Content Area Reading Lesson Plan Template
Unit: The Judicial Branch
Teacher: Amelia Bochain
Lesson 6 of 8
Topic: Texas v. Johnson: Are there
limits on free speech?
Teaching Date: TBD
Subject/Course: US/VA
Government
Grade Level: 12th Grade
Time Frame: 100 minutes
Context: This lesson will be taught to twelfth grade US/VA Government students during their unit on the judicial
branch. While they have worked with primary sources in the past, they have struggled with the stilted language
and dense text. For this structured academic controversy lesson, I will have students read excerpts from the
majority and dissenting opinions from the 1988 Texas v. Johnson case while using the scaffolded reading
technique of an interactive reading guide. They will then debate the two sides with each other, using the
information they gathered from the briefs to support their stance. Exploring this case will assist students in
learning how the Supreme Court decides cases, how the First Amendment may be interpreted, and the
variations in judicial philosophies. Texas v. Johnson explores the question of whether the desecration of the
American flag is a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment. The defendant, Gregory Lee Johnson,
had burned an American flag in front of the Dallas City Hall, in protest of President Reagan’s policies. Under a
Texas law outlawing flag desecration, Johnson was convicted and sentenced to one year in jail. The Court
found in favor of Johnson, asserting that his actions fell under expressive conduct and political speech.
SOL Objectives
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GOV 11.a.
GOV 11.d.
GOV 11.b.
GOV 11.c.
GOV 10.c.
GOV 1. a.
GOV 1.g.
Materials and Resources
Twenty two copies of the Structured Academic
Controversy worksheet (one for each student)
Twelve copies each of the majority and dissenting
interactive reading guides
Oyez.org; law.cornell.edu
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Outcome Objectives
Students will be able to analyze a primary source
to gather information.
Students will be able to describe the differences in
judicial activism and judicial restraint.
Students will be able to defend positions in
debate.
Students will be able to describe judicial review.
Students will be able to explain the First
Amendment’s application.
Homework
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Instructional Procedures:
1) At the beginning of class, students will be asked to answer “should the United States ban the
desecration of the flag? Why or why not?” for their “Do Now.” Their answers will be used to initiate a
class discussion about the issue. (10 minutes).
2) Next, the instructor will inform the students that the Supreme Court approached this issue in 1988. The
teacher will give the students the background of the case as he/she passes out two sets of the Majority
and Dissenting interactive reading guides to each group of four, as well as the Structured Academic
Controversy worksheet. (5 minutes).
3) Within their seated groups of four, two students will be asked to read the majority’s interactive reading
guide, while the other two read the dissenting. The teacher should instruct the students to answer the
questions at the bottom of each subsection as they read (20 minutes).
4) Once they have completed the interactive reading guides sing the information from the case briefs, the
students will present their argument. Then, the opposing group will summarize the other side’s
argument.
In this section, write a step-by-step plan for implementing the lesson. Your instructions should be clear and
detailed, so that another teacher could implement the plan. Please include estimated time limits for each
activity.
Content Area Reading Lesson Plan Template
Be sure to plan both an appropriate introduction and conclusion to your lesson. How will you activate
background knowledge and arouse your student’s curiosity? How will you conclude the lesson?
Differentiation: How will you differentiate the lesson to meet individual student’s needs? Think
Accommodations / Modifications: How will you modify the lesson to accommodate students with special
learning needs?
Assessment
(Formative)
(Summative)
 What assessments will you make as the lesson
 What products (written work, tests, etc.) will be
unfolds? How will you know if students are
submitted by students or groups of students to
“getting it”?
demonstrate their learning?
Attachments: Submit copies of the text students read, any handouts you provide, and rubrics used to evaluate
student work. If you taught this lesson, please also attach copies of all of the work that students produced.
Make sure that all of the documents that you attach are clearly labeled and easy to identify.