Censorship Discussion Activity – Banned Books Week – Current Events Activity

Description

FAST FACTS ABOUT THIS CENSORSHIP DISCUSSION ACTIVITY:

• Recommended for: Grades 8+
• Lesson duration: 4-5 lessons of 40 minutes each
• Editable: YES, all text is editable.
• Formats: PDF, PPT, Google Slides

A WORD OF CAUTION

Discussing censorship can be controversial in certain settings. It’s why Banned Books Week exists – so we can talk about censorship in the news. It is, however, critical that you know your audience and your community.

Please have a look at the PREVIEW above before you buy to make sure this presentation will fit the needs of your school.

THIS CENSORSHIP DISCUSSION ACTIVITY INCLUDES:

• Detailed, editable, standards-aligned lesson plan (8 pages, PDF only)
• Censorship and the First Amendment presentation (8 slides, editable)
• 8 group discussion cards + 4 templates to write your own (3 pages, editable)
• “Is Censorship Ever Okay?” worksheets (6 pages, 30 total situations, editable)
• links to all 30 news stories from the “Is Censorship Ever Okay” worksheets (6 pages)
• Assignment graphic organizer: Research one of the situations. (1 page, editable)

DAY 1 – INTRO TO CENSORSHIP AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT PRESENTATION

• 8 slides, editable in PPT and Google Slides
• defines censorship
• text of the First Amendment
• how First Amendment cases are debated in court
• whose speech is protected by the First Amendment
• Discussion Norms slide – 6 tips for students to keep their discussions civil and their disagreements respectful

DAY 2 – GROUP DISCUSSION OF CENSORSHIP SCENARIOS

• Group discussion cards
• Includes 8 hypothetical questions about different kinds of censorship
• also includes 4 template cards if you want to write your own discussion questions

DAY 3 – IS IT CENSORSHIP? OPINION WORKSHEETS

• “Is Censorship Ever Okay?” worksheet and group discussion
• Includes 30 scenarios taken straight from real news stories. Students have to determine if these are censorship and if so, whether or not they are reasonable.
• There are six different worksheets, each with five different situations. Students can complete one worksheet, then group according to which worksheet they did.
• All worksheets are labeled with a letter in the corner so students can group quickly by the letter of their worksheet.

DAYS 4-5 – RESEARCH REAL CENSORSHIP NEWS ARTICLES

• Researching the real-life situations behind the scenarios on the worksheet.
• I provided links to news articles about all 30 news stories.
• This activity could be extended further into a class debate or a written research or position essay about the event.

SAMPLE SITUATIONS:

• 10 situations occurred outside school. These are stories in global and USA news. Example: A celebrity sues a newspaper for publishing unauthorized photos of her minor child.

• 20 situations occurred at school. All of these are in USA schools, but the states vary. Example: At graduation, the Valedictorian’s microphone is cut off when she starts to say things that were not in her pre-approved speech.

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