Of all the amendments found in The Bill of Rights, the First Amendment contains some of the most important freedoms for American citizens. A unit plan on the First Amendment features interactive lesson plans designed to teach about those...

The contributions of African-Americans to the American Revolution are the focus of this Social Studies and language arts lesson. After reading and discussing Linda Crotta Brennan’s The Black Regiment of the American Revolution, class...

Students assume identities of lawmakers, judges, writers, and protestors during times in American history when freedoms of speech and press were limited because country was on the brink of war or fighting one. Students use primary source...

Young scholars create a lesson to present to the rest of the class about current laws, including expressing killing the president as a joke. Students research past events and current laws. Young scholars present to the class using...

Students complete a variety of activities as they use the Washington Post Newspaper in the study of editorial cartoons, cartoonists, social commentary and freedom of speech.

Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...

High schoolers research online and in books city statutes regarding posting signs on utility poles, interview appropriate officials about ordinances and how completely it is enforced, explore what has happened elsewhere when citizens...

Learners use text and photos to visualize the delivery of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic "I Have A Dream" speech. They analyze Dr. King's speech for examples of imagery and allusion and create original poetry and illustrations...

Social media and United States history combine as your young historians design a Facebook page for two major defendants of landmark Supreme Court cases. The resource includes a detailed rubric for research and page design, as well as a...

Students discuss the four freedoms. In 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 like...

Students develop a strategy for furthering the First Amendment interest and knowledge in the school through posters, school-wide announcements, speakers, contests and more during the rest of the school year. Student research about free...

Is journalism more or less reliable with the influx of Internet sources? Learners investigate the issues of freedom of speech, journalistic ethics, and social responsibility in the age of Twitter and Facebook. After examining the...

Mermaids will sing to your class members as they engage in an activity related to T.S. Eliot's famous dramatic interior monologue. After engaging in a socratic seminar about literary devices in the poem, individuals choose one...

Learners examine the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court cases in order to broaden their understanding of the US Judicial System. They research a variety of textual and Internet resources to create a tri-fold brochure,...

Use this communication skills lesson to emphasize evaluating a speaker's main point and argument. After reading Martin Luther King's, "I Have a Dream Speech" and John F. Kennedy's speech, "I Believe in an America Where the Separation of...

Students locate historical references in songs. They create music/lyrics to illustrate an historical topic.

Students research the Canadian rights and freedoms and express one of their freedoms by sharing a story about their family

Students examine the Bill of Rights. In this U.S. Constitution lesson, students write essays for perform plays that feature the importance of the first ten amendments. Students imagine the United States without 1 of the amendments that...

Third graders create a scrapbook using personal narratives and samples of artifacts to connect to maps of geographical locations of the Underground Rail Road. they describe at least one of the feelings a child slave might have had...

Students explore life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr., reflect on section of King's "I Have a Dream" speech, discuss inequities that still exist in the United States, and create picture books about their own dreams of freedom for...

Fifth graders participate in a problem-solving and decision-making process involving the First Amendment rights to analyze and implement a solution for a school-related issue. They are given a variety of scenarios to apply the First...

Pupils analyze a speech from Constance Baker Motley, examine student Organization for Civil Rights' documents, and then create their own plan of action for what the C.O.C.R. might be like if it existed today.

Students investigate equality by reading a historical fiction book in class.  In this civil rights lesson, students read the story Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry with their classmates and define the Jim Crow Laws that kept blacks...

Students analyze writings of Mr. Martin Luther King Jr. They read and discuss an article, and in pairs, research and analyze a written work or speech by Dr. King, create a mixed media collage to represent the text, and write an artist...