Students' Rights

Teaching students the Bill of Rights should be a part of any US history or government teacher’s curriculum. The first ten amendments to the Constitution list the American people’s most basic freedoms. These amendments are much more than a listing of freedoms though. These Bills Of Rights are the American citizens’ guarantees against an abusive government. So how do you convey the importance of these rights to students who on most days could care less if your pants were on fire, make it personal. Find cases relating to the Bill of Rights that involve students and help the students put themselves in the shoes of making the history of the cases. For me this is a very effective teaching tool. To do this I have my students break-up into varied ability groups of six or seven. I then give them the role of Supreme Court justices. Each group then reads a short synopsis of the case. For example, Tinker v. Des Moines is a great case to use in class. After the students read the synopsis they are then given a few questions to consider before they can rule on the case. These questions are the only issues they may consider when deciding the case. When the groups have made their decision I go around the room and ask for each group’s decision and what factors led to their decision, most students’ side with the student(s) in the case. The groups may have dissenting opinions and that is great, but they must have facts to back up their decision as well. After we have gone around the room and discussed each groups ruling on the case we then go through the actual Supreme Court ruling and what factors influenced their ruling. This simple activity has been very effective in my classroom. Try it might work for you.

Photo borrowed from:www.bandofrights.org