PUBLISHED BY
LAW WISE
FEBRUARY 2016 • ISSUE 4
Editor: Ron Keefover
Coordinators: Hon. G. Joseph Pierron Jr.; Anne Woods & Ryan Purcell, KBA staff
Greetings from the Kansas Bar Association (KBA).
Welcome to this edition of Law Wise and the fourth edition of the 2015-2016 school year.
IN THIS ISSUE
Kansas Joins New National Civic Ed Initiative
Called the James Madison Legacy Project..... 1
KSU’s Center for Social Studies Education
Ramping Up Efforts With New Funding,
Law-Related Education Leadership
Appointments.............................................. 2
Indiana Study finds We the People Programs
Increase Civic Knowledge............................ 3
Lesson Plan: Oral History................................ 4
Terrific Technology for Teachers....................... 5
February Buzz: President’s Month.................... 5
Dear Readers: NEW Law Wise Group.............. 6
Calendar of Events
February 15
Presidents’ Day
April 15
ansas State University
K
Symposium
May 1
Law Day
Kansas Joins New National Civic
Ed Initiative Called the James
Madison Legacy Project
K
ansas State University’s Center for Social Studies Education has
launched a Civics and Government Professional Development program for middle and high school teachers in civics and government
focusing on the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, the Bill of
Rights, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
In announcing the program, Dr. Thomas S. Vontz, professor and director of KSU’s Center for Social Studies Education, said “it is critical that
teachers have a sound background in civics and government and develop
the skills required to bring the subject to life for their students.” He said
the new initiative is designed for teachers to help students become effective and engaged members of society and “further the goal of a nation that
is supposed to be of, by, and for the people.”
The Kansas program is part of a nationwide professional development
initiative directed by the Center for Civic Education, a nonprofit educational organization that recently was awarded a federal grant under the
U.S. Department of Education’s Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) program. Called the James Madison Legacy Project, KSU’s
Center for Social Studies Education is one of the organizations participating in the 46-state partnership. The funding will be used to increase
the number of highly effective teachers of high-need and other students
through professional development and the implementation of an exemplary curricular program for students. The teacher institutes and workshops will focus on the research-validated We the People: The Citizen and
the Constitution program, a nationally acclaimed curriculum that teaches
upper elementary, middle and high school students about the history and
principles of the U.S. Constitution.
Dr. Vontz said 40 teachers have been accepted for this year’s program,
which includes free educational resources, a $500 professional stipend,
free sets of We the People textbooks and a teacher’s guide, 40 Professional Development Points certified by KSU, as well as subsistence and
travel reimbursement in Manhattan and Topeka. The teachers are participating in online professional development during this month and March,
and will attend Kansas State University’s Social Studies Symposium April
15th in Manhattan.
The 40 teachers observed We the People state competitions February
1st in Topeka, under the direction of Dr. Vontz and Dr. Brad Burenheide,
Assoc. Professor in the College of Education, at KSU. They were appointwww.ksbar.org/lawwise
2 LAW WISE | FEBRUARY 2016
(Continued from Page 1)
ed state coordinators for Kansas by
the Center for Civic Education to
succeed longtime state coordinator
Rep. Sue Boldra, Hays, who stepped
down after the 2015 national competition to devote more time to her
teaching and legislative career.
We the People competition is administered nationally by the Center
for Civic Education in Calabasas,
California. The program contains
three different levels of textbooks;
one aimed at upper elementary stuRep. Sue Boldra
dents (most frequently fifth grade),
one aimed at middle school students (most frequently eighth
grade), and one aimed at the high school students (most frequently in government or civics classes but also commonly
employed in United States history classes).
The different levels of the textbooks follow the same general
format and focus on similar issues. The content of the curriculum emphasizes political philosophy, constitutional history, ju-
E
risprudence, and political behavior.
The culminating activity of the program is a simulated congressional
hearing where students role-play
expert witnesses on the Constitution, and community members, often members of the legal community, role-play members of Congress
seeking more information on the
Constitution.
Dr. Vontz said “The most recent
National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP) in civics revealed
Dr. Brad Burenheide
that only about 25 percent of students performed at or above the “proficient” level. All the
other students scored at “basic” or “below basic” levels that
leave them ill-equipped to participate effectively in civic life.
“This clearly indicates the need for the James Madison Legacy
Project to improve civic education,” he said. n
KSU’s Center for Social Studies Education Ramping
Up Efforts With New Funding, Law-Related Education
Leadership Appointments
ngaging Kansas State University’s Dr. Thomas S. Vontz in
a discussion of the Center for Social Studies Education he
directs leaves one with a sense of excitement over his infectious enthusiasm for working with teachers to change today’s
abysmal lack of understanding of basic civics. Which according
to the most recent National Assessment of Education Progress in
civics reveals only about 25 percent of students performed at or
above the “proficient” level. All other students scored at “basic”
or “below basic” levels, clear indicators of why our citizens are
so ill-equipped to participate in civic life as adults.
Meet KSU’s Professor Thomas
“Tom” Vontz, Ph.D, whose involvement in Civic Education
spans 23 years, 18 states, and 9
countries. In addition to teaching
undergraduate and graduate education courses in the Department
of Curriculum and Instruction, he
directs the university’s Center for
Social Studies and this past year
agreed to serve as state coordinator for We the People (with Dr.
Brad Burenheide), Project Citizen, and iCivics.
Dr. Thomas S. Vontz
Dr. Vontz’s involvement in civic education began in 1992 when
he was awarded the James Madison Fellowship to pursue a
masters degree focusing on the United States Constitution.
After completing his masters degree, Dr. Vontz taught United
States History, American Government, and United States Foreign Relations at Lincoln Southeast High School in Lincoln,
Nebraska, from 1993-1996. While teaching at Lincoln Southeast, he participated in the Center for Civic Education’s We the
People. . . the Citizen and the Constitution, taking teams to the
National Finals three consecutive years.
After teaching at Lincoln Southeast, he attended Indiana University to pursue a Ph.D. in Curriculum Studies with an interdisciplinary minor in Law and History. His studies focused on
social studies education and education for democracy. While
at Indiana University, he became the Director of the Indiana
Program for Law-Related Education, Co-Director of Civitas: An
International Civic Education Exchange, and the Indiana State
Coordinator for both We the People. . .the Citizen and the
Constitution and We the People. . . Project Citizen.
In 2001 Dr. Vontz accepted a faculty position at Rockhurst
University in Kansas City, Missouri, where he taught courses
in social studies education, teacher education, and geography.
His involvement continued in Kansas City where he served
as a district coordinator for both We the People. . .the citizen
and the Constitution and We the People. . . Project Citizen in
Kansas Congressional District Three.
He also served as the president of the Kansas Council for
the Social Studies, Associate Director for Publications for Civics Mosaic, and co-author of Exploring Political Ideas—a reference book for high school students published by Congressional Quarterly in 2010. Dr. Vontz is the author or co-author of
a number of journal articles, book chapters, and three books.
Dr. Vontz’s involvement in We the People spans 17 years
and 14 states. He has served as a teacher, judge, district coordinator, state coordinator, institute director, workshop facilitator, and evaluator. n
www.ksbar.org/lawwise
FEBRUARY 2016 | LAW WISE 3
Indiana Study finds We the People Programs
Increase Civic Knowledge
A 2015 Indiana research report on the effects of the We the
People program concludes that students of teachers who have
participated in it scored higher on tests of their knowledge of
the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, political parties and elections, and race and politics than students in a comparison
group. The report, entitled “High School Students’ Acquisition
of Civic Knowledge: The Impact of We the People,” was authored by Dr. Diana Owen, Georgetown University.
Dr. Owen notes in her study that decades of research confirm that the public has a relatively low stock of political
knowledge. The study compares the acquisition of political
knowledge by students whose teachers have gone through the
We the People professional development program to students
whose teachers have not. It also examined the knowledge gain
of students who participated in the We the People instructional
program to that of students who took civics classes employing
more traditional approaches. Student knowledge assessment
data from an original study fielded in schools across the state
of Indiana during the fall semester of 2014 was used.
Dr. Owen concluded that students of teachers who have participated in We the People professional development scored
higher on tests of their knowledge of the Constitution, the Bill
of Rights, political parties and elections, and race and politics than students in the comparison group. The influence of
We the People professional development on teacher effectiveness in conveying political knowledge is evident for students
enrolled in either the We the People program or a traditional
civics class. The We the People curriculum is especially successful in imparting knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, the
study found.
Key Study Findings include:
99 Students’ political knowledge increased over the course
of the semester for the entire sample.
99 The increase in political knowledge levels as a result of
civics instruction was significantly higher for students of
teachers with We the People professional development
than for the comparison group.
99 Students who took civics with a teacher with We the
People professional development had significantly
higher scores on knowledge of the U.S. Constitution,
the Bill of Rights, political parties and elections, and
race and politics than students in the comparison group
at the end of the semester.
99 Students in the We the People program had significantly
higher scores on knowledge of the U.S. Constitution
than other students in the study.
99 We the People students’ scores are similar to those of
students taking a traditional civics class with a teacher
who has We the People professional development for
knowledge of the Bill of Rights and race and politics.
99 Teacher professional development and type of class had
no influence on knowledge of government institutions.
To see the full study, go to http://civiced.org/pdfs/research/
ImpactofWethePeople_DianaOwen.pdf n
2016 We the People Winners
J. Eugene Balloun is surrounded by students from Blue Valley Northwest as he presents them
with a check from the Johnson County First Amendment Foundation to help defray the costs
of attending nationals in Washington, DC in April.
BVNW students answer questions during part of the We the People competition.
www.ksbar.org/lawwise
4 LAW WISE | FEBRUARY 2016
Lesson Plan
Oral History
Source: http://history.house.gov/Education/Lesson-Plans/Lesson-Plans-Oral-History/
T
he lesson plan and teaching tips offer suggestions on how
oral histories conducted with former staff and Members
can help students learn about the history of the House of Representatives through the perspectives of the people who lived
it.
Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students have the opportunity to learn more
about the House of Representatives through the firsthand
recollections of longtime employees, pages, eyewitnesses to
historic events, and family of former Members intimately connected to the institution.
Teaching Tips
Design an online scavenger hunt where students review transcripts, audio clips, video clips, photographs, and artifacts to
locate a series of objects and/or places connected to the Capitol (Speaker’s Lobby; cloakroom; electronic voting machine;
Little Congress membership card; and the Speaker’s Rostrum,
for example).
• Take a series of photographs of your students during the
course of a normal day. Then take some photographs of
a special event involving the students. Design an activity
in which students imagine how historians 30 years from
now would describe the pictures and how these photographs could one day be part of an oral history project.
Grades: 7–12
• Have students listen to the audio clips for one of the
interviewees on the website. Ask students to draw or
create a visual depiction of what was described in each
of the clips.
• Ask students to select three oral histories from the
website. Based on the job descriptions and recollections
provided by each of the interviewees, draft three “Help
Wanted” postings. Make sure that each of the postings
fit the job requirements for the period in which the
person was employed by the House.
• Have students choose one oral history and write a
newspaper article (500 words in length) which focuses
on the career highlights of the person featured in the
interview.
• Ask students to select a historical event like the Great
Depression, World War II, or the Watergate scandal and
have students locate segments of the oral histories that
relate to the given topic. Organize a class discussion
about how these people were personally affected by the
events. n
• Have students create a historical timeline with at least
eight events based on the oral histories featured on the
Web site.
• Have students conduct an oral history with a retired
employee that worked in local or state government.
Ask students to compare and contrast the experiences
of their interviewee with the former House employees
featured on the Web site.
• Choose one oral history from the Web site and have
students compose five questions that were not asked
by the interviewer. Set up a role-play exercise where
students are grouped in pairs and have the chance to
ask their questions and devise likely answers.
• Have students list three instances in which technology
is discussed in the oral histories from the Web site and
then ask students to brainstorm and draft a list of three
new inventions that would potentially affect all of society (including Congress) during the next 20 years.
www.ksbar.org/lawwise
Capitol Pages attending biology class, 1948.
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
FEBRUARY 2016 | LAW WISE 5
Te r r i f i c Te c h n o l o g y
Research Study Affirms Value of We the People Program
For an informative look at the success of traditional social
studies teaching strategies compared to teachers who have undergone professional development courses using the We the
People program, take a look at this Indiana study by Dr. Diana
Owen: http://bit.ly/1QaABQW
Everything You Want to Know About the National We the
People Program may be found at the Center for Civic Education website, including this year’s 29th annual National Finals,
which are scheduled April 22-25, 2016, in Washington DC.
Classes qualify for the National Finals by placing first in their
state competition or through wildcard availability. Participants
will also welcome a special Warren E. Burger class in tribute to
for
Te a c h e r s
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger. The competition will be conducted on the campus of the University of Maryland and in
hearing rooms on Capitol Hill. For more information, go to:
http://www.civiced.org/programs/wtp.
iCivics for Teachers There are numerous free resources for
teachers on icivics.org. Lesson plans, games, web quests (guided research activities), drafting board (designed for argumentative writing), and mini-lessons that can be done independently
or combined into larger lessons are all available at no charge.
For example, The Road to the Constitution and The Constitution units can be used separately or together. Visit http://www.
icivics.com and click on Teach to learn more. n
February Buzz: Presidents’ Month
@ The Law-Related Collection, Emporia State University, Teachers College Resource Center
T
he evening news shouts out about the latest debates, and
there are so many candidates that it may be confusing for
the learners in our schools. So what can we do? We can teach
about voting and the election process. “ The Election Process
in America”, a 50 minute DVD from the Just the Facts Learning Series, is packed with information about voting rights. It
considers the vocabulary, and travels learners through some
recent campaigns to explain. We also have books about several presidents, and other resources that will tempt learners
to find out more about: political parties, the electoral college,
lobbyists, and more.
If any of these topics fit your interests or needs, you may
search online at emporiastate.worldcat.org and choose “Resource Center” from the drop box to see the full array of materials and resources available here at the Center. If you plan
to be in our area, we are located on the second floor of Visser
Hall, on the campus of Emporia State University, and we would
be proud to give you the guided tour. You may also call 620341-5292 to check out resources during our hours, 9-6, Monday through Thursday, and 9-5 on Friday. We are able to mail
out and receive items with no charge to the patron, thanks to
the generosity of the Kansas Bar Association. Please help us to
continue our “Buzz” here at the Law Related Education Collection at Emporia State University! n
Janice Romeise
(620) 341-5292
emporiastate.worldcat.org
[email protected]
Corky the Hornet
www.ksbar.org/lawwise
6 LAW WISE | FEBRUARY 2016
Dear Readers,
Law Wise is provided as a public service and is a publication funded by the KBA Law Related Education Committee
through a grant from the Kansas Bar Foundation.
We are interested in your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions about current and future issues. In an effort to provide a format
for subscribers to share information, we have created a new way to register and to receive Law Wise. If you do not currently
receive Law Wise via your email inbox, but would like to, we need you to let us know. Here are some simple instructions
to do that.
How to Subscribe
Nonmembers:
We now request you have a FREE Educator account.
1. During the sign up process (www.ksbar.org/join), choose Educator.
2. Create a username, input your first and last name, and select “Law Wise” from the Education drop down menu.
Click Continue.
3. Create a password and complete the form.
4. You are now subscribed to Law Wise.
KBA Members:
1. Please sign in.
2. Go to Law Wise page.
3. Next, you click the Join Group icon near the top of the Law Wise webpage.
FAQs
We have a list of FAQs available on the Law Wise webpage at http://www.ksbar.org/LWFAQ.
The Kansas Bar Foundation, with Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) funding, provides support for this publication. Law Wise
provides general information about law-related matters of interest to teachers, students, and the public in Kansas, but does not provide any
legal advice, so readers should consult their own lawyers for legal advice. For further information about any projects or articles, contact
Ron Keefover at [email protected]; or Anne Woods, public services manager, (785) 234-5696. Law Wise is published by the Kansas
Bar Association, 1200 SW Harrison St., Topeka, KS 66612-1806, during the school year.
www.ksbar.org/lawwise