First Amendment Free Speech Activity Project - Civics End of Year Project

Teach the First Amendment by having students use their free speech rights

with this real-life exploration of the First Amendment, Supreme Court cases, and school dress codes that asks, "What actually are my rights?"

This kit comes in two formats: print PDF and editable digital Google files.

By the end of this project, your students will be able to

• Apply learning from various landmark free speech cases as well as their own school policy
• Research and evaluate news sources on a current issue of their choice
• Develop own message of protest or support using linguistic best practices
• Voice their position on a social justice to a current issue
• Cite their sources and articulate their research process

This project is included in my Supreme Court and Civil Liberties Inquiry Unit

Greatness is exercising one’s own voice to create positive change.

Leave the boring textbook behind and instead give space for your students to knowledgeably practice their Constitutional right of free speech with this authentic PBL project.

Challenge students to grow beyond comprehension of abstract case law andthe First Amendment. Instead let them demonstrate for themselves what is and isn’t a Constitutional act of free expression.

After learning relevant free speech Supreme Court decisions, students explore recent lower court cases as well as the pages of their own school handbook to answer the question, “What is protected speech at school?”

To culminate learning, students research an issue important to them as well as effective messaging before creating one of their own.

This project can be done well in 1-2 weeks and is a perfect way to culminate your Civics course!

Included in this complete First Amendment Free Speech project kit:

Teacher Materials

• Project Overview & Daily Lesson Plans for each step
• Rubrics
• Print & go PDF and editable Google Slides

Student Materials & Activities

• Project Coversheet with discrete steps to check off
• Landmark Free Speech Cases -- closely read the Supreme Court’s decision on free speech cases like Tinker, Bethel, and Johnson to determine the “rules” regarding this highly protected right,
• Understanding Check -- using several lower court decisions and the recent controversial case, Morse v. Frederick, to formative assess learning
• My School’s Free Speech-- explore your school’s own free speech policies to connect to legal precedents and case law
• Current Issue Research -- dig into a current issue to express support or opposition to using quality news sources
• Free Speech Artifact -- design an original t-shirt, button, or backpack tag message using a step-by-step planning sheet, tips from linguists, and student-friendly rubrics
• Process Paper -- write a brief summary of the current issue and feelings about it as well as process for developing artifact
• BONUS Skill Sheets-- Annotating a Text, Analyzing News Media Sources, Finding Appropriate Sources, Creating a Works Cited, Annotating a Citation

Standards Supported While standards vary, this kit supports the following from various states:

• Analyze the effectiveness of various methods of expression in the political process
• Analyze examples of citizen movements to bring about change
• Analyze the importance of the First Amendment rights

Want the complete unit?

Supreme Court and Civil Liberties Inquiry Unit dig more deeply into the people and the system that defines our rights

Want more American Government / Civics resources?

Citizenship Test and Op-Ed Project make citizens out of your students with this semester-long project

Political Service Project make community members out of your students with this semester-long project

3 Branches Unit contrast how the federal government works in theory and in practice

Voting and Mock Election Unit explore a variety of voting issues; universal for any upcoming election

Constitutional Issues Research Paper Project end with a highly-scaffolded, college-ready research paper

Brand new to teaching Civics / Government and need everything?

Civics & American Government course bundle teach this inquiry-driven and project-based semester course with confidence!

This listing is for one license for regular, non-commercial classroom use by a single teacher only. Commercial use like online teaching (ex. Outschool) or sharing with other teachers (ex. shared drive, in a Facebook group, in a professional development training) is strictly prohibited.

By purchasing a license to this resource, you have access to all future updates at no cost, available under “My Purchases." Multiple and transferable licenses are available for purchase. PDF files are uneditable, other files have editing abilities, unless otherwise stated. All files are protected under federal copyright laws.

To request a complete terms of use prior to purchase or if you have any questions about this resource, please leave a question below under Product Q&A.