Lesson Plans

Find Your Freedom Beyond the Bill of Rights

Students analyze primary sources from the Library of Congress to identify freedoms, then review background information about the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. Next, students match the amendments related to some of the freedoms they identified through analyzing sources and then work in small groups to reach consensus and propose a new amendment to secure freedoms not included in the Bill of Rights.

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Journalists and a Free Press

Students learn about the crucial role journalists and reporters play in keeping the citizens in a democratic society informed about their community, the nation, and the world. First, students are introduced to the notion of “freedom of the press” from the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and discuss the role of journalists in reporting the news to us all. Next, students analyze primary sources related to famous journalists while referring to historical context for each in order to understand the important role these journalists played in their time. Finally, students create an issue of their own school newspaper to understand the responsibility their have as journalists to report accurately, fairly, and truthfully.

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Equality Under the Law: Problems and Solutions

Students examine how equality under the law has evolved in the United States. Students then use both primary and secondary sources to summarize and report on a problem of equality and its solution under the law, and reflect on how these lessons from history can help them as they consider issues of inequality in contemporary society

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