Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handout and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resource for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP

  Pose the following brainstorming questions to your students, directing them to record their responses in their graphic organizer, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  • How do you define privacy?
  • What parts of your life should be private?
  • Is there information about others that should be public knowledge? Why or why not?

• INTRODUCTION

  Play this introductory video clip [Clip #1] (1:42) for your students. Direct your students to answer the following questions on their graphic organizer.

  • What type of privacy does Amy Gajda say she discusses in her research?
  • To what time period does this type of privacy date?
  • What was the impetus of this form of privacy?

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define the vocabulary terms that will appear in the lesson in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this webpage. We recommend having your students define and present the terms in a jigsaw activity to save time.

  Depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students define and present the terms in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student takes one or two words. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson. Note: This is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you previewing the video clips to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• ENGAGEMENT

  Direct your students to view the following three video clips. Have your students take notes and answer the following questions on their graphic organizer. Note: each clip features Amy Gajda, professor of law at Tulane University in New Orleans and the author of "Seek and Hide: The Tangled History of the Right to Privacy."

• Clip #2: Sam Warren and Grover Cleveland (4:35).

  • According to Amy Gajda, who was Sam Warren? Based on the clip, compare Warren with Louis Brandeis. What “really sparked” interest in Warren?
  • Describe President Grover Cleveland’s “interest” in privacy and why he “despised” the media.
  • Who was Cleveland’s lawyer, and what document did his lawyer write?

• Clip #3: The Essay (1:28).

  • Read this summary (Centre for Law & Policy Research) of Sam Warren and Louis Brandeis’ essay, The Right to Privacy. What does “protecting privacy” require?
  • In what ways has Sam Warren and Louis Brandeis’ essay had an “extraordinary” legacy? What critique to this legacy does Amy Gajda offer?
  • According to Gajda, to what types of privacy does the essay apply?

• Clip #4: The Legacy of Sam Warren (1:41).

  • For what would Louis Brandeis later be known?
  • According to Amy Gajda, why did Sam Warren leave the law practice?
  • What ultimately happened to Warren?

• EXPLORATION

  Direct students to the exploration section of their graphic organizers. Have students choose (or assign) four of the eight topics in the exploration section in their graphic organizers. Have students view each clip, take notes, and answer each question. Direct students to prepare to present their findings with the class when finished. Note: each clip features Amy Gajda, professor of law at Tulane University in New Orleans and the author of "Seek and Hide: The Tangled History of the Right to Privacy."

• Clip #5: Prosecution of Calvin Chase (3:17).

  • What is a major “through-point” in Amy Gajda’s book? Do you agree? Why or why not?
  • Based on the clip, who was Calvin Chase and what did he investigate?
  • According to Gajda, what was the “argument” that Grover Cleveland made?
  • What was the final outcome of this story?

• Clip #6: Justices Louis Brandeis and Oliver Wendell Holmes (4:21).

  • Why are Justices Louis Brandeis and Oliver Wendell Holmes seen as “legends?”
  • According to Amy Gadja, how did both Brandeis and Holmes “embrace” privacy? What example does she provide?
  • Based on the clip, what proves that Brandeis and Holmes were not 1st Amendment “absolutists?”
  • What is the “lasting legacy” of Brandeis and Holmes?

• Clip #7: Technology Evolution and Privacy Rights (2:21).

  • Summarize the point of “more publication, more concern.”
  • According to Amy Gajda, what was the context of the first court cases dealing with privacy? How did this compare with Sam Warren and Louis Brandeis’ essay?
  • Based on the clip, what idea “grew” in the early 1900s?
  • What impact did governmental interests have on privacy?

• Clip #8: The Golden Age of Journalism (5:30).

  • How did journalism and publishing change as courts began to “embrace” privacy? What example does Amy Gajda provide?
  • What began in the 1920s, and what impact did it have on privacy?
  • Why did courts begin to “trust” journalists, and how did this impact the profession?
  • According to Gajda, how long did the “Golden Age of Journalism” last, and what brought about its end?

• Clip #9: Titicut Follies (4:13).

  • What is “important” about Titicut Follies, according to Amy Gajda?
  • Based on the clip, why did the government shut the film down?
  • Why is the Titicut Follies story “of interest” to Gajda?
  • What do you see and hear in the except clip of Titicut Follies?

• Clip #10: The Internet and Section 230 (9:47).

  • How did the creation of the internet change the debate over privacy, according to Amy Gajda? Why were the courts “worried?”
  • What was the impetus and intention of Section 230? Based on the clip, what have been the consequences of Section 230?
  • Compare the clips of Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.
  • According to Amy Gajda, what has happened to Section 230 since its signing? Why do some say the law needs “changed?”

• Clip #11: Hulk Hogan and Gawker (5:30).

  • Based on the clip, what happened with Hulk Hogan and Gawker?
  • What “claim” and argument did Hogan bring to the court?
  • According to Amy Gajda, why was the public “shocked” at the outcome of the court case?
  • What two “repercussions” has this case had to the present day? Summarize the example that Gajda shares.

• Clip #12: Big Data (3:20).

  • What are courts currently “anxious” about?
  • Based on the clip, what percentage of the public is concerned about privacy?
  • According to Amy Gajda, what do people not understand and what action does she suggest?
  • Summarize the court case example about privacy that Gajda shares.

• APPLICATION

  As discussed throughout the lesson, the concept of privacy continually changes due to a myriad of reasons. Have your students explore a recent court case of choice that deals with the debate between privacy and public interest. Have your students use the graphic organizer as a guide to develop a presentation and share their findings with the class. Presentations should include information about:

  • Case Name
  • Case Location
  • Petitioner
  • Respondent
  • Facts of the Case
  • Key Questions
  • Outcome (if decided)

• REFLECTION

  Allow time for your students to prepare their findings from the exploration section and share with their peers. Then, play this closing video clip [Clip #13] (3:21) for your students. Direct your students to answer the following questions on their graphic organizer.

  • Why was Amy Gadja “shocked” about the findings in her background check?
  • Read this article (Investopedia) and summarize the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
  • Based on the clip, how does the United States compare to Europe regarding privacy?
  • Which parts of the government are currently taking action with regard to privacy?

• CLOSURE

  After your students are finished, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt in their graphic organizers, and have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives: Having now learned about the history of privacy in the United States and the relationship between privacy and public interest, describe how you think the concept of privacy should evolve in the future. Be sure to include evidence from the video clips in the lesson to support your argument.