I AM FREE TO SAY

WHATEVER I WANT!

SPEECH AND THE CONSTITUTION

By Sabrina Hunt

Special Education

JHS 149

Introduction

Many students feel they can say whatever they want but do not understand why they have this privilege. They also don’t understand that this privilege can be lost in certain circumstances. The goal of this lesson is to held students understand the connection between the Constitution, our legal system and freedom of speech.

Task

You have been selected as a lawyer for one of your classmates who believes that the school has violated her ability to say whatever she wants. The student believes that “her mother gave her a mouth and she can say whatever she wants!” Of course after a run in with a teacher, she was sent to the Dean after making some inappropriate remarks. She has asked you to defend “her right to speak her mind”. You have several tasks:

§ You must research the Constitution to find how to support the idea that she can say whatever she wants

§ You must find court cases that support her ideas

§ You must present these findings in a Power Point presentation

Process

§ Students will be asked what is “freedom of speech” and where does the idea come from?

§ Students will take the TIPS handout 1A to assess their opinion on freedom of speech

§ Students will be given TIPS handout 1B to discuss different types or situations of freedom of speech

§ Students will be given the first amendment in the Constitution to discuss in groups then reconvene as a whole class to state their opinions about this amendment.

§ Students will use the Resources section to find cases that support a student’s right to free speech.

§ Students will present their findings in a PowerPoint presentation

Resources

TIPS Conlaw site

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/conlaw.html

US Constitution

http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html

TIPS Freedom of Speech Page

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/fos

TIPS Resources and Tutorials

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/tutorials.html

TIPS Teacher and Student Resources-Great Place to Research Cases

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/related.html

Evaluation

RUBRIC	BELOW STANDARDS	MEETS STANDARDS	EXCEEDS STANDARDS
INFORMATION	INFORMATION NOT RELEVANT TO LESSON	INFORMATION RELEVANT TO LESSON	INFORMATION RELEVANT TO LESSON WITH RESOURCES
PRESENTATION	INCOHERENT LACK OF VISUALS GROUP WAS NOT ORGANIZED	HAS SOME UNDERSTANDING OF INFORMATION HAS VISUALS COHERENT MOST OF THE GROUP MEMBERS PARTICIPATED	COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF INFORMATION HAS VISUALS COHERENT GROUP WORKS WELL TOGETHER

Conclusion

You will understand what is freedom of speech, how it is protected, what amendment supports our right to freedom of speech and why it is important.

New York State Standards

English Language Arts Standards

§ E1C Read and comprehend informational materials

§ E2a Produce a report of information

§ E3b Participate in group meetings

Social Studies Standards

§ Standard 1-History of the United States and New York

§ Standard 5-Civics, Citizenship, and Government