How do you assess whether pupils have mastered certain concepts and skills? Designing a performance task that asks learners to demonstrate their skills and providing writers with a rubric that identifies these skills and provides...

Students explore current interpretation of the First Amendment, including that of commercial speech. Next read background about Don Imus and his comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

How does a judge in the federal judicial court decide on a verdict? Give your middle and high schoolers a better idea of how final decisions are made in the judicial system. Then split your class into four groups, assigning each group a...

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...

Learners read the Knight report and discuss key findings before deciding what aspects of the findings students can replicate in their own school and conduct a survey. They write survey questions and test them on sample group before...

Students see the difference between protected and prohibited speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment. They explain why free speech is essential to a democracy and consider how best to deal with speech they find offensive.

Placing Ben Franklin’s ideas about a free press next to those embodied in the First Amendment sheds light on both. Learners interpret and compare two primary sources and then examine them in the light of a contemporary survey about...

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...

Students identify and discuss First Amendment rights, examine how to make sound legal judgements regarding photographs of private individuals, examine difference between public and private figures as far as libel law is concerned,...

Learners consider how free speech applies to journalistic practices in light of a legal case involving two reporters. They participate in a fishbowl discussion about journalism codes of ethics and write response papers.

Young scholars explore the initial Supreme Court decision to regulate commercial speech, and then analyze the legal precedents and principles underlying a recent case contesting this regulation.

Learners review their knowledge on the First Amendment. After reading an article, they identify specific church and state issues. Using the Internet, they research President Bush's proposal from a specific point of view. They summarize...

Learners examine the 1st and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. In this U.S. government lesson plan, students read the Amendments and interpret them in order to respond to essential questions regarding constitutional rights.

Students read primary documents to find the motivations of the founding fathers of the United States. In this primary documents lesson, students discuss the meaning of the Preamble to the Constitution, read parts of the Constitution...

Students write newspaper articles regarding their service learning experiences. In this writing skills lesson plan, students review the writing process skills to develop high-quality articles. Students write articles regarding the their...

Students examine Edgar Allan Poe's "the Purloined Letter" from the perspective of a profiler. To sharpen search procedures, they examine the text and make lists of items and places in the house that were searched. Then students discuss...

This Teacher Resource from the Kennedy Center helps students examine where and how humorists derive the material presented to their audiences. Activities encourage students to analyze elements of humor and the style of entertainers, and...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read about the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in classifying and categorizing.

This non-profit organization collects instances of First Amendment and Freedom of Information cases throughout the United States and reports on the facts and outcomes. An interesting cross section from this section of our law.