Free Speech or Hate Speech?

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...

Can students be allowed to say what they want in print or on the Internet, free from interference by the school? With the advent of Facebook and other social networking sites where all expressions are chronicled and monitored, where to...

President Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech, delivered on June 12, 1987 before the Berlin Wall, provides class members with an opportunity to examine three key aspects of informational text: author bias, the use of facts and...

The 1963 March on Washington, powerfully punctuated by Martin Luther King's impassioned "I Have a Dream" speech, was instrumental in passing the Civil Rights Act just one year later. A reading assignment presents the written speech...

Looking for a lesson that teaches class members how to analyze nonfiction? Use Joseph McCarthy's famous "Enemies from Within" speech as a instructional text. Worksheet questions direct readers' attention to the many historical references...

Here is a great online interactive activity that will not only spur discussion on free speech and student expression, but will also involve a great deal of practice in identifying claims and supporting them with evidence.

Have you ever watched a political speech and felt your heart beat a little faster, and your opinion either solidify or begin to slightly change? Rhetorical devices can be a strong tool in an effective and powerful speech. A short lesson...

Analyze a seminal speech from the 20th century with an activity focused on President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address. After reading an excerpt from the address, pupils use a worksheet to practice their reading comprehension skills...

Students conduct research into looking at a free-speech issue. They role play the events surrounding a court case. The lesson includes guiding questions to help create context and determine areas of further study. The presentation...

"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;. . ." Why is this guarantee of free speech and a free press the First Amendment to the US Constitution? Why are these rights so essential to a democracy?...