.12 (A), 5.20 ( A ), LA 5.12 (H), FA 3.2 (B) Script of play, Big Bad Wolf v. Curly Pig, simple costumes (optional), copies of Case Summary and Application Vocabulary: prosecution, defense, attorney, relevant, hearsay, verdict Teaching Strategy: 1. Introduce vocabulary by playing a matching game, using legal terms. Students will attempt to match word with correct definition, using context clues and/or prior knowledge. 2. Distribute and read Case Summary. 3. Discuss strengths and weaknesses of the prosecution s side of the case and the defendant s side of the case. 4. Allow students to apply for positions in the Mock Trial by marking attached sheet. Assign parts accordingly, as much as possible. 5. Distribute scripts to each student. Students will silently read through script, highlighting their parts. Then the script will be read aloud, making certain all the words are understood and pronounced properly. 6. Over the next two weeks, students will memorize parts, gather simple props and costuming, and rehearse as a whole group and in pairs or groups. Invitations may be sent to parents before performance. 7. Perform play, using another class or other class members as the jury. Debrief the experience, allowing students to discuss why this was or was not a fair trial. 72

4 Name Big Bad Wolf v. Curly Pig Mark your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices of what part you would like in the Mock Trial. Prosecution B. B. Wolf Dr. Luke Defense Curly Pig Red Riding Hood Mama (or Papa) Bear Jack (or Julie) Smith Lawyer for Wolf Lawyer for Pig Judge Bailiff Court Reporter I have chosen as my first choice because. 73

5 BIG BAD WOLF V. CURLY PIG Bailiff: All rise. The case of B. B. Wolf v. Curly Pig is now ready for trial. The Honorable Judge presiding. All persons having anything to do with this case shall come forward, and they shall be heard. Be seated. I understand the charge against Mr. Pig is attempted wolf cooking. Is the prosecution ready? Attorney A for Yes, your honor. Is the defendant ready? Attorney A for Pig: Yes, your honor. Bailiff: Jury: Bailiff: Will the Bailiff please swear in the jury? Will the jury please stand and raise your right hand? Do you solemnly swear that you will listen to all the testimony today and decide the issues fairly? Do you swear that you will not discuss this case with anyone until after you have reached a verdict? Do you all swear? I do. You may be seated. Now we will hear the opening statements. Prosecution, you may begin. Attorney A for Your honor and ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we will show that last August 19, the defendant, Mr. Pig, did indeed try to cook Mr. Wolf. We will show that he placed a steaming pot of boiling water in a spot where he was sure Mr. Wolf would fall, and that his cookbook was found open to the recipe for Wolf Stew. Thank you, your honor. Does the Defense have an opening statement? Attorney A for Pig: Yes, your honor. Mr. Wolf s charge is ridiculous! We will show that the pot of boiling water was inside Mr. Pig s house -- a house Mr. Wolf was trying to enter by force. We will also show that Mr. Wolf had recently committed several acts of violence against the Pig family -- including eating Mr. Pig s two brothers, Larry and 74

6 Moe. We will show that Curly Pig was just protecting his home and his life. Thank you. Now the Prosecution may call their first witness. Attorney C for I call B. B. Wolf as my first witness. (Wolf goes to the witness stand.) Bailiff: Bailiff: Please raise your right paw. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do. You may be seated. Attorney C for Please state your name. My name is Big B. Wolf. My friends call me B. B. Attorney C for Where do you live, Mr. Wolf? I live in a nice little den in the hills outside of Abilene, close to Buffalo Gap. It s just right for me, has several rooms, a pretty nice stereo. Attorney C for Do you also have a kitchen? A small one, but, uh, I eat out a lot, you might say. Attorney C for Yes, well, let s move on to the morning of August 19. Do you remember where you were on that morning? Yes, I do, quite clearly, in fact. I was not feeling very well that morning - had a nasty old cold and was sneezing quite a bit. I was starting to make my sweet Granny a birthday cake, when I realized that I was out of sugar. I went to the store to buy some sugar. I also picked up some Snoot-full nasal spray and some Swine-a-fed for my cold. I couldn t find any sugar at the store, though, so I decided to go over to my neighbor s house and borrow some. Attorney C for What was this neighbor s name? My closest neighbor was Larry Pig, brother of Curly. Old Larry wasn t real bright -- his house was made out of straw! When I knocked on the door, it fell right in! 75

7 Attorney C for Did you enter the house? I would never enter a house uninvited, so I called to Mr. Pig. Mr. Pig, Mr. Pig, are you in? I said. But I didn t get any answer. About that time I felt a sneeze coming on that I couldn t stop. I huffed and I snuffed, and I sneezed a huge sneeze. That flimsy little straw house just fell right in, and there was Larry right in the middle of the house, dead as a doornail. Attorney C for What did you do then, Mr. Wolf? Well, I would have felt terrible to leave a perfectly good ham dinner right there, so I ate it up. But what I really needed was a cup of sugar so I could make my sweet old Granny a birthday cake. Attorney C for Did you get that cup of sugar at the next neighbor s house? The next house belonged to Larry s brother, Moe. His twig house wasn t much better than the straw house. He didn t answer when I knocked, either, but at least the door didn t fall off. Attorney C for Pig: Objection, your honor. This discussion of how a house is built has nothing to do with this case. Wolf. Overruled. I believe this is important information. Keep going, Mr. Thank you, your honor. When I called, Mr. Pig, Mr. Pig, are you home? Moe was quite impolite to me. He yelled out, Go away, Wolf. I m shaving the hairs off my chinny, chin, chin. Attorney C for Then did you leave his property? I was on my way, but this terrible sneezing problem hit me again, and I huffed and I snuffed, and I sneezed a great sneeze. I tried to cover my mouth, but it was too late. My sneeze blew down that twig house, and when the dust cleared, there was Moe, dead as roadkill. Wolf s honor. Attorney C for What did you do then? Well, everyone knows that if you leave food out like that, it will spoil, so I did the only sensible thing. I had dinner again. I was very full by now, but I still didn t have that cup of sugar. I was about to give up. 76

8 Attorney C for How did you happen to come in contact with Curly Pig? Curly s house was right up the road from Larry and Moe s. Curly s house was very nice -- made of bricks. He must have gotten all the brains in the family. But he wasn t any friendlier than his brothers. When I called out, Mr. Pig, Mr. Pig, are you in? I need to borrow a cup of sugar for my Granny s birthday cake, he just yelled back, Go away, Wolf, and your old Granny can sit on a pin! How rude! Attorney C for How did that make you feel? I m usually a pretty calm fellow, but when someone starts talking ugly about my Granny, I go a little crazy. I snorted and huffed and puffed, and I was sneezing some too, but I just couldn t let that pig get away with that. I decided to just go down the chimney and give that pig a piece of my mind. Attorney C for And so, did you? Well, yes and no. That is, I started to, but when I got almost all the way down, suddenly someone inside took the lid off this pot of water boiling down there. Curly Pig wanted me to fall into that pot! Attorney C for Pig: Objection! The witness is guessing at what my client was trying to do! Is this wolf a mind-reader? Objection sustained. Continue, Mr. Wolf, with just the facts. Well, lucky for me, the steam was so powerful that it just sort of whooshed me right up and out of the chimney. I took off running and decided that Curly Pig was dangerous, and I didn t need that cup of sugar after all. I d just make Granny a card on my computer, instead of a cake. Attorney C for Thank you, Mr. Wolf. I have no more questions. Does the Defense wish to cross-examine this witness? Attorney C for Pig: Yes, your honor. Mr. Wolf, wasn t Curly Pig afraid of you? Well, I don t know why he should have been. I ve never growled at him or tried to hurt him in any way. 77

9 Attorney C for Pig: After what you did to his brothers, I d say he had every reason to be afraid of you and not want you in his house. Don t you agree? Not at all. Just because those other pigs built houses that wouldn t even hold up to a good sneeze that s certainly not my fault. Attorney C for Pig: So none of this is your fault? Please, Mr. Wolf. I don t have any more questions for you. You may step down. (Wolf is seated.) Does the Prosecution have any more witnesses? Attorney A for Yes, your honor. We d like to call Dr. Red Luke to stand. the (Dr. Luke comes to the witness stand.) Bailiff: truth? Dr. Luke: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the Yes. Attorney A for Please state your name and occupation. Dr. Luke: My name is Dr. Red Luke, and I am a veterinarian specializing in farm animals. Attorney A for Dr. Luke, would you tell us about a call you received from Mr. B. B. Wolf on the 19th of August? Dr. Luke: I was at my office attending to Mary=s little lamb, when I received the call from Mr. Wolf. He said that he had an awful cold, his tail was burned, and that he was in terrible pain. He was really a mess and wanted an appointment right away. Attorney A for Did you see him that day? Dr. Luke: Yes, I did. Some of the fur on his tail was burned from steam, and he seemed to be in pain. He also had rhinitis (or a common cold) in his very large nose. I told him to take 2 pork rinds and call me in the morning. The next day I advised him to continue a fat free diet of chicken soup, lots of liquids, and bedrest. 78

10 Attorney A for Thank you, Dr. Luke. I have no more questions. Does the Defense wish to cross-examine Dr. Luke? Attorney A for Pig: Yes, your honor. Dr. Luke, I understand that you specialize in farm animals. Is that correct? Dr. Luke: That is my speciality, but of course I was trained to treat all animals, large and small. Attorney A for Pig: Is this the first wolf you have ever treated? Dr. Luke: As a matter of fact, I believe it is. Wolves don t often require medical help. They usually take care of things themselves. This was an unusual situation. Attorney A for Pig: OK. Now, Dr. Luke, if Mr. Wolf had covered his nose and mouth when he sneezed, none of this destruction would have happened, would it? Dr. Luke: Well, possibly, but wolves need all four of their paws to stand on, especially when they re not feeling well. Attorney A for Pig: Thank you, Dr. Luke. You may step down. (Dr. Luke returns to his seat.) Does the Prosecution have any more witnesses? Attorney B for Yes, your honor, we d like to call Mama Bear to the stand. (Mama Bear goes to the witness stand.) Bailiff: truth? Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the Mama Bear: Yes, I do. Attorney B for Please tell everyone who you are. Mama Bear: My name is Mama Gertrude Bear, Goldilocks friend. Attorney B for Mrs. Bear, how do you know Mr. Wolf? 79

11 Mama Bear: I run into him occasionally around town. I don t really know him well. Attorney B for Did you see him on August 19? Mama Bear: Yes, I did. I was down at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store buying some groceries when I saw him. We were both looking for some sugar. Attorney B for Did you have a conversation with Mr. Wolf? Mama Bear: Just a short one. I really didn t want anyone to see me talking to a wolf! He said he was going to make a cake for his Granny, but was out of sugar. But the funny thing was, the store was out of sugar, too. Can you imagine that? The checker, Porky Pig, said that Snow White had just come in and bought all the sugar they had. She does a lot of cooking, you know. Attorney B for Thank you, Mrs. Bear. I have no more questions. Does the Defense wish to cross examine this witness? Attorney B for Pig: Yes, your honor. Mrs. Bear, you say you didn t want to be seen talking to a wolf. Could it be that Mr. Wolf has a bad reputation? Is that why you were avoiding him? Mama Bear: Well, I ve heard stories about him from my friends, so I was just trying to be careful. Besides, you re not supposed to talk to strangers, you know. Attorney B for Pig: Mr. Wolf isn t very honest, is he? Can he be trusted to tell the truth? Attorney B for Objection! She doesn t even know him. How could she possibly know whether or not this wolf is honest? Objection sustained. Attorney B for Pig: Well, did you believe him when he said he was going to bake a cake? Mama Bear: Well, I ve never known a gourmet wolf before, but you never know. He was trying to buy some sugar. Attorney B for Pig: Thank you, Mrs. Bear. You may be seated. 80

12 Are there any more witnesses? Attorney A for No, your honor. We rest our case. Very well. Now we will hear Curly Pig s side of the case. You may call your first witness. Attorney A for Pig: Your honor, as my first witness I d like to call Little Red Riding Hood. (Little Red Riding Hood goes to the witness stand.) Bailiff: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? R. R. Hood: Of course I do. Attorney A for Pig: Miss Riding Hood, could you tell us about your association with Mr. Wolf? R. R. Hood: Not long ago, when I was walking through the forest on my way to take some Girl Scout cookies to my Granny, Mr. Wolf began harrassing me! He was following me, hiding behind the trees, and making me very afraid. I didn t know what he was going to do! I had to run to keep away from him. Attorney A for Pig: Did Mr. Wolf say anything to you? R. R. Hood: He was shouting something, but I didn t want to get close enough to hear what he was saying. I was trying to get as far away from him as possible. He s so scary looking. Attorney A for Pig: Did you make it to your Granny s all right? R. R. Hood: Yes, thank goodness. But as I was running, I dropped some Thin Mint cookies out of my basket. Those are Granny s favorites. Maybe that s what the wolf was after. Attorney A for Pig: That must have been very frightening for you. I m you weren t hurt. No more questions, your honor. glad Do you want to cross-examine this witness? Attorney A for Yes, your honor. Now Miss Riding Hood, did you know that Mr. Wolf has a granny, too? And that he was trying to make a cake for her? Isn t it possible that he was calling out to you because he needed to borrow some sugar? 81

13 R. R. Hood: I don t really know what he wanted that day, but I wasn t willing to find out. Attorney A for Did Mr. Wolf try to hurt you? R. R. Hood: Not exactly. But I ve heard that he s mean, and I didnt wait to find out what he was planning to do to me. I thought I might be his next victim! He seems to have a pretty big appetite! Attorney A for Well, it doesn t seem quite fair to judge someone on what you ve heard about them. Bad publicity has ruined quite a few honest politicians and citizens like Mr. Wolf. Are you prejudiced against animals? R. R. Hood: No, I am not! I have quite a few animal friends. I just know who I should watch out for, and Mr. Wolf is one of them. Attorney A for Thank you, Miss Riding Hood. I have no more questions. Defense, you may call your next witness. Attorney B for Pig: Thank you, your honor. Wed like to call Mr. Jack Smith. (Jack Smith goes to the witness stand.) Bailiff: truth? Smith: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the Yes, I do. Attorney B for Pig: What is your name and occupation? Smith: I am Jack Smith, manager of the Chuck Woodchuck Building Supply Company. Attorney B for Pig: Mr. Smith, are you familiar with the Pig family? Smith: Well, I ve got quite a few Pigs among my customers. There s Porky Pig, and Higgeldy Piggeldy, and of course, Miss Piggy. Attorney B for Pig: Then let me be more specific. Did you know the Three Little Pigs -- Larry, Curly, and Moe? 82

14 Smith: Ah, yes. Now there s a sad story for you. When they got old enough to leave home, they each came to me for building materials for their houses. The first brother, Larry, wanted a bundle of straw to build his house with. I told him, Kid, this isn t going to give you the tightest security, but he was in a hurry, so I sold him some straw. Attorney B for Pig: Do you know if that house ever got built? Smith: Oh, it got built all right, but it didn t last long. Attorney B for Pig: What do you mean? Smith: Right after he built it, that old wolf over there -- the one who always makes trouble for Little Red Riding Hood and others... Attorney B for I object to this, your honor. He has no right to criticize my client. Mr. Wolf s attorney is correct. Please just answer the questions, Mr. Smith. Smith: Yes, your honor. As I was saying, Mr. Wolf came over to Larry s house and said, Little Pig, Little Pig, let me come in! When Larry refused, the wolf got mad and said, Then I ll huff and I ll puff, and I ll blow your house in. And that s exactly what happened. I heard that Larry became Mr. Wolf s dinner! Sounds like porkocide to me! Attorney C for Your honor, that s just Mr. Smith s opinion. I object to that statement. Mr. Smith, just stick to the facts, please. Attorney B for Pig: Mr. Smith, did you also sell building supplies to Moe? Smith: Yes, I did. Moe wanted twigs, which wasn t much better than straw. I told him it would be difficult to heat and cool a twig house, but he insisted. But the same thing happened to him that happened to his brother. I was glad to see Curly build his house out of bricks. I didn t think a wolf could blow down a brick house. Old Curly likes to live high on the hog! Attorney B for Pig: Did the wolf try to blow down Curly=s house? 83

15 Attorney C for Your honor, unless Mr. Smith actually saw Mr. Wolf at Mr. Pig s house, he is not qualified to answer that question. In fact I must object to this entire line of questioning. This seems like hearsay to me, if Mr. Smith only heard what happened to Larry and Moe and did not see for himself. That is correct. The jury will disregard this testimony. Maybe you d like to ask Mr. Smith a different question, counselor. Attorney B for Pig: No, your honor. I have no more questions for Mr. Smith. Do you wish to cross-examine Mr. Smith? Attorney B for Yes, your honor. Mr. Smith, you didn t ever see Mr. Wolf trying to hurt Curly or his brothers, did you? Smith: Not exactly, but everyone knows what happened. Attorney B for Gossip is not evidence enough to convict someone, Mr. Smith. How do you know that he wasn t going to borrow a cup of sugar, as he has testified? Smith: I never saw a wolf who could cook. I just thought he was a normal wolf, who eats out a lot. Attorney B for But in a court of law, we base our decisions on fact, not what you or anyone else thinks is the truth. Thank you, Mr. Smith. You may be seated. (Jack Smith returns to his seat.) Are there any more witnesses for the Defense? Attorney C for Pig: Yes, your honor. We d like to call our client, Curly the stand. Pig to (Curly Pig goes to the witness stand.) Bailiff: truth? Curly Pig: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the Yes, I do. Attorney C for Pig: Please state your name and address. Curly Pig: I am Curly Pig, and I live at 283 Sty Lane, just off of Mud Ave. 84

16 Attorney C for Pig: Now, Mr. Pig, are you familiar with Mr. B. B. Wolf? Are you, as he has indicated, friendly neighbors? Curly Pig: Are you kidding? That wolf in sheep s clothing? I m familiar with him because of his ba-aa-aad reputation! Everyone knows who B. B. Wolf is! But we are not friends. Attorney C for Pig: How did you first get to know Mr. Wolf? ly Pig: Well, not under the friendliest of circumstances. I got to know him when he huffed and puffed and blew in the houses of my brothers, Larry and Moe. Talk about a nuisance! No one ever told this guy that breaking and entering doesn t mean breaking the whole house and then entering it and gobbling up everyone inside! Attorney C for Pig: Did you see him breaking these houses? Curly Pig: No, but after he d gotten rid of my brothers, I guess old B. B. thought he d just get rid of the rest of the family -- me! What he hadn t counted on was that I built my house out of bricks. So when he came over one morning wanting to borrow some sugar (or so he said) I just told him, No way, by the hair on my chinny, chin, chin. I heard this, Then I ll huff and I ll puff, and I ll blow your house in. I just had to laugh. I could hear him out there huffing and puffing, but he wasn t going to get in. I made sure of that when I built that house out of bricks. Attorney C for Pig: What did Mr. Wolf do when he could not blow your house down? Curly Pig: He started climbing up the side of my house! At first I couldn t imagine what on earth he was doing. Then I thought -- the chimney! He must have thought he was Santa Claus! So I rushed to the fireplace, where I already had a big pot of water on to boil for my tea. I took the lid off to see if it was ready, hoping to scare the wolf away. How was I supposed to know that he was already climbing down the chimney? Attorney C for Pig: Were you scared of Mr. Wolf? Curly Pig: Of course I was. I d seen what happened to my brothers! Attorney C for Pig: Thank you, Curly. I have no more questions. Do you want to cross-examine this witness? 85

17 Attorney C for Yes, I do, your honor. Mr. Pig, I ve been listening to this story of how you treated Mr. Wolf, and it seems to me that you were being rather unkind and rude to my client. The way you spoke about his granny really hurt his feelings. Wouldn t you agree that you were being mean? Curly Pig: I thought he was trying to eat me! Compared to that, being rude doesn t seem like much of a crime, does it? Attorney C for I ll ask the questions here, if you don t mind. What about the reports that your cookbook was open to the recipe for Wolf Stew? Is that true? Curly Pig: Yes, but it s not how it seems. I had it open to Warm Apple Pie. But then, when I took that lid off of the pot, I guess the steam must have blown a few pages over, to Wolf Stew. Attorney C for Is it true that you won a blue ribbon at last year s fair for your famous Varmint Stew? Curly Pig: As a matter of fact, I did. Attorney C for And isn t the secret ingredient that makes that stew so unusual really wolf? Curly Pig: I use a variety of different meats in my stew. That s why it s called Varmint Stew. Attorney C for Do you expect the court to believe that? This all sounds very suspicious to me. Curly Pig: Well, it s the truth, by the hair on my chinny, chin, chin. Attorney C for Even though everyone knows of your prejudice against wolves? Are you still the president of PAWS (Porkers Against Wolves Society)? Curly Pig: That is only one of the clubs I m a member of, sir. I m in favor of anything that makes the world a better place. Attorney C for And in your opinion, the world would be a better place if there were fewer wolves, I ll bet. We get the picture. All right, Mr. Pig. You may step down. (Curly Pig returns to his seat.) Are there any more witnesses? 86

18 Attorney C for Pig: No, your honor. The defense rests. Fine. Now we will hear closing arguments. Prosecution, you may address the jury. Attorney B for Thank you, your honor. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we have shown that Mr. Pig, as well as his brothers, on several occasions, were mean-spirited, prejudiced, and rude toward Mr. Wolf, even though he was trying to do something nice for his Granny. Mr. Pig wouldn t even answer the door to his neighbor in need. You shouldn t judge someone just on their reputation! Mr. Pig admits that he did lift the lid off a pot of extremely hot water just as Mr. Wolf was coming down that chimney. We also want to point out again that Mr. Pig s cookbook was open to the recipe for Wolf Stew, his specialty. Obviously, pigs will eat anything! I m sure the jury will agree that Mr. Pig was trying to make Mr. Wolf an ingredient in his famous stew! That is a crime in this state. Thank you. Defense, do you have a closing argument? Attorney B for Pig: Yes, your honor. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we have shown that Mr. Wolf had it in for the Pig family. Clearly, he was up to no good when he came over to Curly Pig s house. We don t believe for a moment that Mr. Wolf was going to bake a birthday cake. What he preferred to eat was pork, not birthday cake. Mr. Pig is a law-abiding citizen who was minding his own business when Mr. Wolf began bothering him. Mr. Pig feared for his life! I m quite sure that the jury will agree that his lifting the lid off the pot of water in order to scare Mr. Wolf away was pretty smart. He had no intention of killing Mr. Wolf. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, you have now heard the evidence in this case. Now it is your job to decide whether Mr. Pig was trying to cook Mr. Wolf. In a moment you will go with the Bailiff to the jury room where you will make your decision based on the testimony you have heard here today. After you have decided, you will return to this courtroom and tell the Court whether Curly Pig is guilty or not guilty of this crime. You are now dismissed to consider the verdict. (Bailiff leads the jury out of the room to deliberate. After discussion and vote, jury returns to the courtroom.) Ladies and gentlemen, have you reached a verdict? 87

19 Jury Foreman: Jury Foreman: Yes, your honor, we have. What is your decision? We find the defendant, Mr. Curly Pig,. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for making this important decision today. This court is adjourned. Adapted from: Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. New York: Viking,

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