Death Penalty: Just Punishment?

http://catalog.socialstudies.com/c/@Wmpv2OzYB_jKE/Pages/article.html?article@penalty

Description: We, the Judges of the Supreme Court of the U.S. do hereby request briefs from lawyer-designates on the equity of capital punishment. You have been selected to present an argument to the Court. Standards 12.3.2.civics, 12.5.1 civics, aaand 12.10 civics

Author: Social Studies School Service

Lesson ID: 291

Eighteenth-Century and Twentieth-Century Forms of Resistance

http://www.history.org/

Description: When unpopular laws are enacted or when unfavorable actions are taken on the part of a group or a government, there is often open resistance to the laws or actions. Resistance is demonstrated in many different forms, including written objections, words to songs, prints and political cartoons, mob violence, and even war. In this lesson, students will discuss the various types of resistance used in colonial times and compare them with the forms of resistance that take place in the twentieth century. Standards 8.1.2, 11.1.1, and 12.10

Author: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Lesson ID: 347

Exporing Constitutional Conflicts: Introduction to the Establishment Clause

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/estabinto.htm

Description: What was the framer's original understanding of the Establishment Clause? Do we want "a wall of separation between church and state"? Is such a wall even possible? How should the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause be reconciled? Review the cases and discuss these and related questions. Standards 8.2.5, 11.3.5, 12.5.1 and 12.10

Author: Doug Linder, University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School.

Lesson ID: 1558

Faith-Based Initiatives: Separation of Church and State

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/teachers/lp_faith.html

Description: The principle of separation of church and state, the guarantee religious freedom and the prevention any one religious group from imposing its beliefs on others, are founding principles in U.S. government. Yet the line between the religious and the secular is often blurred, and conflict often arises between those who want to see more evidence of religious faith in public life and those who want to maintain strict separation. This tension was seen recently in the plan to fund faith-based social and charitable services with federal monies. Explore the complex territory where church and state intersect. Frame your own questions about practices regarding faith-based initiatives and charitable choice, and examine the recent issue of the Ten Commandments monument placed in front of an Alabama courthouse. Standards 11.3.1, 11.11.7, 12.10

Author: Religion and Ethics Newsweekly

Lesson ID: 1560

First Amendment and Student Expression

http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/VideoDetail.aspx?category=C

Description: This C-SPAN clip with discussion questions focuses on a Close Up Foundation forum where students from the Madiera school, a private school in Virginia and Balou High School, a public school in Washington D.C. discuss their views on self expression, the First Amendment, and how the First Amendment applies to their school. The guest for this discussion is Charles Haynes, Senior Scholar at the First Amendment Center. Viewing of this video clip requires free registration to the C-SPAN site. Standard 12.10

Author: C-SPAN Classroom

Lesson ID: 1496

Freedom of Hate Speech? Investigating Hate Group Propaganda and Free Speech on the Internet

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/19990318thursday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons

Description: Defend or refute whether hate groups should enjoy the same right of free speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment as individuals and groups that promote less controversial beliefs. Should the Internet censor web sites that promote such groups? Examine a New York Times article about these issues and analyze and critique a Web site that speaks out about hate groups, hate crimes, discrimination, and First Amendment rights. Standards 10.11, 12.2.1, 12.8 all, 12.10

Author: Alison Zimbalist, The New York Times Learning Network Lorin Driggs, The Bank Street College of Education in New York City, Lorin Driggs, The Bank Street College of Education in New York City

Lesson ID: 422

Griswald v Connecticut: Landmark Cases

http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/instructional/resources/Lessons/Lessons_List.asp?action=showDetails&id=115&ref=showCatD&catId=7

Description: In the landmark Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) the Court held that the right of privacy within marriage predated the Constitution. The ruling asserted that the First, Third, Fourth, and Ninth Amendments also protect the individual?s right to privacy. Examine this case to learn the legal reasoning involved and discuss other issues related to personal privacy and the law. Standards 12.5.1 and 12.10

Author: Bill of rights Institute

Lesson ID: 1414

Impact of Watergate on American Confidence in Government

http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/crossroads/sec5/Unit_11/Unit_11L6.html

Description: A succession of hammer-blows between 1963 and 1974 -- the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.; the collapse of the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 had made Americans fearful. The Watergate crisis that drove President Richard Nixon from office in 1974, shattered confidence in the nation's future. Describe and analyze the role that one of the following groups or constituencies played in the Watergate crisis -- the press, the judiciary, party organizations, Congress, and the Special Prosecutor's office. Provide evidence to demonstrate an understanding of the long-term impact of the Watergate scandal on the institution of the Presidency and the constitutional system. Standards 11.11.4 and 12.10

Author: Richard B. Bernstein and Edwin J.Cook, Crossroads Curriculum

Lesson ID: 556

Is a Fair Trial Possible in the Age of Mass Media?

http://www.crf-usa.org/bria/bria11_1.html#media

Description: To assure fair trials, some nations, like Great Britain, prohibit most news stories about pending or ongoing criminal trials. In the United States, the First Amendment prohibits press censorship. When publicity threatens a defendant?s right to a fair trial, courts must use remedies other than censorship to protect the defendant?s right. In this activity, students role-play judges deciding what the best remedy is to reduce the effect of high publicity in three criminal cases. Standard 12.10

Author: Bill of Rights in Action, Constitutional Rights Foundation

Lesson ID: 1367

Is the Internet Igniting Violence? The Internet, the First Amendment, and the Massacre at Columbine High School

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/19990429thursday.html?searchpv=learning_lessons

Description: Discuss how various issues regarding restrictions on the Internet are impacted by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, particularly in light of the recent school shooting and bombing in Littleton, Colorado. Participate in a round-table discussion of these issues, as well as develop, distribute, and analyze the results of a survey about Internet regulations and the applications of the First Amendment in our increasingly technological society. Standards 10.11, 12.2.1, 12.8 all, 12.10

Author: Alison Zimbalist, The New York Times Learning Network, Lorin Driggs, The Bank Street College of Education in New York City

Lesson ID: 585