2013 Colorado Law Constitution Day Project

Dear Teachers and Volunteer Presenters,

Thank you so much for your interest in the Colorado Law Constitution Day Project! This project engages students in learning about the Constitution by presenting them with real-life problems to examine as a lawyer would.  It also provides an opportunity for law students and legal professionals to be involved with their local communities.  Feedback from our first two years has been overwhelmingly positive from both classroom teachers and presenters.

This year, we are offering presentations from Monday, September 9 through Friday, September 20. The lesson plan is a First Amendment problem involving fighting words.  While the lesson plan can be modified to accommodate each classroom's time constraints, we do ask that teachers allow at least 45 minutes for our presenters.

If you would like to request presenters for your classroom, or if you would like to sign-up to deliver presentations, please follow the instructions below. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

 

Instructions for Teachers

As soon as possible:

  • Review your school calendar for conflicts during the weeks of September 9 - September 20, 2013.
  • Complete our teacher survey to request presenters for your preferred day(s)/time(s). Our presenters require a minimum of 45 minutes. We will contact you once we have assigned presenters to your class(es).
  • If anything changes after you complete the survey, you will not be able to make changes to your survey.  Instead, please email us to let us know what has changed.

Before the presentation:

  • Review the lesson plan that our presenters will teach.
  • Communicate special instructions (e.g., where to park, how to find your classroom, etc.) directly to your presenters.
  • Distribute the case summaries to your students a day or two before the presentation.

The day of the presentation:

  • Support our presenters by helping with classroom management.
  • Complete our follow-up survey after the presentation.

 

Instructions for Presenters

As soon as possible:

  • Review your class and/or work schedule for conflicts during the weeks of September 9 - September 20, 2013.
  • Complete our presenter survey to give us the day(s)/time(s) that you are available to present. We will contact you once we have assigned you and a co-presenter to a specific teacher.  When giving your start time, be sure to give us the time you can start driving to the school—account for time walking to your car, etc.  
  • If anything changes after you complete the survey, you will not be able to make changes to your survey.  Instead, please email us to let us know what has changed.

Before the presentation:

  • Attend one of the presenter training sessions offered by the White Center (these sessions will also be recorded).  Trainings will be held in the Wolf Law building:
    • Tuesday, September 3, 12:00 to 1:00 in Room 207 *lunch provided
    • Wednesday, September 4, 2:30 to 3:30, Room 204
    • An online training video is available here or watch it below (Note: Video is only 42 minutes even though it appears longer)
  • Communicate directly with your assigned teacher regarding the details of your presentation, inlcuding check-in procedures at the school, parking, and how many students will be in the class.
  • Review the lesson plan and meet with your co-presenter to determine who will cover what.
  • Collect copies of the student handouts (case summaries and hypothetical) from the White Center cubicle (located in the Reseach Center Suite on the third floor in the southeast corner of the building). 
  • Print and review the lesson plan outline—there is a version for short classes (45 minutes) and a version for longer classes. 
  • PDF files of all handouts and lesson plan outlines will also be available on this page for those who cannot make it to the law school. 
  • If you wish to review the full cases, you can access them here: Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, Cohen v. California, and Ware v. Denver.

The day of the presentation:

  • Arrive at the school at least 10 minutes early, check-in at the front desk, and then find your assigned classroom.
  • Complete our follow-up survey after the presentation.

 

Video Training for Presenters (42 minutes)

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_ZEtemIvD4&feature=youtu.be]