Lesson Plan
PBS

Now With Bill Moyers: Supreme Court and Freedom of Speech

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Brief descriptions of several case studies involving decisions by the Supreme Court concerning First Amendment rights, especially freedom of speech.
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Norman Rockwell, Freedom of Speech "Know It When You See It"

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In this lesson plan, middle schoolers will consider "Norman Rockwell, Freedom of Speech "Know It When You See It." The plan includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.
Website
University of California

Ucla: Freedom of Speech vs. Workplace Harassment Law

For Students 9th - 10th
This site contains excerpts from public law review articles relating to the issues of freedom of speech and workplace harassment.
Website
PBS

Pbs Newshour Extra: The Dilemma of Protecting Free Speech

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students will compare various examples of offensive expression. How does the fact that the expressions are offensive to others impact Freedom of Speech? Students will review and analyze and complete a case study of cases where the...
Lesson Plan
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: America in Class: Expansion of Democracy During the Jacksonian Era

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Lesson where students explore the emergence of the American system of democracy and political parties between 1820 and 1850. Using paintings by George Caleb Bingham and Richard Caton Woodville, and a political cartoon depicting the...
Unit Plan
Choices Program, Brown University

Choices: The Struggle to Define Free Speech: From Skokie to Paris

For Students 9th - 10th
Relevant resource on free speech in which students examine how different societies define freedom of expression. Through multi-media sources students look at historical sources as well as current controveries over free speech.
Activity
PBS

Pbs News Hour Extra: Supreme Court Considers Free Speech and Protests

For Students 9th - 10th
Hateful as these actions may seem to many people, do groups still have the right to protest under the First Amendment? Read about the case that the Supreme Court is considering involving protests at a military funeral.
Activity
Scholastic

Scholastic: Democracy for Kids: Understanding Rights and Responsibilities

For Students 3rd - 8th
Scholastic offers a series of printable panels and classroom activities in PDF format that focus on a U.S. citizen's right to express his- or herself. Content focuses on the Bill of Rights and its provisions for freedom of religion,...
Lesson Plan
Other

First Amendment Schools: Lesson Plans: Religious Liberty

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A series of lessons examining freedom of religion. A few of the lessons are off-site and the links no longer work.
Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: How to Turn Protest Into Powerful Change

For Students 9th - 10th
We live in an age of protest. On campuses, in public squares, on streets and social media, protestors around the world are challenging the status quo. But while protest is often necessary, is it sufficient? Eric Liu outlines three...
Lesson Plan
Bill of Rights Institute

Bill of Rights Institute: The Stolen Valor Act and False Speech

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson plan, including an extension opportunity, addressing whether the Stolen Valor Act violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Activity
Other

Student Press Law Center Legal Brief: Libel Law

For Students 9th - 10th
Excellent site for students that need to know more about libel laws. Includes a definition of libel, a process to go by in order to avoid a lawsuit, and your defense options if you happen to be involved in a lawsuit.
Article
The Washington Post

Washington Post: With Protest, Nfl Player Is Exercising His Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
The San Francisco 49ers backup QB, Colin Kaepernick, is making waves with his knee during the National Anthem.
Activity
Other

Us Courts: First Amendment Activities

For Students 9th - 10th
Activities for students that make learning about the 1st Amendment relevant by applying landmark Supreme Court cases to contemporary scenarios related to the five parts of the First Amendment and rights to freedom of religion, speech,...
Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

C3 Teachers: Inquiries: First Amendment

For Teachers 12th
A learning module on the First Amendment. It includes several supporting questions accompanied by formative tasks and source materials, followed by a summative performance task. Students explore how the First Amendment applies in the...
Article
Other

Freedom Forum: First Amendment Struggles & Triumphs

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out how the First Amendment serves citizens in real life by reading about Daniel Ellsberg, Mary Beth Tinker, and Alton T. Lemon, all of whom were principal litigants in landmark Supreme Court cases regarding the freedom of expression.
Lesson Plan
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: America in Class: "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?"

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Explores the argument made by Frederick Douglass and his appeals to convince northern whites to oppose slavery and favor abolition. Lesson content includes resources for both teachers and students.
Website
Other

Behind the Scenes: The Mc Carran Internal Security Act

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the origins and impact of the McCarran Internal Security Act which President Harry Truman called "the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press and assembly, since the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798." Find out how a fear of...
Lesson Plan
National Women’s History Museum

National Women's History Museum: The National Woman's Party

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learners will examine documents to determine if the justice system was fair and Constitutional in its treatment of the National Women's Party picketers.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Founding Fathers' Notions of Religious Liberty (Lesson Plan)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Explore founders' views, particularly the views of George Washington, on the role of religion and religious liberty in public life. Includes excerpts from Washington's writings and speeches to give students opportunities to include...
Primary
Claremont Institute

Founding.com: Calvin Coolidge

For Students 9th - 10th
Two speeches given by Calvin Coolidge. The first was in 1924 on the topic of religious freedom. The second was in 1926 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Article
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: Webisode 14: Let Freedom Ring

For Students 9th - 10th
Series episode covers the civil rights movement and the struggle for equality in post-World War II America.
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: u.s. History: The Civil Rights Movement

For Students 9th - 10th
Outlines Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work as a civil rights leader from the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 up until his assassination in Memphis on April 4, 1968. Describes the different protest movements, including the...
Primary
US National Archives

Our Documents: Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

For Students 9th - 10th
Image of handwritten copy of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, accompanied by an explanation of the speech's purpose, impact, and role in American history.

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