Resources for Teaching the First Amendment and Freedom of Expression
The reference staff at the Washington State Law Library has put together a list of free speech education resources, including research links, lesson plans, and media. The State Law Library provides legal research assistance by phone and email Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. Teachers and students can reach out to them with their research needs at 360–357–2136 or library.requests@courts.wa.gov. Check out their blog here.
National Archives
The Bill of Rights (original document with links to resources)
The First Amendment — Seeing the Big Picture (Lesson plan)
National Constitution Center
Interactive Constitution — First Amendment (text and interpretations)
First Amendment — Classroom Learning Materials (videos, lesson plans and more)
United States Courts
First Amendment Activities — Activities related to landmark first amendment court cases.
Classroom Law Project
Bill of Rights Day: Free Speech and Social Media (Lesson plan)
Judicial Learning Center
Your 1st Amendment Rights (interactive lesson with case studies)
American Bar Association
Introducing the First Amendment (Lesson Plan)
The Free Speech Project
The Free Speech Rights of High School Students (Lesson Plan)
National Coalition Against Censorship
The First Amendment In Schools (collection of materials on the topic of censorship in schools for the use of students, educators, and parents everywhere)
Freedom Forum Institute
Is Your Speech Protected By The First Amendment? (Information Resource)
First Amendment FAQs (Information Resource)
Annenberg Classroom
Freedom of Speech: Finding the Limits (Lesson Plan)
FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education)
The Philosophy of Free Speech (Lesson Plan)
K–12 Expression and the First Amendment (Article)
First Amendment Museum
The First Amendment and School (PDF)
What (Not?) To Wear: Liberties and Limits of Clothing at School (PDF)
C-Span Classroom
Student Free Speech Since 1969 (Lesson Plan)
PBS (Lesson Plans)
The 50th Anniversary of the Tinker v. Des Moines Schools Decision
Students’ Right to Freedom of Speech: The Tinker Case
Free Speech vs Hate Speech on College Campuses | Above the Noise
The dilemma of protecting free speech
Civics 101: A Podcast
IRL1: Free Speech in Schools — plus Educator resources
First Amendment — Speech — plus Educator resources
Newseum
Free Speech Essentials (Lesson Plan)
Making a Change: The First Amendment and the Civil Rights Movement (Lesson Plan)
iCivics
Stipulating Speech (Lesson Plan)
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) — (extended First Amendment protections to students in the classroom) (Lesson Plan)
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988) — established a school principal’s right to censor student articles in the school newspaper. (Lesson Plan)
Persuasive Writing — 8 part lesson plan centered on Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines. (Lesson Plan)
Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986) — established a school’s ability to prohibit inappropriate student language on campus (Lesson Plan)
Bill of Rights Institute
Bethel v. Fraser (1986) (Lesson plan)
School, Students, & Speech: A Constitution Day Special | BRI’s Fabric of History Podcast (Podcast and viewing guide)
Bill of Rights For Real Life: Expression (unit of three lessons)
