Summary
In this lesson, students review the First Amendment and consider whether or not the separation of church and state can violate the fundamental rights of American citizens. Students then analyze images and complete a Painting a Picture activity. To extend their learning, students read a brief document about Engel v. Vitale and fill out a graphic organizer summarizing key information from the case. On completing the reading, students gather into small groups where they discuss the circumstances in which school prayer may or may not violate individual rights protected by the First Amendment. Finally, students reflect on what they have learned in this lesson to answer the essential question using the It Says, I Say, and So strategy.
Essential Question(s)
How did the Supreme Court ruling in Engel v. Vitale (1962) shape the interpretation of the First Amendment and impact the role of religion within public schools?
Snapshot
Engage- Students review the First Amendment and discuss the separation of church and state during a Think-Pair-Share activity.
Explore- Students analyze images and complete a Painting a Picture activity.
Explain- Students read a brief document about Engel v. Vitale and complete a graphic organizer.
Extend- Students are placed into small groups where they discuss the circumstances in which school prayer does and does not violate the First Amendment.
Evaluate- Students reflect on what they have learned in this lesson to answer the essential question using the It Says, I say, and So strategy.
Materials
Lesson Slides
Painting a Picture Handout
Engel v. Vitale Case Summary
Graphic Organizer Handout
Constructive Controversy Guide
It Says, I Say, and So Handout
Engage
15 Minute(s)
Introduce the lesson using the attached Lesson Slides. Slides 4-5 contain the essential question and learning objectives. Advance to slide 6 and ask students to reflect independently on the following question:
How far is it possible to extend the principle of separation of church and state without violating other fundamental rights?
Next, use the Think-Pair-Share strategy to start student conversations in the class around this question. Once students have had a moment to think about this question, organize students into small groups for further discussion. Each small group should have only two or three people for this brief conversation. Ask students to discuss and exchange ideas in their small groups for a few minutes. After students have finished their small group discussions, take the opportunity to ask if any groups want to share the main ideas of their discussion with the whole class.
When the whole class discussion has concluded, go to slide 7 and introduce the First Amendment to students. Explain the purpose of the First Amendment and give students the opportunity to read all of the text contained in this section of the Bill of Rights. Once the students have read the text, ask them to think about how the First Amendment is related to the question discussed earlier in the lesson. Answer and clarify any questions or misconceptions students may have and begin transitioning to slide 8 for the next activity.
Explore
20 Minute(s)
On slide 8 take a moment to review the Painting a Picture strategy with the class. Make sure that every student has a copy of the Painting a Picture handout.
Explain to students that they are about to view several images related to the separation of church and state, specifically prayer in public schools. Have students independently write down their observations and inferences about each photo in the appropriate column on the handout. Advance to slides 9-12. Give students approximately two minutes to examine each photo before advancing to the next slide. When the image analysis is complete, proceed to slide 13.
After you have shown all of the images, have students read through their notes and consider the following questions:
Who is leading the prayer in these images?
In any of these images, did you get the impression that people are being forced to participate?
Do these students have any concern that not participating could affect their grades or success in school?
Ask for student volunteers to share responses to these questions with the whole class before moving on to slide 14 and beginning the next section of the lesson.
Explain
25 Minute(s)
On slide 14, introduce the landmark Supreme Court case of Engel v. Vitale (1962). Make sure that each student has a copy of the Engel v. Vitale Case Summary and the Engel v. Vitale Graphic Organizer.
Instruct students to read the Engel v. Vitale summary and use that information to complete the graphic organizer handout. Encourage students to consider the First Amendment while they are reading. Students will use their graphic organizer handout as a reference for the next activity in this lesson.
Extend
25 Minute(s)
Advance to slide 15. Pass out a copy of the Constructive Controversy Guide to each of the students. Organize students into groups and provide them with the following prompt and guiding questions.
In what circumstances might prayer at school events be considered a violation of separation of church and state and in what circumstances might it not be a violation?
Are students forced to participate?
Is the activity led by students?
Does the activity occur before or after school?
Is the activity graded? Will students be punished for participating?
Then have students follow the Constructive Controversy Guide where they will look at an issue from multiple perspectives in order to respond to the prompt.
Have students work in groups of two or three to use evidence from the reading to design a scenario in which school prayer would be a violation of the First Amendment.
Have all groups share their reasoning with the whole class.
Then construct evidence-based reasoning for circumstances where it wouldn’t be a violation of the First Amendment.
Have the groups share their reasoning with the whole class.
Synthesize both sides to form a statement of advice for how to balance the separation of church and state with other fundamental rights.
Have all groups share their statement of advice with the whole class.
To sum up the issue, go to slide 16 to review some court case examples. Use these examples to examine whether students agree with the courts or disagree on the issue and the Supreme Court decisions.
Prayer at school events:
Abington School District v. Schempp. (1963): In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory Bible readings or recitation of the Lord's Prayer in public schools violated the Establishment Clause. The Court held that such practices constituted government endorsement of religion.
Lee v. Weisman. (1992): The Supreme Court ruled that including clergy-led prayer at public school graduation ceremonies was unconstitutional. The Court held that the prayer created a coercive atmosphere and violated the Establishment Clause by endorsing religion.
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe. (2000): The Supreme Court held that student-led and student-initiated prayer over the public address system at high school football games violated the Establishment Clause. The Court determined that the prayers were public speech authorized by a government entity and therefore amounted to government endorsement of religion.
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. (2022). Coach-led prayer at a sports game. The Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment protect an individual engaging in a personal religious observance from government reprisal; the Constitution neither mandates nor allows the government to suppress such religious expression.
Advance to slide 17 and have students reflect on the following question:
How do the rulings in these cases about school prayer compare to the statement of advice you created as a part of your Constructive Controversy work?
Evaluate
15 Minute(s)
Proceed to slide 18. Hand out the Organizer for the It Says, I Say, and So strategy. Ask students to reflect on the essential question using the designated columns.
In the “It says” column, students write down the rights outlined in the First Amendment. In the “I say” column, students write down their own thoughts on what this right truly means in practice. In the “So” column, students write down their conclusion on the essential question, “How did the Supreme Court's ruling in Engel v. Vitale (1962) shape the interpretation of the First Amendment and impact the role of religion within public schools?”
https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-i/interpretations/264
Resources
Black, Hugo L. (1962, June 25). Engel v. Vitale. Teaching American history. National Constitution Center. (n.d.). The establishment clause. https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-i/interpretations/264
K20 Center. (2021). It says, I say, and so. Strategy. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1514
K20 Center. (2020). Think-pair-share. Strategy. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/139
K20 Center. (2021). Painting a picture. Strategy. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1331
National Constitution Center. (n.d.). The establishment clause. https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-i/interpretations/264
