The Bill of Rights and the News

Students determine how free press principles can be compromised. For this global studies lesson, students read an article titled "Free and Independent Press." Students respond to discussion questions regarding the article.

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...

Examine the Bill of Rights through the lens of fairness. Class members read all 10 amendments and then answer a series of questions related to the document and surrounding ideas.

Scholars investigate news literacy in the twenty-first century. They use technology, legal decisions, writings, and digital privacy to analyze the topic. Using what they learned, a group assignment looks into both the challenges and...

When does freedom of the press end and national security begin? Learners research the idea of the freedom of the press under the First Amendment in the United States government and politics. They view the 26th lesson of a 50-part unit,...

"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?...

The cherished rights included in the first ten amendments to the Constitution almost didn't happen! Pupils tour via video a National Archives exhibit on the Bill of Rights, as well as listen to how a modern judge applies them. Once...

Students use library or online resources to create time lines on the life of Johannes Gutenberg and tell the impact his invention, the printing press, had on the development of newspapers.

Students consider First Amendment rights. In this Bill of Rights lesson, students complete an activity guide regarding constitutional rights issues raised in the 2008 presidential election. Students respond to discussion questions...

To conclude their case study of media coverage of the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer, class members consider the role of citizen watchdogs in a democratic society, develop strategies for combating...