Curated OER
The Bill Of Rights And The News
High schoolers investigate the concepts related to the Bill Of Rights. They conduct research using a variety of resources and focus upon the human rights provided in the legislation. Students read a news article and reflect the upon the...
Curated OER
"Pressing" Issues In Zimbabwe
Students explore the nature of freedom of the press through examining a story about the capture and torture of journalists in Zimbabwe. They participate in a round-table discussion of the issues. They research an African country of their...
Curated OER
The Pentagon Papers
High schoolers examine national security issues. In this Vietnam instructional activity, students research the background and controversy surrounding the Pentagon Papers. High schoolers discuss press rights in light of maintaining...
Curated OER
US Policy Toward Egypt: A Dialogue
Students examine U.S. foreign policy concerning the 2011 Egyptian uprising. In this current events lesson, students discuss the uprising in Egypt and examine news reports related to it. Students then discuss their feelings about the...
Curated OER
Operation Iraqi freedom
Students explain the term "public agenda' and identify the characteristics and components of the media. They read newspapers, watch and listen to newscasts to determine the media's position on the war in Iraq.
Curated OER
Freedom of Press or Bulletproof Vests?
Students explore the extent to which a person go for his ideals, focusing on one man's pursuit of free speech in Thailand. They, in groups, respond to five questions related to the article and based on the theme of free speech.
Curated OER
The First Amendment: Freedom of Expression
Students explore First Amendment rights. In this U.S. Constitution activity, students examine the freedom of expression as they view a PowerPoint presentation and listen to the lecture that accompanies it.
Curated OER
Too Free, Or Not Too Free?
Students create a survey that examines what level of electronic surveillance might be acceptable to members of the school and community. They poll the community, and analyze the results in the form of graphs and a written news article.
Curated OER
Your Right to Know
Students read information about access open records and how to file a Freedom of Information request. They access links to investigative stories about open files. They discuss information available. They develop a list of investigative...
News Literacy Project
Democracy’s Watchdog
As part of a study of the importance of the First Amendment, expert groups research different historic case studies of investigative reporting, and then the experts share their findings with jigsaw groups. The case studies include Nellie...
Facing History and Ourselves
Laws and the National Community
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,...
Anti-Defamation League
Student Dress Codes: What's Fair?
The controversy over school dress codes continues. The debate involves questions like, why is there a policy? Who sets the policy? Who enforces the policy? What is a fair policy? Tweens and teens have an opportunity to engage in the...
Newseum
Civil Rights: Reporting Out
After brainstorming a list of contemporary local, regional, and national civil rights issues, pairs of scholars select one of these issues and design an information campaign to spread awareness of the issue.
Curated OER
Storytellers: Pearl Jam
Students examine the concept of freedom of speech as it applies to music. They watch and discuss the video, "VH1 Storytellers: Pearl Jam," participate in a class discussion about free speech, conduct research, and conduct a debate.
Curated OER
Taking to the Airwaves
Students consider the purpose of talk radio and examine its importance in the new democratic Iraq. They enact mock talk shows based on current events and reflect on the value of free speech and the role audience members play in radio...
Curated OER
Newspapers in the Digital Age
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...
Brown University
The Candidates and Their Values: Election 2016
Voting for the next president of the United States is about finding the candidate who most closely aligns with your own values and sense of democracy. High schoolers become acquainted with the candidates from the 2016 election with a...
Curated OER
Freedom Summer
Students brainstorm and discuss what the concept of "fairness" is and how to identify examples of "fairness." They pull from historical fiction and the Civil Rights Movement to explain how individual are affected by, cope with, and...
Curated OER
The Daily Athenian: A Greek Newspaper Project
Young scholars work together to gather information from the internet and print sources about the Ancient Greeks. They discover what everyday life was like in Ancient Greece. They develop a newspaper to share the information they gathered.
Curated OER
Do celebs have a right to a private life?
Students weigh up privacy against freedom of expression arguments as they take on the role of members of the Press Complaints Commission.
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights
Ninth graders research the Bill of Rights and consider which freedoms are the most important for them. They consider the Bill in detail and then write to their Congressperson about something they would like to see done or changed.
Advocates for Human Rights
The Rights of Immigrants in the United States
Based on their understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Rights of Migrants in the United States, groups adopt a human rights perspective and analyze media reports to evaluate how the US is addressing the rights...
Curated OER
Civil liberties: Fundamental freedoms
Students explore civil liberties. They list and describe the fundamental freedoms guaranteed to Canadians. Students illustrate how Charter rights are applies. They examine current issues and suggest how the courts might apply Charter...
Curated OER
Who To Believe?
Learners interpret meaning from opposing views on the same topic, and discuss that there is often so much "spin" and "hidden agendas" in the media.