Students research on the Web and in books with city statutes or call city officials to find out the local ordinance on posting signs on utility poles. If illegal, students explore what has happened elsewhere when citizens decided to...

Analyze a seminal speech from the 20th century with an activity focused on President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address. After reading an excerpt from the address, pupils use a learning exercise to practice their reading...

Listen to and analyze a presidential speech in order to explain the principles held by the president and the historical context in which the speech was made. Then hold a campaign and election simulation involving featured presidents.

Students examine the concept of freedom of speech as it applies to music. They watch and discuss the video, "VH1 Storytellers: Pearl Jam," participate in a class discussion about free speech, conduct research, and conduct a debate.

Students consider how free speech applies to journalistic practices in light of a legal case involving two reporters. They participate in a fishbowl discussion about journalism codes of ethics and write response papers.

Students use communicative activity strategy, Go, Ask and Tell, or more traditional whole text comprehension activity to read, discuss and explore issues in article, Free Speech Comes at a Price, by Hugh Mackay.

Has society progressed to the dream Martin Luther King Jr. expressed in his famous address during the civil rights movement? Learners work with a partner to analyze one excerpt from King's "I Have A Dream" speech and find a current...

Use this communication skills lesson to emphasize evaluating a speaker's main point and argument. After reading Martin Luther King's, "I Have a Dream Speech" and John F. Kennedy's speech, "I Believe in an America Where the Separation of...

Students research online and in books city statutes regarding posting signs on utility poles, interview appropriate officials about ordinances and how completely it is enforced, explore what has happened elsewhere when citizens decided...

After watching a documentary on the Supreme Court case Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, class members research how the First Amendment and free speech issues influence judicial elections and then conduct a mock judicial election.

'Tis the season to be joyful, merry, beautiful, and red! Test young learners' knowledge of parts of speech with a festive coloring worksheet. As they identify which words are nouns and which words are adjectives, they color each part of...

What don't we know about our government? Explore the concept of transparency and freedom of information throught this analysis handout, in which scholars examine 2 political cartoons. Background information provides context, explaining...

Students receive a list of banned books from which they choose one to read. They read their chosen book and write a paper that includes a discussion of the First Amendment and its guarantees and the reason(s) why they believe their book...

Why are US dollars no longer backed by gold and silver? What is our medium of exchange, and what would it be like to live in a barter economy? Learners consider these questions, as well as learn about the major historical events in the...

Free speech, privacy, and cyberbullying are the focus of a series of activities that prompt class members to engage in discussions about these interrelated topics. They view a segment from PBS’s series on bullying, read...

Students assume identities of lawmakers, judges, writers, and protestors during times in American history when freedoms of speech and press were limited because country was on the brink of war or fighting one. Students use primary source...

Learners explore the initial Supreme Court decision to regulate commercial speech, and then analyze the legal precedents and principles underlying a recent case contesting this regulation.

Young scholars examine their individual rights at a public school. In groups, they identify the most common ways of expressing themselves and why they should limit their speech in public. They compare and contrast two cases in which they...

Students, using a New York Times article as a springboard for discussion, investigate and debate the complex issues of First Amendments Rights and censorship for Hate Groups using Websites for propaganda.

Students examine the constitutionality of various forms of expression; they then take part in a mock trial on the issue of cross burning. Divide the class into three groups; Supreme Court Justices, and two groups that don't agree on this...

Here's a worksheet designed to help learners develop their skill reading primary source documents. The questions, based on an excerpt from Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address, encourages close reading and analysis.

Learners examine how the French and American revolutions influenced and emergence of free press in these countries. Students explore the link between government control of the press and the type of government. They compare and contrast...

Take a trip to Great Britain with this fun reading lesson! Young learners read an article about many famous attributes of Britain - 101 of them, to be exact - and finish several comprehension and grammar activities about what they have...

Learners read an account of a students reaction to the Vietnam War. They complete comprehension questions from the reading passage. They read arguments from the Supreme Court Justices and decide which arguments they agree with.