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Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

New York Times Co. v Sullivan: The Alabama Case that Changed Libel Law

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Malice aforethought? Can the New York Times be held libel for false claims appearing in its ads? The Supreme Court case New York Times v Sullivan changed the interpretation of the First Amendment. Class members examine these changes and...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Law & Ethics for Photojournalists

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners identify and discuss First Amendment rights, examine how to make sound legal judgements regarding photographs of private individuals, examine difference between public and private figures as far as libel law is concerned,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chaucer's "The Prioress' Tale"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine Anti-Semitism in literature. In this Chaucer lesson, students review the concept of blood libel and then identify and analyze the Anti-Semitic message of "The Prioress' Tale."
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What are the benefits of having a Free Press?

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students examine why actual malice is necessary in libel cases. Students demonstrate the importance of a third party in libel and slander cases. They analyze why a free press is essential in American society.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Worksheet #56 Questions - Judicial Terms

For Students 8th - 9th
In this American judicial terms worksheet, students examine their knowledge through ten fill in the blank questions that relate to the aforementioned topic.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Students Press Law and Ethics

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Young scholars research the rights and the responsibilities of journalists in dealing with First Amendment issues. In this First Amendment lesson plan, students research the Alien and Sedition Acts and study the five elements of libel....
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Study Guide
Cave Creek Unified School District

Crusades and Culture in the Middle Ages

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
The Crusades sounds like a glamorous time period in the Middle Ages full of glory—but was it? Scholars find and review the truth of the Crusades' influence on the world through the resource. The study guides, separated individually by...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Researching American Democracy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students compare Watergate and the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal. In this U.S. Constitution instructional activity, students define vocabulary terms and read articles regarding the impeachment process. Students respond to questions that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Propaganda/Stereotypes Used in the Media

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students write a character sketch on a television character who they feel is a stereotype.  In this propaganda/stereotype lesson plan, students discuss the definition of the terms and ways that the media uses both.  Students relate the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Bill of Rights

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders determine why the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution. In this U.S. government lesson plan, 7th graders discuss the first 10 amendments and any vocabulary they may be unfamiliar with. Students then read different...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Breaking News English: Anti-McDonald's McDavids Beat Goliath

For Students 5th - 10th
In this English worksheet, students read "Anti-McDonald's McDavids Beat Goliath," and then respond to 8 multiple choice, 27 fill in the blank, 7 short answer, 20 matching, and 8 true or false questions about the selection.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

National Security - Japanese Internment

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders investigate the balance between national security and individual rights using the Japanese American internment camps during World War II as the setting. The lesson incorporates photographs from the Manzanar camp in...
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Activity
Other

Student Press Law Center Legal Brief: Libel Law

For Students 9th - 10th
Excellent site for students that need to know more about libel laws. Includes a definition of libel, a process to go by in order to avoid a lawsuit, and your defense options if you happen to be involved in a lawsuit.
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Handout
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: Defamation, Libel, and Slander

For Students 9th - 10th
An introduction to the legal definition of defamation.
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Activity
University of Missouri

Famous Trials: John Peter Zenger Trial

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a comprehensive site from UMKC School of Law concerning the trial of John Peter Zenger. You can find just about any information you may need here, from the issues of The New York Weekly Journal to the trial record. Also of...
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Handout
Other

Law School help.com: Torts: Defamation

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about defamation, "An invasion of the interest in reputation of a person or a group of persons resulting from libel or slander." This website provides definitions of both libel and slander, and addresses the role of defamation in...
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Defamation

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn what defamation is, and explore the legal differences between slander and libel. Other concepts include "false light" and "absolute privilege." Also looks at legal defenses used and defamation laws in other countries.
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Article
University of Missouri

Famous Trials: Confidential Magazine Trial (1957)

For Students 9th - 10th
Thomas Wolfe called Confidential (1952-58) "the most scandalous scandal magazine in the history of the world." Confidential went where no publication had gone before in exposing to the public the private lives of celebrities. Truth,...
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Lesson Plan
US National Archives

Docsteach: u.s. V. Amistad: A Case of Jurisdiction

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students will analyze specified passages from the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Libellants of Schooner Amistad to explore the concept of jurisdiction and how a case travels through the federal court system.
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Primary
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: u.s. Supreme Court: New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides a brief summary and the text of Chief Justice Brennan's opinion of the Supreme Court in this case involving libel.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking: Trial of John Peter Zenger

For Students 5th - 8th
Freedom of the press? That was not always an accepted right. Read about the trial of John Peter Zenger, who was accused of libel for printing truths about the royal governor of New York. Find out the outcome of the trial and what it...
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Website
Other

The Louis D. Brandeis Collection: Synopsis of the Ballinger Pinchot Affair

For Students 9th - 10th
A good summary of the Ballinger-Pinchot controversy where Richard Ballinger was accused of corruption, Collier's Magazine became involved, and Louis D. Brandeis was hired by the magazine to represent it because it was accused of libel.
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Primary
US National Archives

Our Documents: The Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)

For Students 9th - 10th
The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by Congress in 1798 because of feared war with France. This engaging page gives you the opportunity to see a complete copy of the original document and also gives links to a typed transcript,...
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Alien and Sedition Acts

For Students 5th - 8th
A great description of the Alien and Sedition Acts, passed by the Federalist Congress in 1798. See how the Federalists tried to hang on to power by restricting voting privileges and infringing on free speech and freedom of the press.

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