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9th grade · Social Studies · Unit 6 of 9

Rights & Responsibilities

The Bill of Rights and citizens' duties

What your child practices

Unalienable rights, the freedoms in the Bill of Rights and later amendments, religious freedom, due process, the 14th Amendment, civil rights laws, and citizens' duties such as jury service and paying taxes.

Alaska content standards learning standard: SS.9-12.10.2; SS.9-12.6.7 · rights and responsibilities under the founding documents, and balancing liberty and the public good

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The Declaration names unalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
  2. The Bill of Rights protects freedoms, even unpopular speech, and due process.
  3. Cases shape rights: Plessy (1896) allowed segregation; New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985) lets schools search with reasonable suspicion.

Example: What did New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985) say school officials need to search a student? Police usually need probable cause. Schools need a lower standard. Answer: reasonable suspicion

Rights & Responsibilities in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 6 of 9 in 9th grade Social Studies, after How the Nation Governs and before The Alaska Constitution.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    The First Amendment says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting…

    • the free exercise thereof
    • jury trials
    • the right to vote
    • any taxes

  2. Question 2

    The 26th Amendment (1971)…

    • Lowered the voting age to 18
    • Created the Senate
    • Gave women the vote
    • Ended slavery

  3. Question 3

    Why can a court case decided long ago still affect you today?

    • Old cases expire
    • Courts follow precedent from earlier rulings
    • Courts never look back
    • Only new laws count

  4. Question 4

    The 14th Amendment (1868) was adopted after the Civil War to…

    • guarantee citizenship and equal protection to people who had been enslaved
    • lower the voting age
    • create the Senate
    • end the income tax

  5. Question 5

    The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned…

    • Free speech
    • Public schools
    • Discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin in jobs and public places
    • All voting

  6. Question 6

    The right to vote is both a right and a…

    • Crime
    • Court
    • Tax
    • Civic responsibility

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