Law-related education news

              LAW-RELATED EDUCATION NEWS
Volume 5, Number 1
Fall 2011
INSIDE
THIS
ISSUE
Page
2
LRE
Coordinator’s
Welcome
New Language
Arts Lesson
Plans
Close Up
Page
3
2011
Hatton W.
Sumners
Summer
Institute
Page
4
State Project
Citizen Showcase
Page
5
PROS
Mock Trial
Constitution Day
September 17
Independence Day, Veterans Day, and Memorial Day observations re-mind
us of the value and cost of our freedom. Activist, Louise Leigh saw
the need to venerate the document that expressed and guaranteed these
ideals of freedom. Leigh began her crusade to promote Constitution Day
in 1997. Seven years later the federal government passed legislation re-quiring
federally funded schools to use Constitution Day as a time to
teach students about the Constitution. The need to educate our children
and community about the Constitution, representative democracy, and
the legal system is essential in developing a responsible citizenry and
preserving our freedoms. Commemorating Constitution Day allows an
opportunity to share with the next generation respect for and understand-ing
of the Constitution and their responsibility to continue this legacy of
liberty.
In 2007, Celebrate Freedom Week legislation was passed by Oklahoma
Lawmakers. Legislators in several states acknowledged the lack of civic
competency in schools and adopted a week dedicated toward the study
of the founding documents. During the week of Veterans Day, November
11, students learn about the sacrifices made for the cause of freedom,
and assemble to honor veterans.
The members of the Oklahoma Bar Association are committed to the sup-port
of educational programs that further the understanding of the democ-ratic
system. To further this cause, free Pocket Constitutions are avail-able
for distribution to your students through the Law-related Education
Department. Attorney volunteers are available to assist with Constitution
Day and Freedom Week activities.
The Lawyers in the Classroom Program was developed to provide attor-neys
to speak in your classroom about the justice system. Popular topics
include the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Rights and Responsibilities upon
reaching the age of majority, careers in law, and Foundations of Democ-racy.
If your school is interested in forming a partnership with an attorney to
mentor your student body on the foundations, structures, and concepts of
the Constitution, please contact the LRE Department (contact information
available on page 6).
On page 4 our bookmarker focuses on Constitution resource links, please
share with your building’s Constitution Day Committee.
Be sure to check out the Constitutional Sources Projects’ Capitol City
Constitution Day Celebration on September 13. The event will begin with
an educational summit featuring renowned historian and author David
McCullough. Webcast at www.consource.org, to be re-broadcast on
Channel 1 and FORA.tv
LRE Page 2
Making Connections…
Jane McConnell, OBA/LRE Coordinator
Every summer we survey our participants to find out how they learned
about our LRE programs and professional development institutes. The
overwhelming response was they learned by personal contacts from
other teachers. Another find was that many did not know about important Social Studies web sites that
post statewide events. My Favorite Five connections are:
1) LRE Department Website www.okbar.org/public/lre
2) www.facebook.com/obalre (Like our page)
3) State Department of Education Social Studies Listserve—Kelly_curtright@ sde.ok.us
4) Oklahoma Council for the Social Studies www.okcss.org
5) Oklahoma Council for History Educators www.okche.org
Please mark these sites and share with five of your teacher friends and copy me on the email,
janem@okbar.org. Your name will be entered into a drawing for prizes. We will announce the winners
on our Facebook page on September 1st. Our goal is to have all Social Studies teachers connected with
vital information at the beginning of this new school year!
www.facebook.com/obalre
Oklahoma Close Up 2012
The Oklahoma Close Up Program allows students to observe and interact with officials
representing the three branches of Oklahoma Government.
2012 Program Dates
Tuesday, February 14 through Friday, February 17
Paid enrollments received by December 1, 2011, will be discounted to $200 per student.
The participant fee after that date will be $220 per student. The fee covers program mate-rials,
food, lodging, and transportation. A fee of $50 is charged per participating school.
Contact: Vernon Guess
918-361-6084
outreach@closeup.org
Application Deadline: February 1, 2012
www.okcloseup.org
Foundations of Democracy Lesson Plans
NEW Language Arts lesson plans are available online. The four new
lesson plans can be found at www.okbar.org/public/lre/lessonplans/
foundations/. The lessons expand on the Foundations of Democracy
topics Justice and Responsibility.
• Give Me Justice
• Poetic Justice
• We are Poetry (Responsibility)
• Dear Sir (Responsibility)
LRE Page 3
2011 Hatton W. Sumners
Foundations of Democracy Summer Institute
June 13-17, teachers gathered at the National Center for Employee Development in Norman for the
fourth annual Hatton W. Sumners Foundations of Democracy Institute. The Institute utilized the Center
for Civic Education’s Foundations of Democracy curriculum, which covers the four fundamental con-cepts
of a democratic government: Responsibility, Privacy, Authority, and Justice. National trainers
Sandy Baker and Melissa Bell conducted group discussions and demonstrated classroom applications
for each concept. OU Political Science Assistant Professor Dr. Margaret Ellis lectured on the topic of
Responsibility. OU Law School Professor Dr. Mary Sue Backus explored current issues infringing on
an individual’s right to Privacy. Constitutional author and Indiana University Professor Emeritus John
Patrick covered the topics of Authority and Justice. Dr. Patrick spoke about the religious and philoso-phical
ideals incorporated into the U.S. Constitution.
In partnership with Oklahoma Civitas International, members of the OU Oklahoma Writing Project
wrote lesson plans for Responsibility and Justice and presented these during the Institute. Dr. Klaudia
Lorinczova translated these lesson plans for use in Slovakian schools. Dr. Lorinczova was in atten-dance
with two Slovakian exchange teachers, Monika Tomovcikova and Zuzana Valachova. Monday,
Audra Plummer and Amy Carruth presented lesson plans for Responsibility. Thursday afternoon, Ann
Rosales and Kara Newton presented lesson plans for Justice.
Tuesday evening a banquet was held for the participants. On hand to welcome the teachers were OBA
President Elect, Cathy Christensen, SCOPE Chair, Suzanne Heggy, LRE Chair, Retired Judge Reta
M. Strubhar; LRE Committee Members, Jack Clark and Michael Wofford. Committee Member, David
Hopper, attended several sessions during the week.
The Institute concluded with the Representative Democracy in America Project. Trainer Becky Walder-bach,
Media Specialist at Charles Haskell Elementary in Edmond, introduced the multi-media resources
available to supplement teaching representative democracy in the classroom. A group of Texas educa-tors
participated in the Friday session via videoconferencing to the Texas Bar Association.
Participating teachers received a complete classroom set of Foundations of Democracy textbooks, and
Representative Democracy supplemental resources.
Constitution Day
www.constitutionday.us
LRE Page 4
Project Citizen State Showcase
May 4, 2011, the Project Citizen State Showcase was held at the
Oklahoma Bar Center. Participating students submitted a portfolio
which addressed a public policy concern within their community and
proposed a carefully researched solution.
Diane Reece’s Bokoshe Elementary students placed first. Their entry
“Danger Fly Ash is in the Air”, discussed the dangers of industrial pollu-tion
in the community. Second place went to Shelley Zevnik-Breece’s
Union 8th Grade students for their portfolio, “Bridge Over Troubled
Waters”. Janet Cook’s fifth grade girls at Laverne Elementary received
third place with, “Climbing to Safety”.
Constitution Day Links
Hatton W. Sumners Founding Documents Institute
July 11-15, Norman
Oklahoma and Texas teachers participated in sessions with scholars pro-viding
content and background on the Declaration of Independence,
Federalist/Anti-Federalist writings, the U.S. Constitution and First Amend-ment.
Teacher-consultants Kathy Aldridge and Dodie Kasper provided
practical lessons and strategies to utilize the content in classrooms.
Consource
www.consource.org
icivics
www.icivics.org
Annenberg Classroom
www.annenbergclassroom.org
Bill of Rights Institute
www.billofrightsinstitute.org
Constitutional Rights
Foundation
www.crf-usa.org
Constitution Day Games
web.jccc.edu/constitution
Constitution Facts
www.constitutionfacts.com
National Constitution Center
www.constitutioncenter.org
Center for Civic Education
www.civiced.org
Sponsored by the
Oklahoma Bar Association
Young Lawyers Division
Oklahoma Bar Foundation
The Mock Trial Program is designed to increase basic life skills, instill an apprecia-tion
of the American judicial system and its philosophies, and promote academic
pursuits that encourage independent learning while participating in team competi-tion.
Students grades 9 -12 are eligible to compete. All Oklahoma Schools are invited
to participate so please consider forming a team to compete in this unique experi-ence.
School Administrators, it’s time to consider whether your school will be participat-ing
in the Mock Trial Program. If you are interested in forming a team or teams to
compete in this highly educational and unique experience.
Registration Deadline:
November 14, 2011
Registration forms and program information are available at www.okbar.org/public/
mocktrial. If you have questions regarding the program, please contact Judy
Spencer, Mock Trial Coordinator at (405) 755-1066 or mocktrial@okbar.org.
CALENDAR
2011/2012
September
PROS
Workshops
Elementary
13 Tulsa/Jenks
20 OKC
Middle/High
14 Tulsa/Jenks
21 OKC
17
Constitution
Day
24
OKCHE
Frontiers in
History
Symposium
UCO
October
11
Bill of Rights
Institute
Professional
Development
“Constitution:
Commander in
Chief”
November
7-11
Freedom Week
11
Veterans Day
December
7
Pearl Harbor
Day
70th
Anniversary
16
Law Day
Contest
Entries Due
LRE Page 5
Peaceful Resolutions for Oklahoma Students
Peer Mediation training for elementary and secondary students will begin
in September.
Conflict Mediation Programs help to:
(1) Decrease violence and fighting;
(2) Reduce name–calling and put downs;
(3) Decrease the number of suspensions;
(4) Increase self–esteem and self–respect among
peer mediators;
(5) Enable teachers to deal more effectively with
conflicts; and
(6) Improve school climate
Training is offered free of charge in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Pro-gram
participants receive instructional manuals to use as a reference.
For program details and registration:
www.okbar.org/public/lre/pros.htm
A Project of the Early Settlement Program administered by the
Supreme Court of Oklahoma, Administrative Office of the Courts, &
the Law-Related Education Department of the Oklahoma Bar Association
Oklahoma High School Mock Trial Program
www.okbar.org/public/mocktrial/
Law-related Education Programs
Oklahoma Bar Association
P.O. Box 53036
Oklahoma City, OK 73152
Find it Online!
www.okbar.org/public/lre/default.htm
What you will find on the LRE
web pages:
• Contact Info
• News Releases
• Calendar of Events
• Description of Programs
• Useful links
• Free Resources
FORMS:
Free Materials Request
Request for Attorney Speaker
www.facebook.com/obalre
Oklahoma Bar Association
Executive Director
John Morris Williams
Law-related Education Committee
Chairperson
Ret. Judge Reta M. Strubhar
Vice Chairperson
Suzanne Heggy
Law-related Education
Coordinator
Jane McConnell
janem@okbar.org (405) 416-7024
Administrative Assistant
Debra Jenkins
debraj@okbar.org (405) 416-7023
1901 N. Lincoln Blvd.
P.O. Box 53036
Oklahoma City, OK 73152
Toll Free Number: 800-522-8065
FAX: (405) 416-7088
LRE Page 6
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PERMIT NO. 740