Curated OER
First Amendment: Bill of Rights
Twelfth graders explore the First Amendment and the rights that are protected by the First Amendment. They discuss how the First Amendment is important to their daily lives. Students research the amendment and complete a concept map.
Curated OER
Teaching about the First Amendment
Students defend the Constitution against a group of Senators who decide that all media must be approved by the government, all Americans must take a loyalty oath, join an official U.S. religion and subscribe to approved clubs.
Curated OER
First Amendment: Crossword Puzzle
In this United States history worksheet, students use the 14 clues in order to fill in the crossword puzzle with the appropriate answers pertaining to the First Amendment.
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
Religion and the First Amendment
Students examine the First Amendment and religious freedom. In this freedom of religion instructional activity, students prepare and present an arts-based project about religious freedoms.
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights - The First Ten Amendments to the Constitution
The Bill of Rights, and the First Ten Ammendments to the Constitution are the focus of this Social Studies presentation. Students view a presentation that nicely presents, not only what each Ammendment says, but examples of how they...
National Constitution Center
Born in the U.S.A: Music as Political Protest
Though often used in shows of patriotism, Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song "Born in the U.S.A." is critical of America's role in the Vietnam war and its treatment of American veterans. High schoolers analyze the song's lyrics in an activity...
State Bar of Texas
Texas v. Johnson
If you saw a person burning an American flag, how would you feel? Scholars analyze the concept of freedom of expression and speech with the Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson. A short video clip creates open discussion in pairs on the...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Bill of Rights: The First 10 Amendments to the Constitution
Introduce youngsters to the first 10 amendments of the US Constitution. Each slide contains one of the 10 amendments, an image, and a brief description of what the amendment entails. Because the images and language used are very...
Curated OER
Religion in the Schools
The requirements of the Equal Access Act are studied and applied to factual situations. By looking at the particular contexts suggested your class can examine the difficulties faced by administrators in whether they should permit...
Madison Public Schools
Journalism
Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...
Social Media Toolbox
Why Social Media?
Is social media the best way to convey news in your school? Young journalists dig deep into the social media question in the second of 16 lessons from The Social Media Toolbox. After learning about the relationship between social media...
Tennessee State Museum
An Emancipation Proclamation Map Lesson
Did the Emancipation Proclamation free all slaves during the Civil War? Why was it written, and what were its immediate and long-term effects? After reading primary source materials, constructing political maps representing information...
State Bar of Texas
Tinker v. Des Moines
Freedom of speech allows anyone, even those in school, to say and do what they feel—right? The 1969 Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines serves as the backdrop for a study on First Amendment rights. Scholars use a short video along...
Teaching Tolerance
Free to Believe!
The United States: One nation with countless religions. An interesting lesson focuses on the freedom of religion protected under the First Amendment. Academics learn why it is important to protect all religions, why there is a separation...
University of North Carolina
Symbols and Words of Hate
This resource is structured with exercises that ask class members to explore hate symbols and hate speech. Learners examine the historical significance and harmful effects of these words and symbols, examine the First Amendment and...
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...
Newseum
'The Press and the Civil Rights Movement' Video Lesson
Scholars watch a video featuring journalists who covered the civil rights movement, then respond to questions on a viewing guide. The video features interviews with participants and original news footage from the 1950s and 1960s. In...
Curated OER
Court Cases Testing the Establishment of Religion
Although the PowerPoint this lesson plan calls for is unavailable, you could easily create a presentation to fulfill its purpose. Learners listen to a presentation and keep track of the information with a graphic organizer that looks at...
Curated OER
From Tinker to Fraser: Freedom of Speech in Public Schools
The Tinker and Fraser cases were taken the Supreme Court on the basis of the 1st Amendment right to Freedom of Speech. Learners discuss each case, the First AMendment, complete handouts, and conduct a role play activity. Handouts are...
Newseum
The Tools to Persuade
After reviewing persuasion techniques, young historians examine how a specific technique was used in the pro- or anti-suffrage messages. They then examine how that same technique is used in modern-day media messages.
CK-12 Foundation
Journalism 101
How do people express their rights of free expression through the press? Journalism 101 is the perfect combination of modules for 11th and 12th graders to learn about First Amendment rights, reporting and writing skills, digital...
Curated OER
The Bill of Rights is for US Today
The first ten Amendments of the U.S. Constitution are vital for young people to understand. Provide the foundation of the laws that govern our country with this junior high school lesson. Groups use the newspaper to identify rights...
Curated OER
Constitutional Amendments and Gay Marriage
High schoolers study the legal battles involving same-sex marriage. They examine primary sources and a video regarding the 14th amendment and its implications for gay marriage. They analyze a report of a California case that was sent to...