Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Today, President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Sotomayor is the first Latina ever nominated to serve on the Court. To quote from the National Public Radio report on her nomination:

“Sotomayor was raised in a housing project in New York’s South Bronx by Puerto Rican parents who came to the United States during World War II. Her father was a factory worker who had a third-grade education and spoke no English. He died when she was 9, a year after she was diagnosed with Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes.”

The nomination of Judge Sotomayor provides a great opportunity to both help English Language Learners see that they can indeed aim high in their own lives, and to help them learn about the Supreme Court and the U.S. judicial system.

Here are my picks for The Best Sites To Learn About The U.S. Supreme Court (and are accessible to English Language Learners):

EL Civics has a good introduction to the Supreme Court that’s specifically designed for ELL’s.

Ben’s Guide To U.S. Government has a slightly more detailed explanation.

Scholastic has a good explanation of how the Supreme Court works.

The Associated Press has an interactive overview of the Court.

Here’s another short description of the responsibilities of the Court.

Scholastic News has a report on the nomination of Judge Sotomayor.

Here’s a New York Times slideshow on Sotomayor.

The New York Times also has a video of the President’s announcement and Sotomayor’s comments.

CBS News also has a slideshow on Sotomayor.

TIME Magazine has a slideshow on her, too.

National Public Radio another slideshow on Sotomayor.

You Be The Judge is a good interactive about the American judicial system, though not specifically on the Supreme Court.

Courts In The Classroom is an animated and interactive look at the United States legal system.  is an animated and interactive look at the United States legal system.

Our Courts has a video and some simple lesson plans on the court system. It also has a game on its site called Supreme Decision: Ben’s T-Shirt, but it doesn’t seem very engaging.  It does provide audio support for the text, though, which increases its accessibility.

How Stuff Works has short videos about the Supreme Court.

Milestones: Sonia Sotomayor is an interactive feature from The New York Times.

Before Judge Sotomayor, There Was Sonia is another interactive from The New York Times.

Here is a short video about Sotomayor’s life.

PBS has a series of Court-related games, though they might only be accessible to advanced ELL’s.

There are several interactive timelines about the Supreme Court that would probably only be accessible to high-Intermediate or Advanced ELL’s:

The Bill of Rights Institute Supreme Court Timeline

CBS News Supreme Court Timeline

PBS Court Timeline

You can also take a panoramic tour of the Supreme Court here.

Voice of America Special English has a report on the nomination of Sotomayor and provides audio support for the text.

Suggestions and feedback, as always, are welcome.

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