TITLE:  THE BILL OF RIGHTS IS FOR US TODAY

AUTHOR:  Jacque Peterson, Lehi Junior High School,
         Lehi, UT

GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:  7 - 9

OVERVIEW:  A bill of rights is needed in a free society in
order to protect the rights of the individual from abuses by
the government.  Government rarely acts against the
interests of the majority, and often the beneficiary of a
specific decision is one of the minority.  Yet, the entire
society benefits from the protection of minority rights.
Oftentimes protecting the minority causes great controversy,
but each person benefits ultimately.  We are all a part of
some minority, whether it be race, religion, economics,
political beliefs, or social beliefs.  We all need our
individual rights protected.

PURPOSE:  The purpose of this activity is to acquaint the
students with the guaranteed rights of the Bill of Rights,
and assist them to see the application of these rights in
their daily lives.

OBJECTIVES:  The students will be able to:
1.    Identify and locate the Bill of Rights.
2.    List the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.
3.    Apply the rights to their daily lives.
4.    Learn the advantages and disadvantages of
      committee work.
5.    Use the newspaper to identify three rights
      currently being protected or questioned by the
      Bill of Rights.
6.    Memorize the titles or summary statements for the
      Bill of Rights.

RESOURCES/MATEIALS:
Newspapers, butcher paper, copy of the First Ten Amendments.

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
1.   All students will individually list the rights
     guaranteed by the First Ten Amendments to the
     Constitution.  These will be checked and discussed to
     insure all students understand these rights.
2.   A.  The students will be separated into groups of
         three or four people, preferably with students
         of dissimilar interests.  Each group will take a
         piece of butcher paper and make three headings:
         (1)  Rights in School,
         (2) Rights at Home, and
         (3) Rights in Public.
     B.  The students will then list ten rights for
         each column.  These could include rights such as
         loud music, large groupings of friends, prayer
         at home, etc.
     C.  The students will then write to the side of
         each item in each list the number of the
         amendment that corresponds to the right listed.
     D.  The group will add one more right from an
         Amendment they had not used into one of the
         columns.
     E.  Each group will present its lists to the class.
     F.  Note--Add a rule that no group may ask the
         instructor for clarification or information
         unless the whole group agrees on the question.
         Also, the whole group must agree before
         something can be written on the paper.
3.   The students will locate and mount on lined notebook
     paper three newspaper articles demonstrating current
     use of the Bill of Rights.
4.   The students will memorize the titles or summary
     statements of the Bill of Rights.  These will be tested
     by written exam.


TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:
1.  Have each group orally present one newspaper     article
to the class.  Follow up with a discussion.
2.  Test the students' ability to identify the titles
    and content of the Bill of Rights.
3.  Discuss the problems and advantages of committee
    work.
4.  Have the students discuss which one right is most
    important.  They should eventually realize that each
    right is as important as the next, given the set of
    circumstances.