This lesson will focus on freedom of assembly, as found in the First Amendment. Students will consider the importance of the right to assemble and protest by analyzing cases where First Amendment rights were in question. Using the case National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, students will consider if the government is ever allowed to control the ability to express ideas in public because viewpoints are controversial, offensive, or painful. Students will use primary sources and Supreme Court cases to consider whether the courts made the correct decision in the National Socialist Party v. Skokie case. Students will be able to form an opinion on the essential question: Is the government ever justified to restrict the freedom to assemble?
Freedom of Assembly: National Socialist Party v. Skokie
This film explores the First Amendment right of the “people peaceably to assemble” through the lens of the U.S. Supreme Court case National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie. The legal fight between neo-Nazis and Holocaust survivors over a planned march in a predominantly Jewish community led to a ruling that said the neo-Nazis could not be banned from marching peacefully because of the content of their message.
Women and the Right to Vote
Did the Nineteenth Amendment provide women with more than the right to vote? Which amendment process was used? How did this amendment affect the United States in the last one hundred years? All these questions and many others are discussed in this lesson.
What Is the Census and Why Do We Use It?
Many students do not understand the importance of the Census and why it is taken. This lesson will help students understand the importance of the Census historically and the importance of its contemporary use.
Deliberation Materials: Should Voting Be Compulsory in the United States? (Middle School)
Should voting be compulsory in the United States? This activity includes a deliberation reading and glossary, as well as accompanying handouts to give students additional information on the topic and to guide them through the deliberation process from planning to reflection. Deliberation teaches people how to discuss controversial issues by carefully considering multiple perspectives and searching for consensus. In preparation for deliberations, all participants read common, balanced background information on the issue. During the discourse, they offer arguments for each position on a contested public issue, first drawing from the text and then bringing in their own experiences.
Bill of Rights Booklet – Elementary and Middle Schools
Want your students to have their own Bill of Rights booklet? This booklet has the verbiage from the Bill of Rights and a space for students to be able to paraphrase what each amendment means.
Letters to the President (Elementary)
In this lesson, students will learn both to be informed and to be engaged as they learn about an issue that is important to them, and communicate their thoughts on the issue to the President of the United States.
Letters to the President (Secondary)
In this lesson, students will learn both to be informed and to be engaged as they learn about an issue that is important to them, and communicate their thoughts on the issue to the President of the United States.
Midterm Elections Matter
This lesson is intended to help students understand that midterm elections (whether they be for congressional candidates, governor, state representatives, or state initiatives) are equally as important as the presidential race every four years.
3 Must-Have Supreme Court Nomination Documents
“3 Must-Have Supreme Court Nomination Documents” looks at President Ronald Reagan’s appointment of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in 1986. Primary Source A outlines the suggested qualities of an ideal candidate for President Reagan to nominate to the Supreme Court. Primary Source B provides a Memo to the President from Peter J.
Wallison, Counsel to the President, in which Wallison provides background information with a few potential questions for both Justice Rehnquist and Judge Scalia. Primary Source C is a transcript from President Reagan’s August 9, 1986, Radio Talk on the appointment of the Supreme Court Justices. Each of these documents showcase the amount of thought and consideration the president must take when nominating a Supreme Court Justice.