Supreme Court of the United States

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/supreme-court-of-the-united-states

1. What is the location?
2. What is the number of justices?
3. How many people make up the Supreme Court and who are they?
4. Why does the Supreme Court have the power to cancel laws or presidential orders?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the location?Washington, D.C
2. What is the number of justices?Nine (1 Chief Justice, 8 Associate Justices)
3. How many people make up the Supreme Court and who are they?Nine wise people make up the Court. One is the Chief Justice and the other eight are Associate Justices. They work together to decide cases.
4. Why does the Supreme Court have the power to cancel laws or presidential orders?The Court can cancel laws or orders that break the Constitution. This power, called judicial review, keeps the other branches from overstepping. It helps protect everyone's rights.

Judicial Review: The power of the Supreme Court to review laws and actions for constitutionality.
Original Jurisdiction: The authority of a court to hear a case for the first time, rather than on appeal.
Appellate Jurisdiction: The power of a higher court to review decisions made by lower courts.
Writ of Certiorari: An order from a higher court to a lower court to send up records for review.