Handouts

If there is no access to the technology needed for this lesson, try the following options:

• Mini Lesson: Instead of showing the animated program, briefly review with students the amendments they discussed in the previous lesson. Informally assess which amendments students remember.
• Student Activity: Instead of directing students to the website, distribute an Issue Brief handout to each student for the specific issue they are researching. If there is a computer with Internet access in the classroom, students can post their definitions in small groups at that computer when they complete the activity on paper.

Objectives

The class will watch an animation that explains the First Amendment's right to assemble. The class will learn how to define an issue for research. Students will read brief descriptions of their issues in small groups. Students will define their issues to demonstrate understanding. Students will post their definitions for other students and the teacher to see on the Class Weblog.

Focusing Question

Mini Lesson

Today we are going to complete the first step in our research- defining the issue. You have all chosen your issues for research and today you will work with a group to define those issues. In the last class, we looked at some of the most important rights in the Bill of Rights. Now we are going to watch a short animation that reviews some of those rights. I will then show you how to define your issues.

Let’s talk about this animation.

1. What are some of the rights that we are guaranteed in the Bill of Rights?
Sample Responses: The right to free speech, the right to a fair trial, the right to no cruel and unusual punishment.

2. Which right is Liberty’s favorite? Which one is yours?
Sample Responses: Liberty’s favorite right is the freedom to assemble. My favorite right is the right to free speech, because I like when I get to speak my mind. I think the right to no cruel and unusual punishment is important because I don’t think people should be tortured.

3. When was the Bill of Rights written?
Sample Response: The Bill of Rights was written in 1791.

It looks like you are ready to begin your research on the issues. The first thing you have to do is define your issue. This means you have to summarize what the issue is about and what people on both sides of the issue think.

Let’s look at an example. I have been doing some research on another issue, the Patriot Act. Would someone like to read this paragraph?

After September 11th, 2001, Congress passed the Patriot Act to detect and prevent terrorism. This law expands the power of the government in many ways. It allows the FBI to access business, library, Internet, phone, and certain personal records. Some people think that the Patriot Act is an important security measure that helps the government prevent terrorist attacks and keeps the public safe. Other people believe this law sacrifices too much individual privacy.

When I define my issue, the first thing I want to do is summarize what the issue is about. What does this new law, the Patriot Act, allow the government to do? I can see that the first three sentences describe this law.

I want to try to summarize it in one sentence. The Patriot Act is a law that allows the FBI to look at the books people take out of the library and listen to their phone conversations so that they can stop another terrorist attack.

Now, I want to try to write down what people on both sides of the issue think. Why do some people support the Patriot Act? Some people support the Patriot Act because they think it will protect us from terrorism. Other people think it takes away too much of our privacy.

If I put together my three sentences, I have the definition of the issue.

The Patriot Act is a law that allows the FBI to look at the books people take out of the library and listen to their phone conversations so that they can stop another terrorist attack. Some people support the Patriot Act because they think it will make us safer from terrorism. Other people think it takes away too much of our privacy.

Defining the issue is important because it makes what I am going to research very clear.

Now, in groups, you are going to read an Issue Brief about your issue and then define the issue as a group. Make sure you summarize the issue and explain both sides.

Student Activity

1. Monitor group discussions. Observe students’ writing. Encourage students to write the ideas they discuss on the handout.
2. Group together students who may have difficulty writing their ideas with students who can express their ideas in writing well.
3. Provide students who struggle with group discussion some examples from other student discussions.
4. Allow students who work more productively independently to complete the activity on their own and encourage them to share their ideas with a group, or on the class weblog, when they finish the handout.
5. If necessary, limit the amount of writing that students do during this class period to ensure that they complete the activity.
6. Instruct students who complete the writing activity early to view other students’ ideas on the class weblog and respond to them.

Lesson Summary

Remember there were three things you had to include in your definitions – a summary, one point of view, and the other side.

This group did an excellent job creating a definition for their issue. Can you explain how you developed your definition?
Sample Response: First, we read the issue brief together. We each took turns reading a paragraph. Then we tried to answer the questions at the end of the Issue Brief. We each answered one of the questions. We took the answers and put them together to create the definition of our issue. The first sentence summarizes our issue. The other two sentences explain what people think on both sides of the issue. While each of us was writing on paper, one of us went to the weblog and typed in our definition.

Let’s take a look at the definitions you each came up with. Who would like to read their definition first?

Assessment