Home » Take Action » Become a Student Activist » Case of the Month Archives » October 1999
Lesson Plan
"Is Hateful and Offensive Speech Protected by the Constitution and Why?"
Purpose
The purpose of this lesson plan is to help understand why even offensive, hateful speech is protected speech and a cornerstone of democracy.
Grade
9-12
Objectives
Students should be able to:
- Identify the protections guaranteed by the First Amendment
- Explain why hateful and offensive speech is protected speech
- Understand the difference between hate speech (which is protected by the First Amendment) and speech which incites imminent lawless action (which is not protected by the First Amendment)
Materials
- Complaints in the major Supreme Court free speech cases: Brandenburg v. Ohio, R.A.V. v. St. Paul, Hess v. Indiana, NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co., Chaplinsky v. State of New Hampshire
- Handout: ACLU briefing paper "Hate Speech on Campus"
Activities
- The teacher will give an overview of what comprises hate speech as well as the major Supreme Court cases establishing free speech protections from the Legal Issues section of the Case of the Month
- For homework, students will clip from the newspaper's Letters-to-the-Editor section something that could be construed or misconstrued as hate speech or print out something from the Internet to share in class the next day
- Students will be given an excerpt of some hate speech or other expressive activity that deeply offends people (i.e. an art exhibit, a leaflet) and must write an essay either arguing that the speech or expressive activity should be protected or arguing that it can be prohibited
