Register
Play & Learn
Teach
Register
Home > Resource Library > Religion and the First Amendment
Lesson Plan
Legal Reference Library, Applying Rights & Liberties

Religion and the First Amendment

6-8
9-12
One class period
Sign up to save to your favorites

Learning Objectives

  • Identify the religious protections of the First Amendment
  • Explain the meaning of the Establishment Clause
  • Explain the meaning of the Free Exercise Clause
  • Apply religious freedom clauses in different scenarios
  • Develop a persuasive argument based on an interpretation of the First Amendment

 

Sign up to assign Sign up to access

Overview

The First Amendment includes a two-for-one deal in its protection of religious freedom. This mini-lesson explains the difference between the Establishment and the Free Exercise clauses. Students practice applying the clauses to scenarios and take on the role of judge to evaluate if the Establishment clause applies. 

How to use this lesson: Use this lesson by itself or pair it with more iCivics resources, like the Supreme Court cases Minersville v. Gobitas (1940) or our game Do I Have a Right? For more suggestions, see the downloadable teacher resources below.

Access engaging resources with an iCivics account!

Create your free iCivics account and discover standards aligned lessons and games that meet all of your instructional needs. Our nonpartisan classroom resources engage students with complex concepts in ways they can understand and relate to.

Tags

Pedagogy Tags
Mini-Lesson
Tech Options
No Tech Required
Web browser
Integrations
Kami
PDF
State standards icon

View state standards alignment

Search State Standards

Use the Scope & Sequence to help you plan your iCivics classroom experience!

Whether you enjoy finding opportunities within a well-structured sequence of resources or prefer looking around for pieces and bits that can be jigsawed together, our Scope & Sequence documents are a perfect reference point for planning. Scope & Sequence documents are available for elementary, middle, and high school classrooms and list all of our resources in one place.

View the Scope & Sequence