CIV436

All class material and assignments can be found through the Google classroom.

Unit Three: Civil Liberties and Citizenship  

Our essential question for this unit will be: How much power should government have? How should this work within the context of our diverse county? 

The Framers of the Constitution wanted to make sure that individual freedoms were protected and so created the Bill of Rights. Those amendments guarantee rights related to religion, speech and press, assembly and petition, the rights of the accused, and more.   

But, how much more – or less?  No discussion of civil rights can occur until citizens have thought deeply about what those rights should be – and for which groups should they be? 

SS.CV. 1.9-12  Distinguish the rights, roles, powers, and responsibilities of individuals and institutions in the political system. 

SS.CV.3.9-12:  Analyze the impact of constitutions, laws, and agreements on the maintenance of order, justice, equality, and liberty. 

SS.CV.4.9-12  Explain how the US Constitution established a system of government that has powers, responsibilities, and limits that have changed over time and are still contested while promoting the common good and protecting rights. 

SS.CV.5.9-12:  Analyze the impact of personal interest and diverse perspectives on the application of civic dispositions, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights.  

SS.CV. 8.9-12 Analyze how individuals use and challenge laws to address a variety of issues. 

8 March:  What does the word unalienable mean (8.1)?  Start with “How much power should government have?” Consider the court cases that check government power.  Watch Constitution USA episode about the Bill of Rights. “It’s a Free Country.”

11 March: Freedom of Religion (8.2). Begin with Flipped Video.  Assign Interactive Chart – Establishment Clause.

12 March: Freedom of Speech (8.3).  Start with Free Speech for Students. 

13 March:  Class work regarding Free Speech issue of burning the flag. 

Consider several short Crash Course videos – with guides.   

https://youtu.be/kbwsF-A2sTg and https://youtu.be/Y8dI1GTWCk4 and https://youtu.be/Zeeq0qaEaLw and https://youtu.be/Zeeq0qaEaLw  

14 March: Freedom of Assembly and Petition (8.4).  Start with Interactive Timeline – protests that made a difference.  Assign Interactive Gallery – Free Assembly Edwards vs. South Carolina. 

15 March: Due Process of Law (8.5).  Start with Interactive Gallery – protecting the public through police power.  

Consider this presentation:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZFco0zKfU&feature=youtu.be  and https://youtu.be/_4O1OlGyTuU and https://youtu.be/UyHWRXAAgmQ  

18 March:  Group activity regarding due process.

19 March: Freedom and Security of the Person (8.6). Start class with drug testing in schools issue. 

20 March: Rights of the Accused (8.7).   Start with Miranda Rights.  

21 March: Group activity regarding rights of the accused.  Assign Interactive Gallery – Personal Privacy.  


Read/Listen to recent court activity regarding cell phone privacy. Carpenter vs. US  NPR story:  https://www.npr.org/2018/06/22/605007387/supreme-court-rules-police-need-warrant-to-getlocation-information-from-cell-to  

Also consider Icivics website:  https://www.icivics.org/games/we-the-jury OR https://www.icivics.org/games/courtquest  

Next, to get ready for the week that follows… Watch these brief videos:  https://youtu.be/qKK5KVI9_Q8 and https://youtu.be/1uFh4GTZH-U and https://youtu.be/P-yviKu8Odo  

22 March:   American Citizenship (9.1). Start with question – “What are the challenges of diversity?”  

Spring Break

2 April: Diversity and Discrimination (9.2).  Start with Interactive Gallery – Women’s Rights. Also view Constitution USA – Created Equal.   https://www.pbs.org/video/constitution-usa-peter-sagal-created-equal/  

3 April:  Equality Before the Law (9.3)  Start with Interactive Timeline – Events in the History of Inequality.  

4 April: Watch Civil Rights: Demanding Equality with materials.      https://www.learner.org/series/democracy-in-america/civil-rights-demanding-equality/  

Ending School Segregation: The Case of Farmville, Virginia:   Until the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the relevant legal standard was “separate but equal.” What does Farmville tell you about the enforcement of even that standard? What would have happened if that standard had been strictly enforced?   Farmville is a classic example of de jure discrimination, but most discrimination is de facto. How do we address de facto discrimination?  At the time of the Brown decision, racial discrimination was overt in almost all areas of life. Why do you think that the NAACP selected discrimination in education as its prime target? 

Title IX and Girl’s Sports:  Is the scheduling of athletic seasons by the state an example of discrimination? Does it matter that the different season (different from the boys’) was combined with unequal facilities?  Should it matter that most people think that different seasons for the same or comparable sports is accept- able? Does it matter if most girls find it acceptable?   

Fighting for the Rights of Disabled Americans:  What steps are necessary to eliminate discrimination against those with disabilities? What disabilities should be covered by ADA?  Is discrimination against those with disabilities comparable to discrimination against racial minorities and women? 

 Post-Viewing Activity and Discussion:  Americans Have Come a Long Way, But There’s Still Work To Be Done (20 minutes) Discuss what remains to be done in the struggle for equal rights for all citizens. Are there groups of citizens who still don’t enjoy their full rights? Who are they? Where might new claims for guarantees of equality come from in the future? For instance, should the Fourteenth Amendment be read to prohibit discrimination against the poor?  What Is To Be Done? What efforts must society make to redress discrimination? Discuss the options and costs of redressing past practices of discrimination. 

5 April: Federal Civil Rights Laws (9.4). Start with question – “What is the MOST important civil right?”  Assign Interactive Gallery – Struggle for Equal Rights.

8 April: Several items to consider:  Political cartoons in immigration, affirmative action, and Brown vs. Board writing with primary sources.  

9 April:  School wide testing. SAT.

10 April: Review for the test. Complete the extended response on the essential question.

11 April: Unit Test.
30 multiple choice questions, 5 short answers, 1 extended response. Extended Response:  How much power should the government have?  

Look at the list below, select one and decide whether the government action should or should not be allowed – and why.  Be sure to include the appropriate Supreme Court decision(s). You may select any of the cases we discussed in this unit. Some of those are listed below.

1. Allow a school principal to censor the school newspaper.  2. Force Amish children to attend school beyond the eighth grade. 3. Pump the stomach of a criminal suspect to see if he has swallowed evidence. 4. Prohibit outdoor ads for cigars near a school. 5. Use evidence in court that was obtained when police officers searched the wrong apartment. 6. Monitor the telephone calls and emails of American citizens. 

Key Terms: Bill of Rights, civil liberties, civil rights, Due Process Clause, Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause, Libel, slander, Sedition, Seditious speech, symbolic speech, Picketing, prior restraint, injunction, shield laws, assemble, petition, civil disobedience, right of association, due process, procedural due process, Substantive due process, police power, search warrant, eminent domain, involuntary servitude, discrimination, writs of assistance, probable cause, exclusionary rule, writ of habeas corpus, bill of attainder, ex post facto law, grand jury, indictment, double jeopardy, bench trial, Miranda rule, bail, capital punishment, Treason, citizen, jus soli, jus sanguinis, Naturalization, Expatriation, deportation, Immigrants, reservations, refugee, Assimilation, affirmative action, quota, reverse discrimination, Equal Protection, discriminate, rational basis test., strict scrutiny test, segregation, Jim Crow, separate-but-equal doctrine, integration, de jure, De facto 



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