Books

Know Your Rights: A Manual for Public School Students in Pennsylvania Third Edition by American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.  Philadelphia, PA: ACLU of Pennsylvania, 2006.
This PA manual provides students with an understanding of what their rights are in school.  Available online at www.aclupa.org/downloads/studentsrights.color.pdf.

Youth! The 26% Solution by Wendy Lesko and Emanual Tsourounis.  Washington, DC: Youth Activism Project, 1998.
This handbook provides teens (who make up 26% of the population) with steps to do social activism, from organizing a small meeting, wording a petition, and setting goals to relating to press and government officials and maintaining public relations.

NOTE: See also Banned Books Resource Guide under “Teacher Resources” below for fiction and non-fiction resources for young adults.

Web sites

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
NOTE: ACLU has several affiliates that have youth-specific sites, such as Massachusetts, Northern California, Wisconsin and Ohio.  In addition, several ACLU affiliates also have student manuals specific to their state.  Locate local affiliate on ACLU’s national Web site.

Do Something

Global Kids

Kids as Self-Advocates

National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ)

What Kids Can Do

Wiretap

Youth Activism Project

Youth Noise

Youth Service America

Are There Any Good Books on Civil Liberties?  A Reader’s Guide by Sam Walker.  Boston, MA: American Civil Liberties Union, nd. 
This guide provides an introduction to the best books on civil liberties issues.  Available online at www.aclu-mass.org/bookclub/GoodBooks_Walker.pdf.

Banned Books Resource Guide by Robert P. Doyle.  Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 2004.
This resource book includes a list of books that have been challenged or banned, information about First Amendment court cases, and a selected annotated bibliography of fiction and non-fiction books on the First Amendment, for adults and students.

The First Amendment in Schools by Charles C. Haynes, Sam Chaltain, John E. Ferguson, JR., David L. Hudson, Jr., Oliver Thomas.  Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2000.
This primer provides a foundation for understanding the First Amendment, its application in many Supreme Court cases, and its expression and practice in schools.

Maximum Youth Involvement: The Complete Gameplan for Community Action by Wendy Lesko.  Washington, DC: Youth Activism Project, 2003.
This guide answers more than 100 questions on how adults and organizations can support young people as effective advocates in changing community norms and policies.

Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching: A Resource Guide for K-12 Classrooms edited by Deborah Menkart, Alana D. Murray, and Jenice L. View.  Teaching for Change and PRRAC, 2004.
This curriculum provides lessons and articles for K-12 educators on how to go beyond a heroes approach to the Civil Rights Movement.

Religion in the Public Schools by the Anti-Defamation League.  New York: ADL, 2004. 
Thispublication answers frequently asked questions about the role of religion in public schools.   Available for order or online at www.adl.org/religion_ps_2004.

Web sites

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Anti-Defamation League (ADL)

Bill of Rights Institute

Center for First Amendment Rights

First Amendment Center

First Amendment Schools

Freedom Forum

J-Ideas

McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum

National Constitutional Center

Study Circles Resource Center

Teaching the First Amendment

Teaching Tolerance