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Video, Web Activities Celebrate Bill of Rights Day

High school students sound off on Constitutional issues that matter to them in a video commemorating Bill of Rights Day, which occurs Dec. 15.  In this 2.5-minute video, students relate specific Amendments to their personal experiences and deeply held beliefs.

The students share how the Amendments affect them as a religious minority member, a musician, a gun owner, and as an American growing up in another country.  They empathize with juveniles convicted of crimes. and they look at the big picture of power sharing between federal and state governments. The students' comments are a thought-provoking conversation starter for adults and students examining the impact of the Bill of Rights on their lives today.

The Bill of Rights' impact on young people is the focus of courtroom-ready and classroom-ready activities about Supreme Court cases, as applied to contemporary, teen-relevant scenarios that explore the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. And a program on the rule of law looks at landmark Supreme Court cases that clarified how the Bill of Rights guard the rights to express unpopular views; practice religion; or participate in the judicial process by serving on juries.

More educational web resources provide high school students, their teachers, and other adults with basic information every citizen should know, even if they never walk into a courtroom.

Other organizations with civics education missions have materials on the Bill of Rights, which became the first 10 amendments of the Constitution on Dec. 15, 1791. For more information, see this Federal Judges Association page, and the Civics Renewal Network.

Related Topics: Public Education