Looking for a way to engage all your students in an authentic exploration of civil liberties and civil rights? Let them research, discuss, and teach other about their rights as students by making flyers about students rights! Students will explore the right to privacy in schools through scenarios, research and create flyers about one right they have (or don't have!) as students in a public school, and discuss with peers every step of the way! Plus, at the end, students can hang their flyers in a public spot in their school and start a school-wide conversation about their rights, empowering students beyond your classroom!

My students are never more engaged in my unit on civil liberties and civil rights than when we discover and discuss the rights of students. They all have opinions to share about their rights to privacy and rights from discrimination in schools! It provides many frank and authentic conversations about what rights are, the purpose of schools (and governments), and makes civics feel all the more real. I love this project!

The Value in Your Classroom:

• This product already fits into your existing curriculum: Easily add this activity to any relevant lesson to get your students thinking critically about the role of the government and political rights in their own lives.
• Easy preparation: Just print it or load it to your learning management system and you're ready to teach!
• 100% editable: Everything your students will see is editable in Google Workspace, so if you want, you can modify it to the specific needs of your students.
• Engagement: Let your students engage with each other in an authentic conversation about their rights, including teaching others about the rights they do (or don't!) have.
• Save Time: This project has everything you need to get started! No need to find extra supplemental materials.

Here's how the project is structured:

• Introduction to Rights: Students walk to different parts of the classroom to take sides on whether certain situations are legal searches or not. Then they explore scenarios they might encounter at school based on real-life events related to students' right to privacy (and its limits!).
• Flyer Research and Creation: Students choose a guiding question related to their rights to research. They analyze a court case related to that right and then make a flyer to inform their peers at school about what they learned: either a right they have or a right they don't actually have!
• Small Group Discussions: Students share what they learned with others and summarize multiple perspectives from a court case related to a right, then record their thoughts, reactions, and perspectives to understand how others interpret their rights and how what experiences they might have shape those interpretations.
• Gallery Walk and Reflection: Students post their flyers and examine the other rights that groups learned about, completing notes with their reactions and important details they learn. Finally, they complete two reflection questions into an authentic political debate: how much limitation on students' rights is too far?

Here is what you get in this lesson:

• Full, detailed teacher guide for the project with:
• Content Overview
• Lesson Objectives
• Assessments
• Suggested Lesson Procedure
• Materials List
• Differentiation and Extensions
• A couple examples from my own classroom!
• A slideshow that allows students to explore realistic scenarios related to their right to privacy in public schools, that let's them go at their own pace.
• A slideshow with fair-use images and information about the right to privacy, including examples of searches that students predict if they are legal or not.
• Directions for creating the flyer of a right of students.
• A finished example of the notes and flyer for students to use as a model.
• A list of 38 guiding questions from which students to select for their project.
• A short slideshow for a mini-lesson on how to read a court case.
• A discussion template for students that guides their small group discussion.
• A note-sheet with reflection questions for the gallery walk, with room for students' reactions and thoughts for six other flyers.

Interested in other projects or lessons for your US Government class? Check these out!

• Local Government Simulation Project
• Critical Thinking: Choosing the Best Evidence Lesson
• Civics Debate Bundle (Current Events)

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Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns with this activity, I'm happy to help! Please leave an honest review for this product, it helps both me and other teachers!

Thank you!!