+
Activity
Other

Streetlaw: Rights in the Community

For Students 9th - 10th
This website provides several links and introductory information on the Constitution, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, expression in special places, freedom of religion, due process, the right to privacy, discrimination, and...
+
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Freedom of Speech and Automatic Language

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Contains plans for four lessons that use the "Pledge of Allegiance" to discuss the concepts of freedom of speech and automatic language. Ties in well with novels that deal with First Amendment rights such as Laurie Halse Anderson's...
+
Activity
PBS

Pbs Online News Hour: Virtual Victory?

For Students 9th - 10th
Discussion of the implications of the Supreme Court ruling against the constitutionality of the Communications Decency Act, including give and take on the meaning of the decision for children. Includes transcript of discussion, and link...
+
Activity
PBS

Pbs News Hour Extra: Supreme Court Considers Free Speech and Protests

For Students 9th - 10th
Hateful as these actions may seem to many people, do groups still have the right to protest under the First Amendment? Read about the case that the Supreme Court is considering involving protests at a military funeral.
+
Website
New York Times

New York Times: Cyber Law Journal

For Students 9th - 10th
Cyber Law Journal, a weekly publication of the New York Times, reflects on the legal issues raised by the Internet.
+
Lesson Plan
Library of Virginia

Virginia Memory: Constitution Day Activities: Middle and High 2

For Teachers 9th - 10th
What would life be like without the freedoms of speech, press, religion, assembly, and the right to petition?
+
Primary
Cornell University

Cornell University: Law School: Schenck v. United States (1919)

For Students 9th - 10th
Features a syllabus of the landmark Supreme Court case of Schenck v. United States which decided that the defendant's right to criticize the draft was not protected by the First Amendment.
+
eBook
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Classroom: Our Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
This book uses historical case studies to explore the rights in the Constitution. Supreme Court cases are used to demonstrate how a right received its modern interpretation, how the right applies today, and how courts and other...
+
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Don't Know Much About Liberty

For Teachers 6th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read about the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in classifying and categorizing.
+
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: American Government the Bill of Rights Part Ii

For Teachers 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This informational text passage explains a few parts of the Bill of Rights. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and establishes...
+
Activity
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Bill of Rights

For Students 3rd - 8th
The Bill of Rights was adopted to protect each United States citizen's rights. Learn about how the Bill of Rights was formed and the protections it guarantees to Americans.
+
Lesson Plan
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Yearning to Breathe Free: Mary "Mother" Jones and Child Labor [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that examines the life of activist Mary "Mother" Jones and the methods she used to change conditions for laborers, especially for child laborers....
+
Activity
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: The Supreme Court: Landmark Cases: Schenck v. u.s. (1919)

For Students 9th - 10th
PBS offers a summary of the landmark Supreme Court case of Schenck v. U.S. which dealt with when an individual's free speech rights under the First Amendment presented a "clear and present danger." This case has since been overturned.
+
Article
The Washington Post

Washington Post: With Protest, Nfl Player Is Exercising His Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
The San Francisco 49ers backup QB, Colin Kaepernick, is making waves with his knee during the National Anthem.
+
Activity
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: U S. Constitution: Annotation 18: First Amendment

For Students 9th - 10th
Information about the boundaries of seditious speech and the permissibility of governmental measures which are directly concerned with the content of expression.
+
Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Robert La Follette: Senate Address:"free Speech in War Time"

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is the text of Robert La Follette's speech to the Senate, "Free Speech in War Time" delivered on October 6, 1917, in the U.S. Senate Chamber, in Washington, D.C.
+
Interactive
Bill of Rights Institute

Bill of Rights Institute: Life Without the Bill of Rights?

For Students 9th - 10th
This a click-and-explore activity that puts you in control and ask you to consider how life would change without some of our most cherished freedoms. Life Without the Bill of Rights? invites you to understand the significance of your...
+
Primary
Boston College

Freedom of Speech in the United States: De Jonge v. Oregon

For Students 9th - 10th
In this site you will find the Supreme Court decision in the case De Jonge v. Oregon from a text, Freedom of Speech in the United States.
+
Primary
Boston College

Boston College: Feiner v. New York

For Students 9th - 10th
Read the text of court opinions regarding the 1951 Feiner v. New York Case. Includes footnotes to Justice Hugo Black's opinion.
+
Unit Plan
Other

Syracuse University: Project Legal: Compu Legal: Feiner v New York

For Students 9th - 10th
This site contains information and the court ruling in the Supreme Court case of Feiner v. New York. Includes a cartoon about the case. Follow through the tutorial to eventually come to the outcome of the case.
+
Activity
Other

Common Sense Americanism: Schenck v. United States

For Students 9th - 10th
This summary provides the background for Schenck v. United States, a World War I-era Supreme Court case involving free speech. Schenck is an example of what can happen to basic constitutional rights in time of war.
+
Lesson Plan
iCivics

I Civics: Texas v. Johnson (1989)

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court's decision that burning the American flag is a form of political speech protected by the First Amendment. Students learn about the First Amendment freedom of speech and the...
+
Activity
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Picturing America: Rockwell: Freedom of Speech [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Information about and analysis of a characteristic work by Norman Rockwell inspired by Franklin's state-of-the-union address delivered in 1941.
+
Primary
This Nation

This nation.com: A Plea for Free Speech in Boston

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the Douglass Archive provides the text of Frederick Douglass's speech "A Plea for Free Speech in Boston."