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 learn exactly what they can and can’t say at school.

Then, to culminate their learning, students research an issue important to them and effective messaging before creating one of their own.

This project can be completed in 1-2 weeks and is a perfect capstone for your Civics course!

Included in this complete First Amendment Free Speech Project kit:

Teacher Materials

• • Project Overview & Daily Lesson Plans for each step

• Rubrics in student-friendly language

• Print-and-go PDF and editable Google files

Student Materials & Activities

• Project Coversheet with clear 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 the artifact
• BONUS Skill Sheets — Annotating a Text, Analyzing News Media Sources, Finding Appropriate Sources, Creating a Works Cited, Annotating a Citation

This resource is 26 PDF pages, plus Google files. 

What grades is this intended for?
This was designed for a mixed-ability high school level. Some of the content of the included court cases may be a bit too mature for middle schoolers. 

What supports are included? How can I modify this?
Activities are built with included supports to accommodate varying needs: detailed project steps and rubrics, graphic organizers, chunking, small-group and low-stakes student talk, and manipulatives.

Student materials come in editable Google file versions to allow you to modify activities by shortening, re-leveling, translating, or using text-to-speech software to support student needs. 

Can I use this in a homeschooling setting?

Sure! While this resource was designed for a traditional classroom setting, it can also be used in a solo or small-group setting. 

Is this editable? What file types does this resource come in?

The main resource is a secured, non-editable PDF file intended to be printed. Included are links to editable Google files of all the student materials.

What standards does this address?

Several! Standards vary, but this resource supports these 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

What are the terms of use for this resource?

This resource, including all ancillary files, may be used as needed for regular, non-commercial single-classroom use between a teacher and their students. 

This includes printing copies and sharing digital files with students through a secure platform, like Google Classroom or Canvas, email, or a classroom-only shared drive.

The using and sharing of any part of this resource in any manner outside the above-mentioned capacity is strictly prohibited. Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to,

• posting files on the open internet or in a Facebook group
• emailing files to or sharing print copies with others (without purchasing additional licenses)
• uploading or storing files in a shared cloud drive accessible by anyone other than students
• including any part, or any derivative work, within any commercial endeavor like curriculum development, professional training, or for-profit teaching like Outschool, or selling this resource as your own in either print or digital formats

Doing so violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), copyright law, and these terms.

By downloading this resource from Let’s Cultivate Greatness, the original user has been granted one license for a single teacher (or number of teachers matching the number of licenses purchased) and their students at any one time. 

Let’s Cultivate Greatness retains the full copyright of this resource.

After a walkout at my high school, I used this resource to help teach my students about the history of walkouts and social justice action.  – Sara L.

It is all of really good quality! I particularly loved the way that the court cases were presented in a simplified, accessible manner, as well as the way that students were encouraged to look up restrictions on free speech in their own school's rules. Really engaging, and supportive for all levels of students.   – fellow teacher-author

Great resource for our leadership class. The students enjoyed the activities. – Lynn C.