Curated OER
Consequences of the Sedition Act
High schoolers research and discuss the consequences of the Sedition Act. They illustrate the difficulty of balancing security needs and personal freedom using an example from John Adams's presidency.
Facing History and Ourselves
Defining Freedom
The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the Confederate states. The Thirteenth Amendment banned slavery in the United States. However, neither document defined freedom. The second instructional activity in the Reconstruction Era...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Freedom of Expression
Should democracies include hate speech as a protected right? Scholars analyze the rights found under the First Amendment to the Constitution through researching evidence. Freedom of expression becomes the focal point of the...
Curated OER
Enslaved African Americans and Expressions of Freedom
Students analyze a painting from African-American culture to determine its meaning. Reading slave spirituals, they discover what live was like for African-Americans who were enslaved in the South. They draw conclusions about their desire...
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Symbolic Speech
Ninth graders consider the right of freedom of speech as it is outlined in the U.S. Constitution. They receive background information for the US Supreme Court, the Bill of Rights, and free speech. They discuss a series of actual cases...
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Cartoons for the Classroom: Defending Your Freedoms
In this current events instructional activity, students analyze a political cartoon about the defense of personal freedoms and respond to 3 talking point questions.
Crafting Freedom
George Moses Horton: Crafting Virtual Freedom Through Poetry
What is "virtual freedom"? How about "enslaved entrepreneurship"? Class members will learn about these terms and much more as they read the poems and examine the life of George Moses Horton.
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Are We Free Yet?
Young scholars read excerpts from several Freedom Documents, evaluate amount of freedom guaranteed by each document, and rank documents on scale to determine which grant greatest and least amount of personal freedom.
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Thanksgiving
First graders summarize similarities and differences of life in England and America for the Pilgrims by reading a mini-book. Then, they write a journal entry in first person on what it is like to be a pilgrim in England and in America....
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Express Yourself Lesson Seed 1
Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...
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Express Yourself Lesson Seed 3
If you're looking to set your class up for writing effective arguments, try out this idea. While originally created with freedom as a guiding idea, the activity could easily be adapted for other themes. As a class, create a chart of...
Curated OER
Quilt to Freedom
Students investigate the Underground Railroad. In this African-American history lesson, students listen to the book Clara and the Freedom Quilt and use map skills to identify the various locations in the book. Students create a freedom...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Freedom of Movement
Class members examine human migration. For this population lesson, they read an article entitled, "Freedom of Movement" and respond to discussion questions about the article related to guest worker programs.
Museum of Tolerance
The Price of Personal Responsibility
A reading of Patrick Henry's "Speech in the Virginia Convention," Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" launch a discussion about the price one is willing to pay to...
Curated OER
The Four Freedoms
Students discuss the four freedoms. For this freedom lesson, students discuss freedom of speech, freedom to worship any God, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. They create a picture to match each freedom and make a book shaped...
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The Mayflower Compact: Freedom Contract
Students read historical documents. For this freedom lesson, students discuss the freedoms they have, such as whom to play with at recess, and how the pilgrims must have felt when they landed in America. Students read The Mayflower...
State Bar of Texas
Texas v. Johnson
If you saw a person burning an American flag, how would you feel? Scholars analyze the concept of freedom of expression and speech with the Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson. A short video clip creates open discussion in pairs on the...
State Bar of Texas
Schenck v. US
Freedom of speech is absolute—or is it? The Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States has learners research what free speech really looks like. A short video along with paired work creates open discussion and thought on what speech is...
State Bar of Texas
Tinker v. Des Moines
Freedom of speech allows anyone, even those in school, to say and do what they feel—right? The 1969 Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines serves as the backdrop for a study on First Amendment rights. Scholars use a short video along...
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Fear, Civil Rights and Personal Freedoms
High schoolers write and perform a one-act play. They present constitutional, personal and cultural issues of the internment camps of the 1940's. They research and present a historical examine internernment camps.
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Freedom Is
Students explore various ideas of freedom by comparing the profiles of seven Mainers from the early 19th century. They discuss freedom and what they think it means to be free. Students complete a Freedom Matrix to explore how seven...
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Cartoons for the Classroom: Freedom is not Universal
In this current events worksheet, students analyze political cartoons that feature caricatures of political leaders that have been challenged. Students respond to 3 talking point questions.
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Free Enterprise: A Context for Technology
Introduced your class to the topic of free enterprise and its relationship to personal freedom. As a class, they brainstorm the ways in which what they do affects the free enterprise system and how technology can make the transition...
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Philanthropic Literature: Quilt to Freedom
A reading of Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson launches this study of slavery, freedom, and the Underground Railroad. After a discussion of the importance of showing respect for others and of helping each other in...