Unit 2: What rights does the Constitution protect?
02 What rights does the Constitution protect?
This unit is a review of the rights protected by the Constitution. As a group, we will review the basics of the Supreme Court and how cases are brought before them. Then the class will delve into both the Consitution-given rights and the landmark cases that have shaped the interpretation of the Constitution when it comes to individual (and group) rights. (This is the longest unit of the semester, and will take up the majority of our time together, by far.)
Unit Essential Questions
o How does a case get to the Supreme Court?
o Why do we have a Bill of Rights? What protections does it give?
o What is a “fundamental right”? If something is a fundamental right, does that mean that you have a 100% guarantee that your rights will be protected?
o How free is “free speech”? Is there anything that the government can keep us from saying?
o How far does “freedom of the press” really go? What about WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden?
o What does “separation of church and state” mean? How does that play out in schools and other government settings?
o What does “equal protection” really mean? Is discrimination automatically unconstitutional? How have people used the Constitution to fight discrimination?