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Ideas for 5th Amendment Projects

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits double jeopardy and compulsory self-incrimination. It requires due process of law, the indictment of a grand jury for serious crimes, and just compensation for private property taken for public use. Teaching about the Fifth Amendment can be difficult and awkward, since it deals primarily with the rights of accused persons. Students with no experience of the legal system may have trouble appreciating the guarantees provided in the amendment. It is possible to teach about the Fifth Amendment in a way that gets its importance across to students.
  1. Games

    • Design a game in which teams in the classroom earn points for correctly answering questions relating to the Fifth Amendment. After studying the legal aspects of the amendment, hand each team a synopsis of a particular case, and have them write up several questions about the arguments of the case. The teams take turns answering questions put forth by a different team. If a team misses an answer, the team that wrote the question gets a point. Have the entire class discuss the answers afterward.

    Role Play or Skits

    • Have the students role-play the persons involved in important court cases relating to the fifth amendment. Divide the class into small groups, and provide each group with background information about a different case. Have the students write the scripts, or act it out spontaneously. The rest of the classroom can act as the Supreme Court, deciding on the validity of each case.

    Alternate Reality Skits

    • Sometimes the importance of something can best be demonstrated by showing the effects of its absence. A different type of scripted presentation would be to have the students act out a play in which the Fifth Amendment, or the entire Bill of Rights, is not in effect. The class could discuss the implications after the skit.

    Song and Dance

    • Arrange a song-and-dance routine based upon the Fifth Amendment. Find appropriate song lyrics, write them yourself, or have the students write them. Then ask the students to design appropriate dance moves to demonstrate the meaning of the clauses of the amendment in tune to the music. The song and dance could be performed for the school, for parents, or for nearby senior centers.

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