Constitutional Issues

 

 

 

 Individual Rights Vs. the Common Good

 

PRINT RESOURCES: NON-FICTION

     

     Non-WCLS Resources 

 

Schenck v. United States: Restrictions on Free Speech, by Karen Alonso

http://tinyurl.com/yjnh447

This book presents a comprehensive examination of the history of free speech in the United States, with special attention given to the Schenck case, in which the “clear and present danger” test was first applied. Questions for discussion are provided.

 

Student Rights-An Introducing Issues with Opposing Viewpoints Title

http://tinyurl.com/22r4q9a

Available as an ebook version from Gale-let us know if you are interested and we can consider it for part of the portal purchase. 

Gale is a reputable publisher that creates high quality research material for students.   Written for grades 7-12.

 

Student Rights -A Hot Topic Title

http://tinyurl.com/2bkchzx 

This is also available as an ebook from Gale-let us know if you are interested and WCLS will definately consider it as part of the portal purchase.

Written for grades 7-10 and published in 2009.  Gale is a reputable publisher that creates high quality research material for students. 

 

Student Rights-Issues on Trial

http://tinyurl.com/2esdu5k

This is reviewed as for grades 10-12 but includes primary resources which might make it an attractive purchase for your topic.  Also available as a Gale ebook.

 

Tinker V. Des Moines: Student Rights on Trial, by Doreen Rappaport

http://tinyurl.com/yep5euz 

This book on the landmark free speech case includes narrative text about the case, newspaper clippings, excerpts from trial transcripts and the judge's decision, and interviews with major "players" in the case 27 years later. The author provides questions to help students think through the case. This book could easily be used to structure a mock trial or moot court simulation activity. 

 

 

PRINT RESOURCES: FICTION 

 

     WCLS Resources

 

A Small Civil War, by John Neufeld 

http://tinyurl.com/yfxtxo6

Gr 7-10 "A Small Civil War" erupts in the town of Owanka, IA, when Mr. Fairchild Brady, chairman of the city council, instructs Stanley Sopwith, "a founding father of the local New Right," to report to the council on whether The Grapes of Wrath should be removed from the 10th-grade curriculum at Owanka High School. Thirteen-year-old Georgia Van Buren, mature beyond her years, becomes irate over the issue and leads a personal battle to make the public aware of this threat to the First Amendment rights of her fellow students." from School Library Journal Review.  There are mixed reviews for this book. 

 

The Day They Came to Arrest the Book,  by Nat Hentoff

http://tinyurl.com/yh3fk4f

When a student objects to the portrayal of blacks in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, a censorship controversy erupts in the school.

 

The Last Safe Place on Earth, by Richard Peck

http://tinyurl.com/yg63ql2

Gr 6-10  "With his picture-perfect family, sophomore Todd Tobin lives on Tranquility Lane in Walden Woods. Elitist, undoubtedly racist, and subtly sexist, this is a place where people assume they are safe from harm ... This calm facade is the backdrop for a truly terrifying novel ... Issues, such as censorship in the community and Todd's geeky friend C.E.'s struggle to care for himself due to an absent father and an alcoholic mother (are explored) ... The fundamentalist Christian right is depicted as both frightened and frightening ... The scary and real consequences of letting censors go unchallenged is not denied." ~ Excerpt from School Library Journal Review.  A teachers guide is available for this book http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780440220077&view=tg

 

The Printer's Apprentice,  by Stephen Krensky

http://tinyurl.com/yz2anc9

Gr 5-7- A good introduction to  the First Amendment. "Ten-year-old Gus Croft, an apprentice to printer William Bradford, must face major truths about the relationship between the press and the colonial government. John Peter Zenger, who in his earlier years apprenticed under Bradford, is arrested for printing criticisms that offend the governor, and Gus, an intelligent lad, dismisses his personal loyalty to Master Bradford and begins to understand and question the circumstances of Zenger's arrest. Though young and inexperienced, the boy embarks on a journey to Philadelphia to deliver a message to Andrew Hamilton, the lawyer who eventually defends Zenger. Krensky presents an authentic flavor of the historical period without cluttering the easy-to-read text with too much detail. In an afterword, he clearly distinguishes fact from fiction, but, by weaving the fictional character of Gus into the lives of real historical figures, the author relates a story that might otherwise be lost to young readers." ~ Excerpt from School Library Journal Review

 

 

The Weirdo,  by Theodore Taylor

http://tinyurl.com/yhmztrp

"Environmentalism provides the political backdrop for this story of the courage and self-acceptance acquired by "weirdo'' Chip Clewt, 17, in his fight to save the bear population in a North Carolina swamp."  ... Deftly drawn characterizations, from the admirable to the loathsome, and an engrossing journalistic format are among the many strong points that make his timely and compelling novel a winner." Ages 12-up ~ From Publisher Weekly Review.   Chip's efforts include preparing posters, discussing his views at a public meeting and providing testimony before government officials. One review suggests this for High School age, but most feel it works at a Middle School Level so you might evaluate that ~Evie

 

 

White Lilacs, by Carolyn Meyer

http://tinyurl.com/yzdxfee

Based on a historical incident, this book recounts the 1921 struggle of a black community in Texas when their white neighbors decide to take the black families' land for a city park. The central character is 12-year-old Rose Lee Jefferson, who watches her brother become involved in organizing to protest the community's actions. After a march to the town square, some white citizens retaliate, reminding readers of the courage required to exercise one's rights amid intolerance. 

 

 

     Non-WCLS Resources

 

Crash, by Jerry Spinelli

http://tinyurl.com/ygwne8d 

Crash - John Coogan - is a seventh-grade athlete.  As a series of adventures take Crash and his family and friends through the school year, Crash learns to express himself about issues of concern.  In the story buttons and T-shirts are worn to express values.  This could lead to a button and shirt making follow-up activity with students.  There is a teachers resource available for using this book in the classroom   http://tinyurl.com/ylftvuc 

  

 

CURRICULUM RESOURCES

 

Education for Freedom

http://www.freedomforum.org/packages/first/Curricula/EducationforFreedom/L01main.htm

12 lesson plans for teaching the first amendment. 

Education for Freedom is offered by the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/, a nonpartisan center dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of the values of the First Amendment.  These lessons (beginning and advanced levels) address constitutional principles and contemporary issues involving the First Amendment.  They will draw young people into an exploration of how their freedoms began and how they operated in today's world.

 

 

ONLINE RESOURCES

 

www.law.cornell.edu/supct.

When the Supreme Court Collection page comes up, direct them to click on "By party" in the left-hand menu column, and then scroll down and click on their case in the alphabetical case list. Once their case appears onscreen, they can read the "Syllabus" and click on icons to scroll through the document and read the court's majority and minority, or dissenting, opinions. (Note: Be prepared to assist students in understanding some of the more difficult legal writing and to help them scroll forward and backward to find majority and dissenting opinions.)

 

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-38132146_ITM

Cambron-McCabe, Nelda. Phi Delta Kappan. Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. 2009. AccessMyLibrary. 27 Feb. 2010.

Quote: "Students must learn how to become responsible citizens, and few places are more significant in developing those skills of citizenship than the public schools. However, if students are going to learn to become responsible citizens in a democracy, they must be able to exercise their constitutional rights" 

 

 

     Premium Digital Resources (must have WCLS card to access) 

 

http://www.proquestk12.com/videotraining.shtml

This link will take you to training modules, sample searches, educator tools and lesson plans, and much more for elibrary, ProQuest, CultureGrams and others.  WCLS does not subscribe to all these databases and some of the training modules are a bit lengthy, but there are some great resources here for effectively using our databases.

 

http://support.gale.com/gale/

This link will take you to the homepage of Gale databases where you will find short webinar tutorials, tip sheets, navigation guides, and sample searches.  Included is information on how to cite from these sources.

 

elibrary (ProQuest)

http://elibrary.bigchalk.com.ezproxy.wcls.org:2048/libweb/elib/do/search  

eLibrary delivers full-text and multimedia reference essentials. The easy-to-use interface makes research easy.  Students find the answers they need from more than 2,500 full-text magazines, newspapers, books, and transcripts--plus thousands of maps, pictures, educator-approved websites from Homework Central®, and top-quality multimedia (audio/video) files. Users can sort their results by relevance, date, file size, Lexile or reading level, publication, and source, while librarians and educators can find content that's directly linked to state and national teaching standards. The BookCart functionality allows librarians and educators to build persistent links to pre-selected content, creating reading lists, subject and topic pages, standards-linked lessons and activities, community interest pages, and even pre- or post-assessments. -from ProQuest

 

 As an example, using "First Amendment" as a search term in eLibrary you will come up with a variety of different articles at different reading levels.  First Amendment Rights A Study of the First Amendment Rights in the Bill of Rights is at a 4th grade reading level.  If you follow the link it sends you to a lesson plan on the First Amendment that includes a really nice summary of Tinker vs. Des Moines.

 

http://tinyurl.com/ye9ygs6

This link will take you search results for eLibrary using "Tinker vs. Des Moines".  This particular article is at an 8th grade reading level. 

 

ProQuest

http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.wcls.org:2048/pqdweb?RQT=302&cfc=1 

A database available through WCLS that gives you access to thousands of articles on a variety of topics. Some examples of search terms you might use in ProQuest: Federal court decisions,  Students,  Litigation,  School administration,  Constitutional amendments,  Freedom of speech   School districts,  Bans,  Appeals,  Dress codes,  Some useful tips for finding articles:  To quickly find articles that discuss the topic you are interested in, it is useful to combine search terms to find articles that have the ideas you are looking for.  In ProQuest, use the Advanced search tab to help you do this.  Use, for example, "freedom of speech" in the search box and "dress codes" after the and.  ProQuest will only find articles that discuss BOTH.  Also, ProQuest can help you organize the articles that you find. It will automatically sort them by the type of article (Scholarly, magazine, newspaper, etc.), it will suggest search topics that are similar to what you typed in to help you find more articles, and it will let you select articles and save them so you can look at them later.  You can also print and email articles from ProQuest (Taken from Pierce College Libraries) 

 

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1941179461&sid=5&Fmt=3&clientId=22133&RQT=309&VName=PQD

This link is for a proquest newspaper article:  "SCHOOL PRESSES LEGAL CASE; APPEAL FOCUSES ON A STUDENT'S T-SHIRT".  Subject ideas to search for when using ProQuest:  Federal court decisions,  Students,  Litigation,  School administration,  Constitutional amendments,  Freedom of speech 

 

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1937305541&sid=5&Fmt=3&clientId=22133&RQT=309&VName=PQD

This link is for a proquest The Christian Science Monitor. Boston, Mass.: Jan 11, 2010 "Supreme Court refuses challenge to school dress code; The Supreme Court Monday declined to take up a student's challenge to a Texas school dress code. An appeals court ruling said the policy, which bars non-school-related messages on clothing, did not violate student free-speech rights". 

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The questions that they look at are…

 

Do students have the same rights as others?

They focus in particular on the 1^st amendment and the dress codes.

Can a student wear anything they want into a classroom?

 

They would be very happy to have court cases and newspaper articles on this topic that are accessible for students.

 

Open to multiple articles on the same case if they provide a different view or are at a different reading level.

 

The teacher finds that the students have difficulty pulling out the important information and so generally works with them on a few selected texts.

 

Interested in both print and online resources.

 

Resources could be reviewed for middle school up through high school.

 

The teacher mentioned that one of the cases they look at is Tinker vs. Des Moines

Research time:  5 hours

Research by: Evie