Brief descriptions of several case studies involving decisions by the Supreme Court concerning First Amendment rights, especially freedom of speech.

Contains plans for four lessons that use the "Pledge of Allegiance" to discuss the concepts of freedom of speech and automatic language. Ties in well with novels that deal with First Amendment rights such as Laurie Halse Anderson's...

This site contains excerpts from public law review articles relating to the issues of freedom of speech and workplace harassment.

Read the majority opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in Times Film Corp. v. City of Chicago, a 1961 case that focused on free speech and obscenity.

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 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...

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.

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.

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,...

A series of lessons examining freedom of religion. A few of the lessons are off-site and the links no longer work.

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...

A lesson plan, including an extension opportunity, addressing whether the Stolen Valor Act violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

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.

Read the decision of this landmark Supreme Court decision involving the 1917 Espionage Act Schenck v. United States (1919).

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...

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.

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.

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...

Students will examine documents to determine if the justice system was fair and Constitutional in its treatment of the National Women's Party picketers.

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...

Lesson briefly describes the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and includes links to recordings of the speeches made by prominent Civil Rights Leaders on that day.

Series episode covers the civil rights movement and the struggle for equality in post-World War II America.

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...

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