Residential Property Signs
Grade Level: Middle and High
Overview:
This lesson uses City of Ladue v. Gilleo as the basis for discussion of First Amendment rights. Students will argue for both sides of the case, and a group of students will serve as the city council; they will questions both sides and ultimately decide whether the ordinance should be upheld or not. The resource person might then lead a discussion on local laws regarding signs, posters, and handbills.
Time Needed: 1 class period
Materials Needed:
Residential Property Signs Handout
Procedure
1. Hold a town meeting to discuss the Ladue ordinance. Assign students to role-play residents for and against the ban, the American Civil Liberties Union, and members of the city council, business community, and “Ladue Beautification Society.” Have students testify before the city council on the pros and cons of keeping the law as it is. Students acting as city council members should question those testifying and then make a decision about the ordinance. Have students make signs supporting their decisions.
2. Put students in groups of four to five. Have them draft a new law regulating signs that will further the interests of Ladue (for example, signs that protect the beauty of the community and maintain real-estate values) and at the same time insure First Amendment rights.
3. Have students compose a dissenting opinion in Gilleo.
4. Have students discuss reasons why commercial speech (such as advertisements) has been given less protection under the First Amendment than noncommercial speech (such as political or social signs).
5. Have students research local laws that pertain to the regulation of residential signs, posters, and handbills.
This set of activities was prepared by Aggie Alvez, compliance officer for the Montgomery County Public Schools in Montgomery, Maryland, and formerly a program director with the National Institute for Citizen Education in the Law. She prepared it for Update on the Courts, Fall 1994, © 1994 American Bar Association.
National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies,
National Council for the Social Studies