Yesterday I planned a role-playing activity for my Social Studies 400 students. We've been studying the First Amendment- Freedom of Press the past week and a half. I'm planning to show "The Most Dangerous Man in America" and although I've lectured on the topic of the Pentagon Papers and New York Times v. United States, I still felt it would be beneficial to review the "cast" of individuals involved in the story as well as their relationship to the story. I found an engaging role-play activity on the Zinn Education Project Page. Despite having a small class yesterday (four kids absent), the activity was a success. Each student played the part of a key figure involved in the story. Each student was given a short biography, a photo of the person they were role-playing (you could also have your students create a mini cardboard cutout of their individual; I have done that in the past and it's added a bit more "authenticity" to the activity), a n...