1. Ask students if they have ever been mocked or deliberately offended by someone because of their race, nationality, religion or gender. Have a few students offer examples. Discuss whether laws or school rules should ban such acts or whether to do so might place too much restriction on our freedom of speech.

2. Select two students to role-play the phone conversation in Handout 6A. Distribute Handout 6B, the case visual, to compare the facts with those in the role-play.

3. Either review the decision with students (see above) or see further enrichment.

Use the Discussion Questions on Handout 6A. Be sure that students understand the difficulty of balancing the need to protect minorities with the need to maintain freedom of speech.

Based on multiple intelligence theory.

Linguistic: Tell the class that St. Paul's law was designed to stop "hate speech." However, the Supreme Court in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul stated that he law was too vague and selective. The teacher should then explain the terms vague and selective and how they are used by the Supreme Court. Rewrite the law so that it would not be considered vague or selective by the Court.

Logical/Mathematical: Have students discuss the statement from Handout 6B, "If the First Amendment should protect civil rights protesters, then maybe it has to protect racists also." Ask students if this statement is logical and reasonable and have them explain why. Then ask students if a logical statement always leads to the best result.

Spatial: Have students collect pictures, newspaper headlines and cartoons that deal with hate literature, hate crimes and efforts to prevent them. Students should make a collage of these materials.

Tell students to design buttons and bumper stickers opposing hate and promoting respect, appreciation and understanding of all ethnic and cultural groups.

Kinesthetic: Have students assemble in pairs. One member of the pair sits on the floor while the other student outlines him/her in chalk. Each pair of students should explore the similarities and differences between them especially if they are of different ethnic groups. Then have each pair discuss the benefits of having similarities and differences between people and focus on what they like most about each other.

Have students interview a relative and ask if he/she has ever faced hatred because of his/her ethnic, cultural or religious group. How was this hatred expressed? How did this relative deal with hatred?

Kinesthetic/Musical: Have students create a dance to music that shows how love and understanding of cultural and ethnic groups can overcome hate and misunderstanding.

Musical: Play a song appropriate to the age group of students that expresses hate. Have the class discuss the rights of various groups to play this music.

Intrapersonal: Ask student volunteers to share any experience in which they were discriminated against because of race, culture, ethnic group, religion, gender, sexual preference or physical appearance. How did they feel about it? What did they do about it? Have students think about a positive experience with a person of another ethnic, cultural, racial or religious group and explain how they felt about this experience.

Intrapersonal: Ask student volunteers to share any experience in which they were discriminated against because of race, culture, ethnic group, religion, gender, sexual preference or physical appearance. How did they feel about it? What did they do about it? Have students think about a positive experience with a person of another ethnic, cultural, racial or religious group and explain how they felt about this experience.

Interpersonal: Have students assemble in groups and brainstorm methods of stopping hate literature and speech without violating the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The groups will engage in "active listening" in which each member must summarize the ideas of the previous speaker before expressing his/her own viewpoint. The previous speaker must agree that his/her ideas were accurately summarized.

Smith: "Well, what he did was terrible, but I never thought about it in connection with freedom of speech. You remember that I marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960’s in Alabama. Many of the things we did during the civil rights movement were certainly intended to ‘arouse anger, alarm and resentment’ concerning the segregation of blacks. If the First Amendment should protect civil rights protesters, then maybe it has to protect racists also."

Johnson: "So now you’re taking the side of that racist!"

Smith: "No, but my experiences in the civil rights movement taught me first hand the value of freedom of speech. The views that we expressed in Alabama were very unpopular and despised by the majority back at that time. Today, people like R.A.V. are a tiny minority who have very offensive opinions. What he did to you and your family that night was terrible and he should be punished for it. I just don’t know whether that law goes too far and endangers freedom of speech."

Discussion Questions:

1. In American history, what group burned crosses to terrorize blacks? What crimes against blacks sometimes would take place after such cross burnings?

2. Why do you think many states and cities passed laws in the 1980’s law St. Paul’s?

3. Cross burnings and Nazi swastikas are examples of symbolic speech. Can you list some other examples that may be offensive?

4. Do you think acts such as cross burnings and Nazi swastikas when directly aimed at blacks and Jews should be illegal? Or should such acts be protected by the First Amendment?

5. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule in this case? Give your reasons.