Individual Rights and Liberties: Free Speech

How have groups struggled to have their unalienable rights recognized in the United States? Acting as a research team for the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, your young historians will break into groups to research how people...

When, if ever, is the government justified in restricting individual rights? When, if ever, should the "greater good" trump individual rights? To prepare to discuss this hot-button topic, class members examine primary source documents,...

How does the Bill of Rights, created over 200 years ago, still apply to the lives of American citizens to this day? Here is a fantastic resource that includes several resources on approaching the Bill of Rights with your class. After...

Consider how America's founding fathers and their experiences contributed to the rights we all enjoy today. A collection of reading, writing, and collaborative exercises prompt high schoolers to think about the ways their current lives...

Through guided discussions and collaborative activities, your class members will not only have the opportunity to learn more about the rights of women in Iraq, but they will also consider common misconceptions of Islam and examine the...

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

The sovereignty of U.S. Native American nations is the focus of a resource that asks class members to compare the Right to Self-Determination in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with a fact sheet that details the...

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...

If you stop a student from expressing views that advocate drug use, are you violating their right to free speech? Use the 2007 Supreme Court case Morse v. Frederick to discuss a nuanced interpretation of the First Amendment. Learners...

"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?...