3.1 (The Bill of Rights)

Objectives:
Describe the rights protected in the Bill of Rights.
Explain how the U.S. Constitution protects individual liberties and rights.

Class Notes for the Day!

Starter: Of the following rights, which do Americans think is the least important:
freedom of speech, the right to vote, the right to privacy, freedom of religion, or the right to bear arms?

1.How accurate was your prediction?

2.What story does this data tell?

3.Why do you think that is?

4.What most surprised you about this information?

5.What is one consequence of Americans' enduring love of freedom of speech?

6.The majority of those polled say the right to own guns is not essential to Americans' sense of freedom. How do you think that impacts the recent national debate about gun reform?

7.According to this poll, which Constitutional Amendments are deemed as essential?

8.What other Amendments (not listed above) would you personally describe as indispensable to your sense of freedom?

9.How would you personally rank these five freedoms on a scale of most to least essential to your freedom?

10.Explain how differently you think the average American Republican and Democrat would rank these five freedoms.

11.If you were an autocratic government, determined to take away citizens' rights, explain which of those five rights would you first take away?

Tests Coming Back!

Word of the Day

Institution of Government (no link, you should know this one)

Define it.
Use it in a sentence.

"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.”

President Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981

Describe the political institution Reagan identifies as the problem.
In the context of the scenario, explain how the power of the institution described in part A can be affected by its interaction with the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the context of the scenario, explain actions the public can take to influence the political institution described in part A.

Bill of Rights Vocabulary

Civil liberties exist in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the 14th Amendment and have also emerged from Supreme Court decisions. We're going to get familiar with a few of the major concepts we'll be working with over the next few weeks.

2AB 4B

Project: SCOTUS Case in a Box

You will research a landmark Supreme Court case and create a “Landmark Case Box” by bringing in tangible artifacts to represent that case. For example, if your assigned case was Texas v. Johnson (flag burning is protected free speech), you might choose to include a flag, a picture of Reagan, an EMPTY match book (some of these are sensitive issues, if you have to make a judgment call about the appropriateness of an object, you need to run it by Jacobson ahead of time), a typed or handwritten copy of the First Amendment, etc. You will present your case and box to the class. Here are the requirements for the presentation:

You must have at least eight objects in your box. These objects must relate to the case you’re assigned. I recommend using an empty cereal box.
You must cover and then decorate the outside of your box with illustrations, words/phrases/constitutional clauses, photos, etc., that relate to your case. You must complete a Landmark Supreme Court Case chart with information about your case.
Glue the chart to one side of the box and use it as a prompt when you present your case to the class. Your classmates will fill in their blank graphic organizers (one for each of the 9 cases) based on the information you present in class.
You must present the contents of your box to the class. Show each item in the box and explain why it was significant to your case. Be prepared to answer questions from your audience about the case.
List of Landmark Supreme Court cases:
1. Brown v. Board of Education (equal protection under the law)
2. Engel v. Vitale (establishment of religion)
3. Gideon v. Wainwright (right to counsel)
4. McDonald v. Chicago (right to bear arms)
5. New York Times v. United States (prior restraint)
6. Roe v. Wade (abortion)
7. Schenck v. United States (clear and present danger)
8. Tinker v. Des Moines (symbolic speech)
9. Wisconsin v. Yoder (free exercise of religion)

Digital Copy of Directions and Landmark Case Chart

Closer: Explain how the U.S. Constitution protects individual liberties and rights.

On Deck

Next Topic: Freedom of Religion
Textbook Section 4.2 (pp. 89-95): Reading check next class