Do Massachusetts tobacco restrictions on advertising violate the First Amendment rights of tobacco advertisers? This case summary shows how the Supreme Court answered that question in 2001.
LULAC v. Perry (2006)
Does a redistricting plan motivated primarily by partisan considerations violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments? This case summary shows how the Supreme Court answered that question in 2006.
Morse v. Frederick (2007)
Does the First Amendment allow public schools to prohibit students from displaying pro-drug messages during a school-supervised event? This case summary shows how the Supreme Court answered that question in 2007.
Argument Wars (Game and Teacher Guide)
In Argument Wars, students will try out their persuasive abilities by arguing a real Supreme Court case. The other lawyer is their competition. Whoever uses the strongest arguments wins!
The Fourth Branch: YOU! (Lesson Plan)
Students learn how citizens can influence the government. They measure the impact of their “citizen power” on each of the three branches and learn how to target the right government official with their concerns. (Note: This lesson will be most effective if students have some background knowledge of the three branches of government.)
Civic Action and Change (Lesson Plan and Powerpoint)
Students explore examples of civic action and change by looking at the efforts in four movements in the 20th century; women’s rights, disability awareness, Native American rights, and migrant worker rights. Through these examples, student will describe the process of civic action through the I AM chart (Inform, Act, Maintain).
Colonial Influences (Lesson Plan and Powerpoint)
American colonists had some strong ideas about what they wanted in a government. These ideas surface in colonial documents, and eventually became a part of the founding documents like the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. But where did they come from? This lesson looks at the Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, English Bill of Rights, Cato’s Letters and Common Sense.
Grade 6-8 The Bill of Rights & Me
The purpose of this lesson is to investigate the Bill of Rights through the perspective of someone living during the ratification period. After exploring the historical perspective of the Bill of Rights through study of the Dissent of the Minority in Pennsylvania, students will be asked to apply the rights they learned about to their lives today and assess, critique, and solve problems based on the modern meaning of these rights.
A Conversation on Freedom of Speech
Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Anthony M. Kennedy and Sandra Day O’Connor and students discuss the First Amendment’s right to free speech, and in particular students’ free speech rights in the Supreme Court cases Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District and Morse v. Frederick. In the Tinker case, students wore black armbands to school in silent protest of the Vietnam War. In the Morse case, a student held up a sign that said “Bong HITS 4 Jesus” at a parade.
The Story of the Bill of Rights
This documentary tells the story of these individual freedoms that often are taken for granted today. But in 1787, when they were first discussed at the Constitutional Convention, the Founding Fathers rejected them. Why were these rights controversial then? The full story about these rights, including what they say and what they mean, is explained. Ten short videos examine each of the amendments in the Bill of Rights.