War and Civil Liberties

Lesson Plans

Lesson 1: Rights and Responsibilities:

Guiding Question: How do we balance our free speech and the rights of others?

Part 1: Free Speech (45 minutes in the Fifth Grade Classroom)

Objectives: Students will distinguish between civil liberties and civil rights, explore issues of free speech, and participate in classroom discussion.

Procedure

I will begin this lesson by discussing the terms civil liberties and civil rights. Civil liberties are the basic rights guaranteed to individual citizens by law, for example, freedom of speech. Civil rights are the rights that all citizens of a society are supposed to have, for example, the right to receive fair treatment from the law. To protect our civil rights, the government acts on our behalf. To protect our civil liberties, the government leaves us alone. I will ask students to give examples to determine their understanding.

Next I will use a concept formation strategy to stimulate their thinking about free speech. I will ask 7 students to select and read the examples on prepared flash cards noting the + or - sign next to each one. Students will begin guessing the concept but it will not be revealed until all cards are read. We will use the positive examples to examine interpretations of meaning and the negative examples to discuss reasons and extenuating circumstances.

• (+) Calling a talk show
• (-) False accusations

  - (+) Creating a poster for display

• (-) Internet filtering

  - (+) Remaining silent
  - (+) Sharing your ideas

• (-) Falsely yelling "fire" in crowded cafeteria

For each case we will examine rights and responsibilities associated with free speech as well as issues of freedom and security.

We will continue with an activity whereby students form opinions about freedom of speech and freedom of press. First, using a discussion continuum, students will record their feelings toward the given statement: Not all the news is fit to print. The statement will be written on chart paper and they will place a signed post-it note somewhere on the line to indicate their feelings toward the statement. I will ask for volunteers to tell where and why they put their note. This will be saved and revisited after the following newspaper activity

Students will work in small groups to examine articles in newspapers. They will be instructed to cut or x out any items that criticize the President or any aspect of government. These might include: protesting the war in Iraq, complaining about taxes, political cartoons, voicing opinions about city services or government spending. Next they will eliminate any items that criticize sports or entertainment figures, food, movies, or music. They will tape their cut up papers around the room for a visual reminder of what could happen if freedom of speech and press were not protected. They will also decide if they want to change or keep their position on the discussion continuum.

Assessment: Students will retrieve their post-it notes and do a quick write on the back responding to one of the following prompts: "I was surprised to learn…" "It is important that students know…" "Free Speech means…"Post-its will be collected, sorted and used for further discussion and planning.

Part 2: The First Amendment in Daily Life (45 minutes in the Computer Lab)

Objectives: Students will identify key concepts and terms in web research, locate primary documents online, and relate first amendment rights to daily life

Procedure

I will begin this lesson with a demonstration of Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids. I will check students' understanding of suffixes (.org, .com, .edu) and what they can expect from respective websites. They will then be instructed to use an Internet Scavenger Hunt to clarify terms and read content of historical documents. As they explore Ben's Guide (http://bensguide.gpo.gov), they will answer the following questions in their word processing journal.

• Why is the Constitution sometimes called a "living document?"
• What does the word "amend" mean?
• How can the Constitution be both strong and flexible?
• Why are the first 10 amendments called the Bill of Rights?

The fifth grade teacher and I will circulate the room as students find, record and share answers.

Using the presentation system, I will demonstrate setting up a graphic representation to relate First Amendment rights to daily life. Students will use Kidspiration software to combine pictures and text to represent their thoughts and information. The students are experienced users of this application and will be instructed to represent graphically instances when they think their first amendment rights were protected (use a +sign) or violated (use a - sign). If they encounter any gray areas, they will explain the dilemma in their accompanying text. They will be asked to provide examples from home, school and community life, and think about the need to balance freedom and safety, especially with Internet resources and practices. A sample might include:

• Home (using email (+) I can express myself in email to friends. I still have to follow rules set down by a parent.
• School (Internet filtering (+ or -) I want to be able to search but I have been warned about inappropriate material.
• Community (participating in a parade or protest (+) I can march in a parade or stand in a protest for a certain cause.

Assessment: Kidspiration assignments will be evaluated for content and computer skills. Scavenger Hunt will be evaluated with completion of journal entry.

Lesson 2: Civil Liberties during Wartime

Guiding Question: How does the government balance individual rights and security for a nation during wartime?

Part 1: Civil Liberties during the Civil War (45 minutes in Fifth Grade Classroom)

Objectives: Students will examine civil liberties during wartime, explore issues of free speech, participate in classroom discussions, and reflect on the dilemma of a democracy: individual rights and homeland security.

Procedure:

I will begin this lesson with an anticipation guide. Students will read the statements and indicate whether they agree or disagree. This activity activates prior knowledge, provides opportunity to clear up misconceptions, and promotes critical thinking.

• Slavery was the only reason for fighting the Civil War.
• The President has the power to declare war.
• Citizens have the right to protest a war.
• To maintain public safety the President can suspend privileges of citizens, such as free speech or a right to a regular civil trial.
• The Constitution protects citizens during wartime

Students will then work in pairs to share their responses followed by a whole class discussion.

To involve students in active listening and critical thinking, they will be invited to select the role of a specific character as they listen to the following script. The list will include: president, news reporter, lawyer, soldier, or citizen. We will discuss the concerns pertaining to each role. They will make and display a name card for their role. Students will be instructed to listen and respond to passage from their specific role.

Script

"Prior to the Civil War the Constitution with its subsequent amendments governed the people peacefully, for the most part, and kept a check on government control. During the Civil War President Lincoln was criticized for some of the decisions he made.

Soon after Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1880, southern states began to break away or secede from the Union. They worried that President Lincoln would put an end to slavery and feared that it would change their way of life. Their secession convinced the North (Union) that it was necessary to fight a war to keep all states in the Union. The United States had become two nations: The United States of America (North or Union) and the Confederate States of America (South or Rebels). In 1861 Lincoln called for troops to suppress the rebellion. This was the beginning of the Civil War. President Lincoln deemed it necessary to perform important acts by his presidential power without approval of Congress.

One of these important acts was his decision to suspend the writ of habeas corpus. Habeas corpus says that authorities must bring a person they arrest before a judge who orders the person to appear in court. The authorities must show the court that there is a legal basis for the person's detention. The U.S. Constitution says: "The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it." (Article 1 Section 9.) But Lincoln suspended habeas corpus without waiting for Congress to authorize it. Because of this, the government was able to arrest many people, put them in jail, and deny them their right to appear in court to determine if their arrest was lawful. Those arrested were also denied the right to be tried by a jury of their peers. Instead they were prosecuted under martial law, even though they were not members of the military.

In April 1861, a dissatisfied citizen from Maryland named John Merryman rebelled against President Lincoln's cause. He spoke out against the Union, favored the South, and recruited soldiers for the Confederate Army. He not only disagreed with what the government was doing, but he also tried to organize an attack against the Union. Merryman was arrested, kept in a fort and denied his right to appear in court and face the charges against him. Merryman's situation illustrates the dilemma of a democracy: how to balance individual rights with security for a nation.

Lincoln's rationale for suspending habeas corpus was explained in his July 4 speech before a special session of Congress. As president he was sworn to protect the laws of the country. These laws were being resisted in many states. If he allowed all the laws but one to fail (the right to habeas corpus), then the government itself would fail for the sake of that one.

Other civil liberties were not always guaranteed during the time of the Civil War. The Lincoln administration seized telegraph lines, shut down newspapers that printed articles in favor of secession, prohibited the printing of war news about military movements without approval, and censored private mail and telegrams. People were also arrested for wearing Confederate buttons and singing Confederate songs."

Role Playing

Students will break up into small groups. Copies of the script will be provided for reference. Those with similar roles will meet to prepare a position statement for the class explaining their position. One person from each group will participate in a panel to report their group's response to the class. A student facilitator will moderate questions and comments from the class.

Assessment: Students will be assessed on their participation in the group discussion, and written response to one of the following prompts: "To maintain public safety I think the President …" "I think citizens who protest a war…"

Part 2: Civil Liberties during the Cold War (45 minutes in the Computer Lab)

Objectives: Students will examine civil liberties during wartime, use factual knowledge to make links between events, recognize the impact of world events upon ordinary people, and investigate the history of the Pledge of Allegiance

Procedure:

I will begin with a brief background by asking students if they ever heard of "old" TV shows such as "I Led Three Lives," or "I Spy?' The first portrayed the triple life of Herb Philbrick as citizen, communist, and counter-spy. In the second one, two secret agents roamed the world as a professional tennis player and his trainer. Their espionage had a comic twist as they saved their country and its friends from dictators. These as well as other spy and espionage shows were popular as a result of the Cold War with its fear of communism.

Next I will direct the students to open a prepared document on their computers. This selection will give a brief background to the Cold War with hotlinks embedded. As they read the text, they click on key words and concepts to clarify meaning when needed and expand understanding.

Prepared Script

"The Cold War began after World War II when the United States feared the spread of Soviet Communism and the threat of nuclear war. President Truman committed the United States to ridding itself of communism and preventing the spread of communism around the world. National security was a major concern. Any person suspected of being a communist was sought after as a disloyal citizen and an enemy of the county.

Abuses of civil liberties occurred during the Cold War. Joseph McCarthy, a senator from Wisconsin, was known for his shocking allegations that the United States was full of communists, even in the nation's Capitol. His use of hateful remarks against political opponents, even when no justification was found, became known as McCarthyism. Another abuse at this time was blacklisting, a tactic used by the House Un-American Activities Committee that prevented those listed as Communist from certain jobs especially in the entertainment community. Any writer or actor who was suspected of communist connections was deprived of a job unless they gave information about themselves or pointed fingers to others. These interrogations and trials were a violation of civil liberties."

When students are finished the activity, I will invite them to share a comment or question about the conflict between individuals' rights and the government's control. I will encourage them to speak to relatives about their memories and experiences during this period of our history. What movies, TV programs, books and games resulted from this period of our history?

Pledge of Allegiance

Although there were civil liberties' violations during this time, most Americans were loyal to the government because they truly feared that our country could be taken over by communism. Two little words, "under God," were added to the Pledge of Allegiance. Those who supported the additional words believed that those words would help distinguish our country from those ruled by communism, which promoted atheism.

In this part of the lesson students will use research strategies to investigate the history and meaning of our daily opening exercise in the schoolyard. I will direct them through several websites that pertain to the history of the Pledge of Allegiance and issues involving civil liberties.

Students can follow these links or use our bookmarked search engines to answer questions and gather information about the history of the Pledge of Allegiance. Providing links helps students who need to lesson their distractions and complete assignment in timely fashion. Using search engines gives other students opportunities to compare results and provide experience in word choice when doing web searches. In both cases students will be instructed to look at the source of information and evaluate websites for accuracy.

History of the Pledge

Locate information to answer the following questions:

• When and why was the Pledge of Allegiance first published?
• What changes were made in response to the growing number of immigrants in America?

School Children and the Pledge

Scroll through the photographs of children reciting the pledge.

Words and Meanings

For this activity, each student will work with a partner to create a presentation explaining the meaning of the 10 phrases of the pledge. I will demonstrate and assist students who choose to insert a table into a word processing document. The class can independently use PowerPoint and Kidspiration.

Students will be instructed to accompany the following phrases with a brief explanation of meaning: I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands, one Nation, under God indivisible, with liberty and justice, for all.

Students will probably need extra time to complete this. They will have access during times of open lab. Upon completion, students who created charts or graphic organizers will print them out for display. Those who created a PowerPoint will present their work to a younger grade.

Assessment: Students will be assessed on their completion of Pledge Presentation and journal responses to one of the following prompts: "I think the Pledge of Allegiance should or should not be recited every morning because…" "Learning the history of the Pledge of Allegiance helped me understand…"

Lesson 3: Privacy and Public Information

Guiding Question: How does the government balance individual rights and security for a nation during wartime?

Part 1: Privacy and the Patriot Act (45 minutes in Fifth Grade Classroom)

Objectives: Students will recognize issues of privacy in daily life, understand the basic components of the Patriot Act, and formulate opinions about the dilemma of balancing individual rights and national security

Procedure:

In this lesson children will use a Questionnaire to stimulate their thinking about the implications of the Patriot Act. Working in pairs they will interview each other with the following questions:

• Do you mind having your picture taken in public?
• Do you mind having your picture taken in public without your knowledge by someone you don't know?
• Do you mind if someone knows about the books you use or take out of the library?
• Do you mind if someone checks on the websites you visit or email you send?
• Do you mind if someone can listen to your phone conversations?
• Do you mind is someone searches your desk at school or your room at home?
• Do you mind taking your shoes off at the airport or showing contents of your suitcase?

After the interviews, students will discuss their feelings toward the issue of privacy.

Next, I will use a PowerPoint presentation to give the students an overview of the Patriot Act. Slides will include:

• What does the name stand for? The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act.
• When did it become law? October 26, 2001
• Why was it made? Its purpose is to fight against terrorism
• How? It expands government authority to obtain personal information, among other measures.
• What can it do? It gives the FBI the authority to obtain "any tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) for an investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities."
• What kind of records can be obtained? Purchase records, computer files, educational records, and library records can be obtained.
• How does it affect travel? Security checks at airports are routine and other baggage checks on buses and trains can be expected.

Using a T Chart, students will list on one side the freedoms assured each American by the Bill of Rights (the first ten Amendments to the United States Constitution). Then, beside the ones listed, students will be guided to make connections from their interview questions to individual freedoms that might be affected by the Patriot Act. After a class discussion of the chart, students write in their journals why a particular freedom should be preserved or sacrificed for national security during this war on terrorism.

Assessment: Students will review a period of wartime in our history. A printed script (from above or from relevant material in the classroom) will help students identify issues of civil liberties during wartime. Their task will be to

• Name the war
• Identify the civil liberty issue
• Give an example of how it was addressed
• Explain how it provided homeland security
• Identify how technology played a part in the issue
• Decide if this is still an issue in our present war on terrorism
• Formulate questions about privacy issues to ask the judge or lawyer that will visit the class for Law Day

Students will use their information to write an open letter to the speakers from the law community who are invited to the fifth grade class to celebrate Law Day.

Part 2: Pulling it Together (two 45 minute periods in the Computer Lab)

Objectives: Students will connect meaning of Preamble to contemporary culture, explore "the blessings or liberty" and the need to protect them, and use digital media to interpret historical documents.

Procedure:

For a culminating activity, students will have memorized the Preamble to the Constitution and a list of First Amendment rights. Students will begin this activity by viewing the wording of the Preamble and listening to a musical rendition at School House Rock: America Rock http://www.school-house-rock.com/Prea.html>.

Students will record their own voices on the computer. Using digital cameras, some students will take pictures around school to illustrate the meaning of the text. Others will do Internet searches to find appropriate photos. They will import and organize photos in iPhoto using the Ken Burns effect. At a second session students will import their photos into iMovie. They will use transitions to edit their work, and use iTunes to import appropriate background music. The project then can be shared with the wider school community for Law Day. Students will need extra assistance with this portion of the project.

Assessment: Students will be assessed on contributions to the media presentation.