This curriculum guide is intended to encourage students to learn how everyone benefits when young people, other citizens, and the media exercise the constitutional rights of free speech and free press. Background information on free speech issues is provided, along with classroom activities, discussion questions, and student worksheets. There are 11 chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 summarize why the First Amendment should be studied and how that study might be approached. A brief discussion of how constitutional law and courts operate is provided in chapter 3. Other chapters outline and discuss specific free speech topics affecting the media. These include free expression versus government authority; libel; privacy and copyright; confidentiality, contempt, and the courtroom; obscenity, responsibility, and codes of ethics; and broadcast and advertising regulation. A chapter on students' rights and responsibilities reviews the earlier chapters within the context of the high school and student publications. The guide concludes with a brief summary of significant court cases and annotations of useful resources. (RM)