Student Competition:  http://www.firstfreedom.org/education/students.html

 

WHO?      All Montgomery Public Schools Students in grades 10 – 11. 

                         History/Social Studies: This assignment will count as a major and minor grade.   

                         English: This assignment will count as a major grade.  

WHAT?   

    

TOPIC: Is the free exercise of religion adequately protected in America's public schools today? Please answer this question in the following way:

1.

Select a person and/or group in your community, state or region whose present or historical rights to free exercise in the public schools are accommodated or, on the other hand, challenged by the public schools. Be specific in your description of the claim and the circumstances. (Private, parochial and home-school examples may also be utilized as illustrations of an individual or group response to First Amendment law.)

2.

Identify how this particular claim is a part of the broader narrative of the right to freedom of religion, conscience or belief in the United States.

Use legal and historical analysis to analyze and evaluate this type of claim. Reference academically respected sources that give hearing to more than one side of this debate, and sources that give background on the basis for differing interpretations.

 

WHEN?         Oct. 28 - Formative Evaluation
                        Nov. 14 - Summative Evaluation

 

VIDEOS from First Freedom:   The Constitution & Religion    International Religious Freedom
                    

Religious Freedom Documents:
    PRIMARY SOURCES

• Text of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
• Madison: Memorial and Remonstrance
• George Washington's Letter to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island
• To view Washington’s original handwritten letter to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, click here. (Original letter Courtesy of the Morris Morgenstern Foundation, on long-term loan to the B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum^TM, Washington, D.C.)
• Background on the First Amendment and Bill of Rights
• Additional Background on the First Amendment and Bill of Rights
• Additional Background on the First Amendment
• Article 18-Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• The New Nation (1790-1828)
• Sacred Texts - Religious Freedom Page
• Jefferson Digital Archive
• Thomas Jefferson Papers
• James Madison Papers

    SECONDARY SOURCES 

• 2010 Annual Report for International Religious Freedom
• Adherents.com - Find Out More About Religions
• The Avalon Project
• International Coalition for Religious Freedom
• Organizations In Defense of Freedom
• American Presidents 
• American Presidents: Life Portraits
• American Writers: Jefferson & Madison
• Creating a Virginia Republic - Thomas Jefferson
• Jefferson on Politics & Government: Freedom of Religion
• Establishment Clause and the Supreme Court Cases
• Free Exercise Clause and the Supreme Court Cases
  

Religious Freedom Organizational Links: 

• Bill of Rights Institute, The  
• Colonial Williamsburg (Main) 
• First Amendment Center 
• Freedom House 
• George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom 
• Gunston Hall 
• Historic St. John's Church  
• Holocaust Education Program Resource Guide 
• International Religious Liberty Association
• Institute for Global Engagement  
• MavenSearch - A Portal to the Jewish World 
• Monticello Resources (Main)   
• Montpelier: The Home of James Madison 
• Thomas Jefferson (Library of Congress Exhibition) 
• University of Virginia 
• UN Office of the High Commissioner-Special Rapporteur 
• U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
• U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum 
• Virginia Baptist Historical Archives  
• Virginia Holocaust Museum, The 

 

APTplus Resources:  Ask the librarian for the userid/password to view 

 

Freedom: A History of US: Episode 3: Liberty For All?

Grade: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

A clip from the full video: Freedom: A History of US: Episodes 1 - 4

Explore the struggles for religious freedom and challenges over land rights that marked early U.S. history. Learn about the ideals of Roger Williams and the injustice of the Salem Witch Trials. Understand why James Madison and Thomas Jefferson sought the separation of church and state that became part of the U.S. Constitution. Find out about settlers' westward expansion in the early 1800s. Hear about the Cherokee's plight as they endured the forced march known as the Trail of Tears. Historian Eric Foner provides commentary on the idea of 'manifest destiny.' Please preview this video clip. It contains language and/or graphic images that some viewers may find disturbing.

http://www.learn360.com/ShowVideo.aspx?ID=141715

 

BTW LIBRARY Books on Reserve

 

200 REL	Religion in America
320.973 BJO	The Constitution and the founding of America.	Bjornlund, Lydia D.
322.109 GAY	Church and state : government and religion in the United States	Gay, Kathlyn.
323.097 CIV	Civil liberties
342.73 ALO	Schenck v. United States : restrictions on free speech	Alonso, Karen.
342.73 CIV	Civil liberties : opposing viewpoints
342.73 342.73 FRE	The Bill of Rights and Landmark Cases Free speech	Lindop, Edmund
342.73 PAS	Freedom of expression : the right to speak out in America	Pascoe, Elaine.
342.7308 STE	Censorship	Steffens, Bradley.
344.73 DUD	Engel v. Vitale (1962) : religion in the schools	Dudley, Mark E.
344.73 FAR	Lemon v. Kurtzman : the religion and public funds case	Farish, Leah.
344.73 PRI	The rights of students : the basic ACLU guide to a student's rights	Price, Janet R.
344.73 SCH	Schoolhouse decisions of the United States Supreme Court
379.28 FRA	Between church and state : religion and public education in a multicultural America	Fraser, James W.,

 

Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) 

 

See Pro/Con Issues Databases (If database link does not authenticate, go to main AVL link to access.) 

• Opposing Viewpoints In Context 
• Points of View Reference Center
• History Reference Center
   

    

Ms.Jones

English10

First Freedom Essay Guidelines

Paragraph One:

Begin with an attention getting technique

Define the first amendment (religion) and establish the meaning on a personal basis

Transition to your claim

Thesis statement

 

Paragraph Two, Three, and Four:

Locate a Supreme Court Case on the 1^st Amendment and another reliable source

Explain them and use these to further support your claim.

How can you relate these cases to modern issues?

Make sure that you have the following in each paragraph:

• ·        Topic sentence
• ·        Transitions into support
• ·        Appropriate examples and correctly-cited quotations
• ·        Sufficient elaboration of examples and quotations
• ·        Effective clincher sentence

 

Paragraph Five:

What questions regarding the 1^st amendment have you discovered and answered?

What have you learned from this assignment?

Link conclusion to introduction and its attention- getting technique

Demonstrate final insight based on original thought

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEACHER LINKS:

 

Teacher Authored Lesson Plans :
   Footprints of Religious Freedom

High-School Lesson Plans:
   Disestablishment Lesson Plan (PDF)
   Disestablishment Appendix 1
   Memorial and Remonstrance (PDF)
   Disestablishment Appendix 2
   Congregationalism in Massachusetts (PDF)
   Disestablishment Appendix 3
   Worksheet (PDF)
   Disestablishment Appendix 4
   Committee/Class Debate (PDF)
   Free Exercise Lesson Plan (PDF)
   Pluralism Lesson Plan (PDF)
   Pluralism Appendix (PDF)

 

Online DVDs & Teacher Manuals:     

The Constitution & Religion In the Classroom:   http://www.firstfreedom.org/education/CRC-Introduction.html 

International Religious Freedom:  http://www.firstfreedom.org/education/documents/Teachers-Manual.pdf