In February, the Bill of Rights Institute will publish The Bill of Rights for Real Life, a 22-lesson curriculum (funded by the Carnegie Corporation) which employs research-based teaching strategies and is designed for high school students who are not likely to attend college. The unit organization is identical to that of The Bill of Rights and You--The Founders, Religion, Expression, Guns, Private Property, Criminal Procedure, Citizen Juries, Personal Liberty, Federalism, and Incorporation--but the essays, activities, teaching strategies, and DVD's are targeted at students for whom this will likely be their last formal academic exposure to the Bill of Rights. This curriculum has been written by teachers who have extensive experience with this student population and all of the lessons have been classroom-tested by veteran educators.

We are looking for teachers of non-college bound youth who would be willing to teach this 22-lesson curriculum (each lesson is approx. 45 min.) to their students (preferably in Gr. 12) between March 1-May 30, 2005. Participating students will be asked to (anonymously) complete pre- and post-tests and to participate in a multi-year study to assess their civic knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Participating teachers will receive a complimentary copy of the curriculum, recognition in our report to the Carnegie Corporation, and a stipend of $250 for teaching the 22 lessons.

If you and your students are able to commit to this project, please send us your contact information (name; address, phone, and e-mail for both home and school; and the course you will be teaching with the curriculum) no later than January 17. This information should be e-mailed to our Education Programs Coordinator, Jason Wilson, at jwilson@billofrightsinstitute.org. (About a year ago, some of you may have indicated to us a tentative interest in this project. If so, we would like you to confirm your intent to participate as well as update your contact information.)

Please don't hesitate to contact me at cgriffin@billofrightsinstitute.org if you have questions about this project. Thank you for your interest in this endeavor, and for your commitment to help your students better understand the Founding values and Founding documents.

Claire McCaffery Griffin
Vice President of Education Programs
The Bill of Rights Institute
200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 1050
Arlington, VA. 22203
703-894-1776, Ext. 14