8th Grade The First Amendment Lesson Plan

Topic: The First Amendment

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to explain the rights found in the First Amendment and their limitations.

Materials

• Copy of the First Amendment
• Posterboard and markers#
• Internet access (optional)

Warm-up

• Ask students if they know what the First Amendment is and what it protects. Allow a few students to share their ideas.

Direct Instruction

• Review the text of the First Amendment and highlight the rights it protects, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the right to peaceably assemble.
• Discuss the limitations to these rights, such as the need to respect others' rights and not to cause unnecessary harm.
• Use examples from current events to illustrate these concepts.

Guided Practice

• Have students work in small groups to research a current event or topic related to the First Amendment and identify any ways in which the rights protected by the amendment are being limited or upheld.
• Have each group present their findings to the class and discuss how the rights are being limited or upheld.

Independent Practice

• Have students choose one right protected by the First Amendment and create a project that illustrates how that right is being limited or upheld in their daily lives. Projects could include a poster, brochure, or skit.

Closure

• Review the rights protected by the First Amendment and discuss any examples or situations that were brought up during the independent practice projects.-Ask students to reflect on what they have learned about the First Amendment and how it affects their daily lives.
• Ask students to share their independent practice project with the class and discuss any interesting or thought-provoking ideas or examples that they found.