Constitution Day 2024
Exercise the First Amendment and claim your civic rights
The Journalism Education Association hopes to help scholastic journalism students exercise the First Amendment and claim their civic rights. Constitution Day, observed Sept. 17 each year in commemoration of the signing of the United States Constitution, is an excellent time to do it.
There are many ways to celebrate and learn about Constitution Day and the First Amendment. Below are four lessons curated by JEA's Scholastic Press Rights Committee to help students learn how to exercise their First Amendment rights. These lessons could be the focus of Constitution Day activities or be used any time throughout the year.
Constitution Day is also a great time to review student press rights particular to your community. How aware are your students of their own editorial policy? School board policy? Guidelines for ethical performance and meaningful, all-encompassing staff manual? How about the existence (or lack thereof) of a New Voices law? Are there ways your students could strengthen or improve their specific protections? You can always check out additional resources on JEA.org or the Student Press Law Center.
Exercise the First Amendment and claim your civic rights lessons and classroom activities
Artificial intelligence, the First Amendment and democracy
This lesson explores the implications of artificial intelligence on the First Amendment, focusing on freedom of speech and the press. With AI technologies evolving rapidly, students will critically analyze how AI might influence public discourse, truth and accountability. Students will also explore the potential legal ramifications of AI-generated content and the challenges it poses to traditional First Amendment protections. View the lesson
12 ways to teach the 2024 election with The New York Times
The New York Times offers engaging, adaptable strategies to help educators explore the 2024 election with their students in meaningful ways, just in time for Constitution Day activities. View the lesson
New frontiers: Voting as speech
In this lesson, students will explore the intersection of artificial intelligence, voting rights and the First Amendment. By analyzing how AI can influence the democratic process, including voter suppression, gerrymandering and misinformation, students will also consider voting as a form of protected speech under the First Amendment. They will discuss whether restrictions on voting rights should be subject to the same scrutiny as restrictions on free speech and how AI might exacerbate or mitigate those challenges. View the lesson
Free expression and us album: Music, the First Amendment and textual analysis
This project integrates knowledge of the First Amendment with students’ favorite form of entertainment: music. Students will critically analyze song lyrics and themes, connecting them to First Amendment rights. They will work in groups to create an “album” that teaches others about freedom of speech, press, religion, petition, and assembly, demonstrating their comprehension through lyric analysis and presentation. View the lesson