21

ST
Century Skills Activity
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
Lesson 1: The First Amendment
Information Literacy: Organizing Information

Learning the Skill
As you study civics, you may encounter unfamiliar information. One effective way of organizing and
understanding that information is to create a chart. Charts can take on a number of different formats.
You might use a two-column chart to organize key terms and their definitions, or you might create a
flow chart to show a process or sequence of events. Use the following steps to create a chart:

Identifytheinformationyouwillincludeinyourchart.
Researchkeypointsandsupportingdetails.
Considerhowyoucanbestorganizetheinformation.
Createablankchart.Thenfillintheimportantpiecesofinformationyouidentifiedinyour
notes.
Asyoucompleteyourchart,makeanyadjustmentsorrevisionstotheformatofthechartor
to the information it contains.

Practicing the Skill
The chart below organizes information about the structure of the Constitution. Read the information in
the chart below, and then answer the questions that follow.

Parts of the Constitution
Major Part Definition/Explanation
Preamble
The introduction

it states the goals and purposes of the Constitution
Articles
The main parts of the Constitution

ArticlesIIIIstatethepowersandresponsibilitiesofthe
branches of government. Other articles define how the
relationship between the federal government and the states,
describe when and how the Constitution can be changed,
declare the Constitution the supreme law of the land, and
describe how the Constitution was to be ratified.
Amendments
Changes to the Constitution

There are 27 amendments in all. The first 10 amendments
are known as the Bill of Rights.

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Name: Class: Date:
The Bill of Rights: 21st Century Skills: Lesson 1
1. Listing Where are the key points and details listed in this chart?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________


2. Identifying What are the first 10 amendments called?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________



Applying the Skill
Directions: Read the lesson and fill in the chart below with information about the First Amendment.
(When answering online, separate freedom name and definition with a semicolon (;) and one space.)

FIRST AMENDMENT
First Amendment Freedom Definition/Explanation
Freedom of _____________________


Freedom of _____________________


Freedom of _____________________


Freedom of _____________________


Freedom of _____________________



3. Freedom of _________________: Definition/Explanation:

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________



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Name: Class: Date:
The Bill of Rights: 21st Century Skills: Lesson 1
4. Freedom of _________________: Definition/Explanation:
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________


5. Freedom of _________________: Definition/Explanation:
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________


6. Freedom of _________________: Definition/Explanation:
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________


7. Freedom to _________________: Definition/Explanation:

_____________________________________________________________________
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Name: Class: Date:
The Bill of Rights: 21st Century Skills: Lesson 1
Answer Key
1. ThekeypointsanddetailsarelistedinthesecondcolumnofthischartunderDefinition/Explanation.
2. The Bill of Rights
3. Religion; Congress cannot establish an official religion. Americans are guaranteed the right to practice their
faith as they wish.
4. Speech; Americans can say what is on their minds, in public or in private, without fear of punishment by the
government.
5. the Press; The government cannot ban printed materials or films merely because they contain alarming or
offensive ideas. It also cannot censor information before it is published or broadcast.
6. Assembly; Americans have the right to gather in groups for any reason, so long as the assemblies are
peaceful.
7. Petition the Government; Americans have the right to express their ideas to the government.
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Name: Class: Date:
The Bill of Rights: 21st Century Skills: Lesson 1