Twelve Angry Men

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

What do you know of the American jury system? Who makes up a jury? What rules do they follow, and what are they expected to deliver?

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer introduces the idea of the American jury system and prepares students for the theme The Myth of the American Dream. The American jury system is built on the idea of ordinary citizens, chosen at random, participating in the legal process. In both criminal and civil cases, juries are responsible for deciding the facts of the case based on evidence presented in court, while judges provide legal instructions. This system is seen as a cornerstone of American democracy, allowing citizens to hold a role in ensuring fairness and upholding the law.

• “Jury Service Overview” by the United States Courts is a three-minute video explaining the rights and obligations granted to American citizens in the US Constitution.
• “The Importance of Jury Trials to a Democratic Society” by the National Judicial College is a presentation that orients students to the unique characteristics of the American jury system. (Note: This is a teacher-facing resource.)   

Short Activity

Twelve Angry Men is a teleplay and follows the rules of dramatic literature. Research the components of reading a play and create a bookmark with short, bulleted notes. Use the bookmark to aid you during your study of the drama.

Teaching suggestion: It might be helpful to allow students to research stage directions independently, but then create a collaborative list of the features of stage directions to share with them before they start on their bookmarks. Students could also create a shorthand for their notes, indicating for instance which words are to be spoken by the characters and which are not.

• “Ways of Reading a Play” from the University of York is a reproducible handout that guides students through the play-reading process with helpful tips and reflective questions.
• This page from Baypath University provides a useful overview of the function and importance of stage directions.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

How can familial relationships and dynamics shape someone’s character and behaviors? How have your relationships with immediate family members impacted your life choices?

Teaching Suggestion: This personal connection prompt prepares students for the theme of Father and Son Familial Dynamics. The defendant in Twelve Angry Men lives with an abusive father, and he consequently has problems with the law. The jurors hold many prejudicial beliefs about the defendant based on his relationship with his family, which affect the outcome of the plot.

• “Understanding Family Dynamics” from Psychology Today discusses how different family structures affect individuals differently and why boundaries are important.   
• “Key Facts About Dads in the US” by the Pew Research Center has some optimistic news about the state of Father and Son Familial Dynamics today.

Differentiation Suggestion: As this prompt may bring up difficult feelings for some students, you may want to allow for written responses rather than oral ones. Another option is to offer a different assignment choice. You may, for instance, ask students to imagine a familial relationship among fictional or imaginary characters to externalize this discussion. Alternatively, you could change the question altogether and ask how a character’s interaction with strangers that they meet influences their behavior.