Look at different case studies to discuss the ethics of journalism. Twelve real-life events are written up and your learners get to be the editors. Encourage your class to think about the implications of publishing decisions. After each...

Freedom of speech is not always free. Scholars investigate how the First Amendment provides for the right to express opinions. Through the court case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, they analyze free speech using primary documents—and hopefully...

Take to the stage! Integrate both drama and civic skills by asking pupils to create and perform skills that demonstrate the importance of the amendments in the Bill of Rights. After reviewing the Preamble to the Constitution, learners...

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s marched to its own beat—literally. Using songs from the era, as well as other primary sources such as King's "I Have a Dream" speech, class members analyze lyrics to discover how music and protest...

When it comes to the law, is justice always served? Teach scholars about how law sometimes enables prejudice of entire groups of people with a unit on World War II that includes a warm-up activity, analysis of primary sources,...

Students continue their exploration of the concept of rule of law. As a class, they discuss how Civil Rights leaders followed the rule of law in their protests. After reading various articles, they participate in a discussion and...

How does marching get a point across to the government? Teach pupils about civics, human rights, and freedom of speech using the resource about the March on Washington. After reading, learners complete multiple-choice and short-answer...

Students examine their individual rights at a public school. In groups, they identify the most common ways of expressing themselves and why they should limit their speech in public. They compare and contrast two cases in which they...

Students investigate the history of civil rights by viewing historical photographs.  For this U.S. history lesson, students discuss why Black Soldiers fought for their rights by joining the Union Army in the 1800's.  Students...

Students in an adult ESL classroom are introduced to the definition of freedom of speech. Using the internet, they discover the differences between the rule of law and rule of men. To end the lesson, they examine how the court system...

The Emancipation Proclamation: one of the most important primary sources for studying American history! An interdisciplinary resource includes a reading of Abraham Lincoln's seminal speech quoted directly. Following the reading, pupils...

High schoolers read Martin Luther King, Jr's speech that he gave in Washington. They identify the social conditions that led to the civil rights movement. They discuss the significance of the March on Washington.

Students use the Internet to discover the basic information about the American Flag. They explore how to fold a flag and which holidays to use the flag. They compare Betsy Ross's flag to the ones of today. They discover the story of the...

Students discover what a dictatorship is by examining the holocaust.  In this government instructional activity, students discuss the laws that were enacted for Nazis to take control of Germany, and the types of laws we have put...

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

Students consider Lincoln's perspective. In this presidential perspectives lesson, students explore the political thoughts of Lincoln through a series of lessons that make use of primary source analysis. They hypothesize and take a...

Pupils explain the potential consequences of protest. They discuss selected historical conflicts and examine the role of the individual in protest.

Young scholars brainstorm a list of negative stereotypes in the African-American society. In groups, they develop ways to decrease the chance of them living in poverty and being in trouble with the law. They develop ways to solve...

Students examine the experiences of African-Americans in the Vietnam War. They illustrate their experiences showing how these events related to the Civil Rights movement. They compare and contrast the views of sailors and officers aboard...

Students define human rights and describe how it applies to politics, economics and cultural rights. As a class, they watch a video how the Constitution was made and discuss its purpose. In groups, they present information to the class...

High schoolers view a film about civil rights and the role Malcolm X played in the civil rights movement. They create a timeling about the events that occured from segregation to integration. They discuss discrimination as well.