Resources for K-12 Teachers and Students

A new national study has revealed that many of today's high school students think the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees, and are more accepting of government censorship than adults. The study also found, however, that students have a greater appreciation and understanding of the First Amendment when it is included in their educational curriculums.

This page provides information about resources for teaching about the Bill of Rights and current threats to civil liberties. We hope these resources will assist educators trying to include such issues in their classrooms. Please send any suggestions for additions to info@bordc.org.

Choose resources for teaching the following topics:

• Civil liberties and the USA PATRIOT Act
• Countering stereotypes and discrimination against Arab Americans
• The US Constitution and Bill of Rights
  • For Constitution Day
  • For any day

• The Indiana University Law School offers a lesson plan for teaching fifth graders (PDF) about the tension between security and civil liberties in the USA PATRIOT Act. Other lesson plans on the Bill of Rights are included in the curriculum used by law students who visit classrooms.
• The Constitutional Rights Foundation's Bill of Rights in Action series includes The Patriot Act: What Is the Proper Balance Between National Security and Individual Rights?
• PBS offers the following:
  • A student-friendly report on the pros and cons of the USA PATRIOT Act with related readings and discussion questions.
  • Curriculum guides for discussing the right to dissent (items 9 and 10), suited for middle/high school.
• The New York Times offers a middle/high school lesson plan focusing on military tribunals and the USA PATRIOT Act.
• Teaching Matters offers materials for students on the pros and cons of the USA PATRIOT Act.
• War, Terrorism, and America’s Classrooms, a special issue of Rethinking Schools, is available online and includes several articles on civil liberties and the USA PATRIOT Act. Also available from Rethinking Schools is Rethinking Our Classrooms, Vol. 2, a collection which includes "A New U.S. Bill of Rights" and other chapters on teaching about civil liberties.
• The Social Science Research Council provides essays and teaching guides for a unit on "Terrorism and Democratic Virtues". Appropriate for high school and college, the unit includes multiple perspectives on issues related to civil liberties and security.
• Conflict in Context: Understanding Local to Global Security is an inquiry-based high school curriculum that examines conflict and security in students’ own lives and communities and explores connections to public policy and decision-making at local, national, and global levels. It is produced and distributed by Educators for Social Responsibility.

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• PBS provides middle/high school lesson plans for examining discrimation against Arab Americans following September 11.
• Scarves of Many Colors: Muslim Women and the Veil, an award-winning audiotape and curriculum that examine stereotypes of Islamic women, is distributed by Teaching for Change.
• The Center for Contemporary Arab Studies offers an online essay, Who are the Arabs?, with related lesson plans. Other printed teaching modules can be ordered for a minimal cost.
• The Arabs: Activities for the Elementary and Middle School Level (K-7) is distributed by Arab World and Islamic Resources.
• Beyond Blame: Reacting to the Terrorist Attack, a free, 25-page curriculum for middle and high school students focused on issues of justice and mislaid blame for September 11, is available for download or order from the Education Development Center.
• The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee offers lesson plans and suggestions for teachers about countering stereotypes and discrimination against Arab Americans.

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• The Constitution Day web site is full of resources for educators and students, federal employees, individuals, and parents.
• The National Constitution Center invites schools, workplaces, and organizations to participate in America Reads the Constitution. Their downloadable kit contains instructions, press materials, parts for 109 readers, and 50 optional additional readings from speeches of famous people.
• The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators provides a Constitution Day Implementation Guide.
• The Bill of Rights Institute offers instructional materials and resources for Constitution Day.
• The Constitutional Rights Foundation has bundled its educational resources suitable for Constitution Day into one page.
• The Center for Civic Education has created a web page of lessons for different grade levels.
• BORDC's Bill of Rights bookmarks. Download the PDF files to print them for your class. Available in English and Spanish.

For any day:

• Scholastic Magazine provides:
  • Instructions for creating a Class Bill of Rights (grades K-2).
  • U.S. Constitution Roll Call (one-week plan for grades 1-2).
  • Several resources for teaching the Bill of Rights and Constitution.
• The Constitutional Rights Foundation provides online lesson plans on a number of topics such as "Foundations of Our Constitution" and "America Responds to Terrorism."
• The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan offers A Resource Guide for Teaching the Bill of Rights (PDF) online, including case studies of legal cases related to civil liberties, for middle/high school.
• The Bill of Rights: Evolution of Personal Liberties is a curriculum unit produced and distributed by the National Archives and Records Administration. It includes facsimilies of documents and lesson plans appropriate for upper elementary grades through college.
• The Bill of Rights Institute provides online lesson plans on a variety of topics, including both historical and current aspects of the Bill of Rights.
• The National Constitution Center provides online resources for teaching about the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
• Lesson Planet offers hundreds of lesson plans for teaching the Bill of Rights and the Constitution for an annual membership fee of $9.95.
• The state of Washington Courts provide lesson plans for judges to use in visits to classrooms that could also be used by classroom teachers at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels.
• Bill of Rights/Bill of Responsibility, a 30-minute video in which Bill Maher examines the historical background and current implications of the Bill of Rights, is distributed by Cambridge Educational.
• The First Amendment Schools Project provides students and teachers with news articles on current issues related to the five freedoms protected by the First Amendment. It is also developing lesson plans for teachers about the five freedoms. Schools interested in making a commitment to educating for freedom and responsibility may affiliate with First Amendment Schools and apply for grants.
• The National Endowment for the Humanities offers online lesson plans for teaching the First Amendment at the elementary level.

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Last Updated: May 12, 2006 10:35 pm EDT