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Teaching the Right to Privacy

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  • Activities: 5
  • Quiz Questions: 38

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Our [redacted] is the [redacted] to [redacted] [redacted], but our teaching guide exposes everything on the right to privacy.

In this guide you will find

  • activities exploring third- and fourth-amendment rights.
  • articles about privacy in the information age.
  • essay questions on privacy torts, drug-testing rights, and abortion.

This guide is the [redacted] you need to [redacted] the Right to [redacted].

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Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring civics to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 4-10 Common Core-aligned activities (including quotation, image, and document analysis) to complete in class with your students, with detailed instructions for you and your students. 
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes to be sure students are looking at the material through various lenses.
  • Resources to help make the topic feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the topic and how you can overcome the hurdles.

Want more help teaching Teaching the Right to Privacy?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: The right to privacy is among the most contested of America’s constitutional rights. While most people agree that the Constitution protects certain aspects of privacy, judges and legal scholars disagree vehemently over the scope of privacy rights. 

In this exercise your students will join this debate by analyzing two quotes and adopting a position suggested by one of them. They'll write a brief defense of their position and then square off in class to see if they can convince others to come to their side of the debate.

Length of Lesson: 1-2 class periods.

Materials Needed: 

Step One: Share the quotes below with your students. 

"Specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have penumbras, formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give them life and substance. Various guarantees create zones of privacy."
- Justice William Douglas in Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965

"[The Fourth Amendment's framers] had a specific principle of privacy at work in the Fourth Amendment. It was privacy in your home and in your office from search by the government. That is not just a broad ranging right of privacy you can apply anywhere. Now, [Justice William] Douglas made up a right of privacy that's attached to nothing."
- Federal Appellate Judge and legal scholar Robert Bork, 2003

Step Two: Ask students to choose the quote that best matches their views on the rights to privacy that are granted to Americans by the Constitution. 

Do they believe in Justice Douglas' interpretation? Do they think he's right about privacy rights existing in the penumbras? Or do they think Robert Bork has the right of it, and that privacy rights in the Constitution should be more narrowly interpreted? 

To help clarify the quotes and help students decide which view they prefer, they should review the links below:

Step Three: Once students have decided which quote they prefer, have them write a brief paragraph or two (or a list of bullet points) explaining their position. 

Step Four: Take a quick class poll. Who's with Douglas? Who's with Bork? Make a note of the numbers and then give students a chance to explain their reasoning. 

Step Five: After everyone has had a chance to make arguments for one position or the other, re-poll the class. Did anyone switch positions? If so, why?

(Lesson aligned with CA 12th grade American government standards 12.2.1)

Instructions for Your Students

Good news: The police can't burst into your home without a warrant, and your private papers and records can't be seized without just cause and the court's say so. 

Yup. That means those embarrassing notes you keep in that shoebox under your bed are safe. For now. 

Of course, if you've ever read the Fourth Amendment, you already knew that. But are the Fourth Amendment rights to privacy the only privacy rights granted by the Constitution? 

Some say yes. Some say no. Today you'll decide which group you belong to.

Step One: Read the quotes below with your teacher and classmates. 

"Specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have penumbras, formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give them life and substance. Various guarantees create zones of privacy."
- Justice William Douglas in Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965

"[The Fourth Amendment's framers] had a specific principle of privacy at work in the Fourth Amendment. It was privacy in your home and in your office from search by the government. That is not just a broad ranging right of privacy you can apply anywhere. Now, [Justice William] Douglas made up a right of privacy that's attached to nothing."
- Federal Appellate Judge and legal scholar Robert Bork, 2003

Step Two: Now choose the quote that best matches your views on the privacy rights that are granted by the U.S. Constitution. 

Do you believe in Justice Douglas' interpretation? Do you think he's right about privacy rights existing in the penumbras? Or do you think Robert Bork has the right of it, and that privacy rights in the Constitution should be more narrowly interpreted? 

To help you decide which view you prefer, review the links below:

Step Three: Once you've decided which quote you prefer, write a brief paragraph or two (or a list of bullet points) explaining your position. 

Step Four: Take a quick class poll. Who's with Douglas? Who's with Bork? Make a note of the numbers and then get ready to explain your reasoning. You and your classmates can take turns presenting your arguments until everyone has had a chance. 

Step Five: After everyone has had a chance to make arguments for one position or the other, re-poll the class. Did anyone switch positions? If so, why?