The primary goal of We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, is to promote civic competence and responsibility among the nation’s elementary and secondary students. What makes the program so successful is the design of its instructional program, including its innovative culminating activity.
The instructional program enhances student’s understanding of the institutions of American constitutional democracy. At the same time, students discover the contemporary relevance of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The students participated in simulated congressional hearings. Each member was an expert witness on one of the six units in the text and then testified in small groups before a panel of judges acting as U.S. congressional representatives. During the simulated congressional hearing, students were judges on six criteria: understanding, constitutional application, reasoning, supporting evidence, responsiveness, and participation. The high school state champion, which is determined by total points, will represent Virginia at the 2014 We the People National Finals in Washington, DC this spring.
I believe our government’s future is in very good hands.
We the People
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