In this lesson, students review three cases decided during the Supreme Court's 1993-1994 term. A set of discussion questions is provided. In an associated activity, students role play as the U.S. Supreme Court and decide one of the cases presented in the article.

Students examine documents in a collaborative learning jigsaw activity; compare the three cases; use civil discourse skills to apply precedent to a contemporary school walkout; and play all of the roles in a scripted version of oral arguments before the Supreme Court in Tinker v. Des Moines.

In this lesson, students read primary and secondary source documents about the Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines and freedom of speech. Students then answer analysis questions about the case.

This resource informs students about the Supreme Court case, Tinker v. Des Moines School District. At a public school in Des Moines, Iowa, students organized a silent protest against the Vietnam War. Students planned to wear black armbands to school to protest the fighting but the principal found out and told the students they would be suspended if they wore the armbands. Despite the warning, students wore the armbands and were suspended. During their suspension the students' parents sued the school for violating their children's right to free speech. A U.S. district court sided with the school, ruling that wearing armbands could disrupt learning. The students appealed the ruling to a U.S. Court of Appeals but lost and took their case to the United States Supreme Court. In 1969 the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision in favor of the students. The high court agreed that students' free rights should be protected and said, "Students don't shed their constitutional rights at the school house gates."

In this lesson, students will explore themes of First Amendment rights and the freedom to read, while also gaining an actiTo Ban or Not to Ban the Invisible Man: A School Board Simulationve understanding of the roles of School Board members and the responsibilities of active community members, by participating in a School Board simulation where they grapple with the same choice: whether or not to ban Invisible Man.

This resource provides an account of the trial held for the conspirators of President Lincoln's assassination.

Students explore how immigration, citizenship, due process of law, and the freedoms of speech and assembly have shaped American values throughout American history. The article for this assignment can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20011119monday.html.

In this activity, students will look at images from 1919 to explore the nature of the "Red Scare" of the World War I era, and think about it the context of current attitudes toward civil liberties since the September 11th attacks.

In this lesson, students read primary and secondary source documents about the Supreme Court case Zelman v. Simmons-Harris and the 1st amendment. Students then answer analysis questions about the case.