Welcome to Civil Liberties and Civil Rights- A Unit for 12th Grade American Government
California Content Standards for History and Social Science
12.1.6 Understand that the Bill of Rights limits the powers of the federal government and state governments.
12.2.1 Discuss the meaning and importance of each of the rights guaranteed under the Bill of Rights and how each is secured (e.g., freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition, privacy).
12.3.1. Explain how civil society provides opportunities for individuals to associate for social, cultural, religious, economic, and political purposes.
12.3.3. Discuss the historical role of religion and religious diversity.
12.5 Students summarize landmark U.S. Supreme Court interpretations of the Constitution and its amendments.
1. Understand the changing interpretations of the Bill of Rights over time, including interpretations of the basic freedoms (religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly) articulated in the First Amendment and the due process and the equal-protection-of-the-law clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
2. Analyze judicial activism and judicial restraint and the effects of each policy over the decades (e.g., the Warren and Rehnquist courts).
3. Evaluate the effects of the Court’s interpretations of the Constitution in Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, and United States v. Nixon, with emphasis on the arguments espoused by each side in these cases.
4. Explain the controversies that have resulted over changing interpretations of civil rights, including those in Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Adarand Constructors, Inc. v.Pena, and United States v. Virginia (VMI).
12.8.1. Discuss the meaning and importance of a free and responsible press.
12.8.2. Describe the roles of broadcast, print, and electronic media, including the Internet, as means of communication in American politics.
12.2.1 Discuss the meaning and importance of each of the rights guaranteed under the Bill of Rights and how each is secured (e.g., freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition, privacy).
12.3.1. Explain how civil society provides opportunities for individuals to associate for social, cultural, religious, economic, and political purposes.
12.3.3. Discuss the historical role of religion and religious diversity.
12.5 Students summarize landmark U.S. Supreme Court interpretations of the Constitution and its amendments.
1. Understand the changing interpretations of the Bill of Rights over time, including interpretations of the basic freedoms (religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly) articulated in the First Amendment and the due process and the equal-protection-of-the-law clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
2. Analyze judicial activism and judicial restraint and the effects of each policy over the decades (e.g., the Warren and Rehnquist courts).
3. Evaluate the effects of the Court’s interpretations of the Constitution in Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, and United States v. Nixon, with emphasis on the arguments espoused by each side in these cases.
4. Explain the controversies that have resulted over changing interpretations of civil rights, including those in Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Adarand Constructors, Inc. v.Pena, and United States v. Virginia (VMI).
12.8.1. Discuss the meaning and importance of a free and responsible press.
12.8.2. Describe the roles of broadcast, print, and electronic media, including the Internet, as means of communication in American politics.
Common Core State Standards
Reading
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9. Integrate information from diverse sources,both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9. Integrate information from diverse sources,both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
Writing
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and over reliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.9. Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and over reliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.9. Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research
Essential Historical Questions
How does each of the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution serve to limit the power of the government?
What impact have Supreme Court decisions made on the expansion or restriction of individual rights? During times of national crisis, is it appropriate to limit civil liberties? When and to what extent is it acceptable for the government to place the needs of the nation over the rights of the individual? Why did the road to equality for all Americans take so long to achieve? How has civil rights legislation reflected the principle of popular sovereignty? |
Big Ideas
Americans are guaranteed certain rights under the Constitution and there have been changing interpretations of those rights over time.
The US is a diverse nation made up of people from many different backgrounds, there have been several minority groups that have suffered from discrimination at the hands of the government and have actively pursued more equal rights.
The freedom to express ideas freely is fundamental to American democracy, but some limitations on freedom of expression have been upheld by the Supreme Court.
The basic principles of the Constitution such as federalism, judicial review, and checks and balances, aim to limit the power of government in order to protect individual rights.
The US is a diverse nation made up of people from many different backgrounds, there have been several minority groups that have suffered from discrimination at the hands of the government and have actively pursued more equal rights.
The freedom to express ideas freely is fundamental to American democracy, but some limitations on freedom of expression have been upheld by the Supreme Court.
The basic principles of the Constitution such as federalism, judicial review, and checks and balances, aim to limit the power of government in order to protect individual rights.
Assessment Plan
Ways in which the big ideas will be assessed include:
K-W-L chart to assess prior knowledge of rights granted to US citizens under the Constitution. i.e. What type of expression is allowed?
Written opinion outlining the point at which government authorities can and cannot restrict a person's right to security of home and property.
Interactive timeline that shows specific Supreme Court cases that have either expanded or restricted freedoms of expression.
Analysis of the precedents set by Supreme Court decisions using primary sources.
Perform a group skit on the rights of the accused to show understanding of the quote, "It is better that ten guilty persons go free than that one innocent person be punished."
K-W-L chart to assess prior knowledge of rights granted to US citizens under the Constitution. i.e. What type of expression is allowed?
Written opinion outlining the point at which government authorities can and cannot restrict a person's right to security of home and property.
Interactive timeline that shows specific Supreme Court cases that have either expanded or restricted freedoms of expression.
Analysis of the precedents set by Supreme Court decisions using primary sources.
Perform a group skit on the rights of the accused to show understanding of the quote, "It is better that ten guilty persons go free than that one innocent person be punished."