Students' Rights Under the First Amendment
Grade Level:
Grades 6-12
Language:
English
Format:
Presentation
Source:
Judges in the Classroom
OBJECTIVES
Students will:
- Identify the five freedoms protected by the First Amendment.
- Explain how the Supreme Court interprets student free speech rights.
- Compare how free speech rights differ inside and outside of school.
- Analyze real Supreme Court cases and determine whether expressions were protected speech.
- Discuss how online speech (social media posts) may or may not be protected.
This lesson is best for:
History or journalism classes. Classes exploring free speech, the Bill of Rights, or simply interested in landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases related to the rights of young people.
PREP NEEDED
For older learners, the volunteer may choose to dive more deeply into a few cases instead of covering all of them.
The oral arguments posted for each case provide audio of actual argument. For example https://www.oyez.org/cases/2006/06-278 You may choose to play one to demonstrate the pace and intensity of a Supreme Court argument. In Morse v. Frederick, Starr references Tinker. These could support a discussion on precedence.
LINKS
Note: Resources are hosted on the Courts Connected SharePoint Site.