The way our government has interpreted the Bill of Rights has changed over time. Today, you are going to explore the history of the issues you are researching, going all the way back to when the Bill of Rights was approved by the colonies. In the last class, you defined your issues. Now you are going to learn how to take notes using index cards.
We are going to start by looking at the history of your issues, but you will also need to take notes from current news articles. The way you will take notes for both will be the same.
First, let’s look at how you will label your index cards. Make a sample index card in your notebook, so that you can look back at it later. On the blank side of the card, write your name, so your cards do not get misplaced. On the lined side, in the top right corner, write the number. Your first card will have the number 1. On the top line, write the title of the article, the date it was written, and the source.
Now that you have a sample card, let’s take notes. Would someone like to read the first paragraph of this article from USA Today, entitled “President Urges Renewal of Patriot Act”?
The first paragraph is one really long sentence. Some of the information is important for my issue, and some of it is not. I want to paraphrase this sentence, or make it shorter. We did this when we looked at the Preamble to the Constitution. I am going to take some of the more difficult language and replace it with easier words.
The President said that Congress should support the Patriot Act because it is important to the war on terror.
I took the words “vital tool” and made it easier to understand. If something is vital, it is necessary or important.
Why is putting information in your own words important?
Sample Responses: Putting information in your own words shows you understand it. It makes it easier to read. If you do not put it in your own words, it is copying.
Copying words directly without quoting is called plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious crime. College students that do it can get expelled from school and adults that do it can go to jail.
When you want to quote an important person, like an expert or the president, use quotation marks. Let’s take a look at the second paragraph. There is a quote from President Bush. I can write his exact words, but I must put it in quotation marks. I should write who said it and when.
President Bush said, “some politicians in Washington act as if the threat to America will also expire on that schedule,” during a radio address in mid-April 2004.
Now you are going to take notes on the history of the issue. Label each index card "Issue History" and write the decade you are taking notes on. The first card should say “Issue History 1780s.” Remember to stop after each paragraph to take notes on the important information.
The Supreme Court is the most important court in our country. They decide many of the biggest cases, and sometimes change the way we look at our laws. You will see some Supreme Court cases in your Issue Histories.
Different people in different times have changed the way we look at the Bill of Rights. When did your issue first become important in our country?
Sample Response: People have been debating what kinds of searches are legal for a long time. Before the Revolutionary War, British soldiers used to just go into someone’s home without a warrant if they thought the person had committed a crime. That is why the Founders wrote the Fourth Amendment.
How did you know that information was important?
Sample Response: We knew it was important because even though there were no subways 200 years ago, people were still being searched in places where they thought they had privacy.
What other important facts and events did you take notes on?
Sample Responses: We learned about the history of freedom of speech in our country. People do not always have the right to say whatever they want. We learned about a man who got arrested for calling a police officer bad names. In the court case Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, the Supreme Court said that people do not have the right to use fighting words. That means any words that would cause a fight.
How will knowing the history of the Bill of Rights help you write your opinion on the issue?
Sample Responses: Now I know what the courts have said about the issue and what kinds of laws have been written about these rights. I know more about what the rights in the Bill of Rights mean. I can use these examples as evidence to support my position.
