Should students have to participate in a
pre-game
prayer before football games?
Thomas Webb
8th Grade
Introduction
We have all seen movies
where before the big game the coach or chaplain (minister) leads the team in a
prayer for victory. Examples of this
would be movies like Rudy, Hoosiers, or Any Given
Sunday. What if a student before every
game was asked to lead a prayer?
Task
You will:
- Locate in the constitution the amendment that
promises freedom of religion.
- Research the history of prayer in public
schools prior to the year 2000.
- Draw Conclusions on the outcome of
- Compose an acceptable inspirational speech that
would be in compliance to the organized prayer rules of the Supreme Court.
Process
A.
What do you
know about the
B.
How did you
do? Well, let’s learn more about the
First Amendment to the Constitution.
Click on the news article in your resource section. Read it. Answer the
following questions.
C.
Should a school force students to participate
in a daily religious prayer? Why or why not? Can students themselves pray
before major events on school grounds? Why or Why not?
D.
Read the First
Amendment. Now that you know what it says; Whom do
you believe The Supreme Court will decide in favor of the case
E.
Still don’t know? Let’s look at another case about religion and
schools. Click on the court case Engle v. Vitale in the resource section. Read the visual.
F.
Now go to the decision. Did
you agree or disagree with the decision?
G.
In the
H.
What were the
values of the school community in the case? What were the values of the student
in the case?
I.
Using your
knowledge of the values of both parties compose a speech that will encompass
both without a religious tone.
Resources
Engle v.
Vitale visual- https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/scales/engelvis.html
Bill of
Rights visual- https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/bor.html
Evaluation
Students will give their
speeches in class. They will be graded
based on peer critique of their performance.
The goal is to give a speech that will give encouragement for the team
to win while at the same time complying to the
Supreme
Court rules.
Conclusion
The Supreme Court ruled
that a school sports team can gather to pray but they cannot assign a student
to lead the prayer. After completing
this webquest you will have gained a thorough
knowledge on the subject on prayer in school today.
Standards
English Language Arts
E1c-Read and comprehend
informational materials
E2a-Produce a report of
information
E3b-Participate in- group
meetings
E3c-Prepare and deliver an
individual presentation
E4a-Demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English Language in
written and oral work
E5a-Utilizing and analyzing
functional documents
E7a-Utilizing and analyzing
public documents
Social Studies
Standard 1: History of the
Standard 5: Civic,
Citizenship, and Government