Chief Justice Opinion Analysis

This close-reading worksheet supports students in Grades 5 and 6 as they develop analytical reading, civic understanding, and interpretation of persuasive legal writing through an excerpt from Chief Justice Earl Warren’s majority opinion in Brown v. Board of Education. By focusing on the emotional and psychological harm of segregation and its connection to the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, students learn how judicial reasoning blends evidence, tone, and constitutional principles to argue for justice.

Learning Goals

• Author’s Purpose & Tone (Grades 5-6) – Analyze how Chief Justice Warren uses language to persuade and explain the Court’s reasoning.
• Judicial Reasoning – Identify emotional, psychological, and social arguments used to challenge segregation.
• Constitutional Understanding – Connect the opinion’s reasoning to the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
• Primary Source Analysis – Interpret meaning and impact from a Supreme Court opinion excerpt.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Aligned with upper elementary ELA, civics, and social studies standards.
• Focused Analytical Prompts – Guides students to examine message, tone, and constitutional connections step by step.
• Builds Persuasive Literacy – Shows how legal writing can persuade through careful reasoning, not just rules.
• Flexible Use – Ideal for civil rights units, close reading lessons, Supreme Court studies, or formative assessment.

This printable worksheet helps students strengthen close-reading and civic reasoning skills by analyzing how the Supreme Court articulated the harms of segregation and grounded its decision in constitutional principles. By examining tone, purpose, and argument, learners gain insight into how judicial language can drive social change. It’s a meaningful, no-prep resource that works well in both classroom instruction and homeschool learning.

This worksheet is part of our Brown v. Board of Education collection.