If you stop a student from expressing views that advocate drug use, are you violating their right to free speech? Use the 2007 Supreme Court case Morse v. Frederick to discuss a nuanced interpretation of the First Amendment. Learners discuss the case's procedures and ruling before weighing in with their own opinions.

Concepts

supreme court cases, freedom of speech, the first amendment, constitutional amendments, the united states constitution, the bill of rights, mock trial

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Use as the basis for a mock trial in a unit on the Bill of Rights
• Assign the discussion questions as writing prompts for high schoolers to write an argument essay about their stance on the Supreme Court ruling

Classroom Considerations

• Links do not work; refer to attached materials or find all linked information in the resource itself
• Activity is modeled after a traditional Oxford style debate, but the materials are helpful even if you'd rather use them as primary sources for a more open discussion
• Be sure that class members can discuss the issue in a mature way

Pros

• Delineates both sides of the argument very clearly
• Topic is interesting and relevant to high schoolers

Cons

• None

Common Core

RI.11-12.8 SL.9-10.1.a SL.11-12.1.a RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.2 RH.11-12.1 RH.11-12.2