Constitution Day 2025: Shoring Up The Basics – Short Videos for Constitution Day

Tripp Robbins, MJE, created this series of bite-sized videos as an introduction to topics in student media law and ethics for the Scholastic Press Rights Committee. They can be used as part of a curriculum or just on a need-to-know basis. They’re concise and dense, so you may want to pause them to digest some points. 

Here is a brief intro to some of the videos most relevant to Constitution Day. They are not sequential, so start with the topic you’re interested in!

Tripp’s Tips: Scholastic Press Rights Committee Student Media Law Shorts YouTube banner.

• 1st Amendment Basics – This video introduces the First Amendment
• Covering Protests, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2 – These two videos cover preparing to cover a protest and do’s and don’t’s at protests, including a reporter’s First Amendment rights.
• Defamation – This video covers what defamation is (and isn’t) and the limits of free speech under the First Amendment
• Hate Speech – This video covers what speech is (and isn’t) protected by the 1st Amendment, including so-called hate speech
• Hazelwood – This video gives an overview of the key points of this important SCOTUS decision
• New Voices Laws – This video explains what New Voices laws are and how students can help get them created in their states
• Privacy – This video explains the often-misunderstood concept of privacy as it applies to student journalists
• Shield Laws – This video covers legal protections for journalists — including student journalists
• Tinker – This video gives an overview of this crucial SCOTUS decision in regard to student journalism

You can check out the entire set of Tripp’s Tips short videos here.

View this activity as a Google Doc: Shoring Up The Basics: Short Videos for Constitution Day, Tripp Robbins, MJE

Compiled by Kristin Taylor, MJE, members of the Scholastic Press Rights Committee contributed to this set of activities around the theme “Power to the People” for teachers to use in their classrooms this Constitution Day, Sept. 17. They range from full lesson plans to quick activities and ways to promote Constitution Day in your school community. You can find all of this year’s activities in our “Constitution Day: Power to the People” overview.