South Carolina ETV
South Carolina ETV
1101 George Rogers Boulevard
Columbia, SC 29201-4761
Phone: 803-737-3545
You Can Say That Again! (Grade 10)
Master Teacher
Shelley Somers
Time Allotment
Two 90-minute periods
Overview
This lesson is an introduction to the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment, focusing on freedom of speech. After discussion and a short video, students will work in cooperative groups to rewrite and assess the importance of our freedoms. They will apply this information to a simulation of a Supreme Court case involving freedom of speech.
Subject Matter
English (American Studies)
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Identify and evaluate the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights;
- Synthesize ideas into an oral presentation;
- Draw conclusions based upon amendments;
- Apply freedom of speech information to simulation activity.
South Carolina Standards
II.F- Recognize and demonstrate qualities of effective communication.
III.A- Create and deliver oral presentations.
III.B- Participate in and report small-group activities.
IV.A- Develop a variety of writings.
III.H- Select and use appropriate strategies to plan spoken products.
V.A- The student will collect, evaluate, and organize information.
Media Components
Video
Voices in Democracy, Lesson 2, "The Living Constitution."Voices in Democracy, Lesson 19, "First Amendment of Freedoms."(Note to Teacher: These lessons are available on separate videos so they both can be cued before the lesson.)
Web Sites
Supreme Court's Opinion on Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School District examines the right of student free speech in school.
The Oyez Project Northwestern University goes into more detail concerning Tinker vs. Des Moines Ind. Comm. School Dist.Materials
Per student:
- Activity Sheet 1: Board of Education Proposal
- Activity Sheet 2: Bill of Rights
- Activity Sheets 3 and 4: Tinker vs. Des Moines
- Copy of graphic organizer
- 10 pieces of chart paper
- markers
- Four copies of directions for simulation (one per cooperative group)
Prep for Teachers
- Request videos, preview segments, and cue them to beginning spots.
- Make copies of all the Activity Sheets for each student.
- Bookmark Web sites.
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List names of students in each cooperative group (3-4 students per group).
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When using media, provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction, a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.
Day 1
Introductory Activity
Step 1: Tell students that they are about to receive the new high school rules and regulations proposed by the Board of Education. Explain that board members feel these new stipulations will improve student achievement. Distribute Activity Sheet 1. Instruct students to read the sheet silently.
Step 2: Ask each student to respond with a word or a phrase describing how they feel about the new rules. Next ask students if they feel the Board of Education will be able to implement and enforce these new rules. Guide the discussion by asking students if Americans are guaranteed any human rights, and introduce the Bill of Rights.
Learning Activities
Step 1: Inform students that they will be watching a video explaining the Bill of Rights. Provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction by instructing them to take notes that explain what the Bill of Rights is.
Step 2: PLAY Lesson 2, "The Living Constitution." BEGIN the video after the jet flies off and the Constitution is on the screen. The narrator is saying, "The constitution has remained a living document.."
STOP video after two young girls say, "It gives you freedom." Instruct students to construct a definition of the Bill of Rights from their notes.
Step 3: Divide the class into predetermined cooperative groups. Distribute one copy of the Bill of Rights (Activity Sheet 2) to each student. Assign 1-2 amendments to each group (depending on the number of groups divided by 10 amendments), asking students to rewrite the amendment(s) in their own words.
Responses will be written in large letters on chart paper and hung up across the front of the room.
Step 4: Read responses aloud. Then continued playing Lesson 2, "The Living Constitution." BEGIN when the Constitution is on the screen and the narrator is saying, "The Bill of Rights affects all people in the U.S. everyday." STOP after the policeman says, "Everybody has a right to speak their minds.."
Culminating Activity
Step 1: Tell students that they are to create an advertising campaign to convince the rest of the class that the amendment they chose as number one is the most important. This campaign must include one oral, one visual and one written component. For example: posters, Power Point presentations, public service announcements, flyers, journal entries, pamphlets, TV commercials, newspaper advertisements, etc.
Day 2
Introductory Activity
Step 1: Direct students to access the Web site and read information about Tinker vs. Des Moines. Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by asking students to answer questions on Activity Sheet 3 as they read about the case.
Step 2: Summarize the case with the students. Guide the discussion by asking how wearing an armband is freedom of speech. Ask students to name ways they exercise freedom of speech daily.
Step 3: Direct students to access the Web site and read more about the ruling in the Tinker case.
Step 4: Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by asking students to answer the questions pertaining to this case on Activity Sheet 4.
Learning Activities
Step 1: Now you are ready for students to view Lesson 19, "First Amendment of Freedoms." BEGIN after the comedian has finished. The Constitution is on the screen and the narrator is saying, "Congress shall make no law.." STOP the film when the narrator says, "The freedom of speech makes the U.S. seem like a place where anything can happen, but there are limits."
Step 2: Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by asking students to list the situations in which a citizen's freedom of speech may be limited.
Step 3: Then hold a class discussion on the results.
Step 4: Next, explain to students that they will be reading a brief description of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in order to understand the true court case of Frank Collin vs. Skokie, Illinois. Distribute Activity Sheet 5.
Step 5: Then, ask students to outline the article using a graphic organizer. Distribute Activity Sheet 6.
Step 6: Discuss main points of the article with the class.
Culminating Activity
Step 1: Explain to the class that they are now going to simulate this court case. Direct the class to divide into their cooperative groups. Distribute the Group Roles handout (Activity Sheet 7) and review requirements with class. Assign one role to each group.
Step 2: Each group presents its work to the class.
Step 3: Take a vote on the court's decision. Ask those students who feel that Frank Collin should be allowed to march to raise their hands. Tally and record on the board. Ask students who feel that Frank Collin should not be allowed to march to raise their hands. Tally and record on board. Explain that the court upheld Collin's right to freedom of speech based on the first amendment and Collin was given permission to march.
Cross-Curricular Extensions
U.S. History: Review other court cases involving the Bill of Rights.
Bingo Game: Make bingo cards showing numbers 1-10 (numbers stand for the amendments). Call out the freedoms, for example "Freedom of Speech" and have students place a marker on the correct amendment number. A variation might entail calling out violations (e.g., a citizen is stopped and searched for no apparent reason) and students mark the number of the amendment violated.
Technology: Create a Constitution booklet outlining the articles. Include primary source photographs.
Social Studies/Current Events: Present recent Supreme Court rulings. Write journal entries explaining the rights violated and the court's decisions
Community Connections
- Visit a local court and watch a trial.
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Visit the South Carolina Room at the public library. Research South Carolina's involvement with the Constitution.
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Visit the State House in Columbia. Create a scavenger hunt for students to complete.
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Invite a lawyer from the ACLU to speak to the class about the Bill of Rights.
Student Materials
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pencil and paper
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copies of Activity Sheets
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markers
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chart paper
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