Free Speech or Hate Speech?

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...

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 young scholars 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,...

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...

Does the school day start too early? Useful as a reading comprehension lesson or as a model for persuasive writing, this activity is sure to get your middle schoolers' attention. The first page includes the text from a student speech...

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...

Freedom of speech isn't always free—or legal! The 25th lesson of a 50-part series covering the US government and politics has scholars investigate the First Amendment's rights of verbal expression. A short video creates open discussion...

Ninth graders consider the right of freedom of speech as it is outlined in the U.S. Constitution. They receive background information for the US Supreme Court, the Bill of Rights, and free speech. They discuss a series of actual cases...

Students research on the Web and in books with city statutes or call city officials to find out the local ordinance on posting signs on utility poles. If illegal, students explore what has happened elsewhere when citizens decided to...

"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?...