Law-Related Education Resources

• ACLU of Connecticut- Youth and Student's Rights - The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut's site for youth and student's rights.
• American Bar Association Law-Related Education - "This section contains information about law-related education projects and programs on national and state levels."
• Annenberg Classroom - Resources for civic education. "This website connects our award-winning, comprehensive curriculum on the Constitution and its amendments to daily civics news and student discussion."
• Ben's Guide to U.S. Government For Kids - "Ben's Guide provides information and activities specifically tailored for educators, parents, and students in K-12. These resources can help teach about our government and how it works."
• Bill of Rights Institute - "The mission of the Bill of Rights Institute is to educate young people about the words and ideas of America's Founders, the liberties guaranteed in our Founding documents, and how our Founding principles continue to affect and shape a free society."
• Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site - "The Education and Outreach Division at Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site strives to provide quality curriculum-based resources and activities for educators and parents."
• Center for Civic Education - "The Center specializes in civic/citizenship education, law-related education, and international educational exchange programs for developing democracies. Programs focus on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights; American political traditions and institutions at the federal, state, and local levels; constitutionalism; civic participation; and the rights and responsibilities of citizens."
• Charters of Freedom: Constitution of the United States - From the National Archives Experience collection.
• Civics First - is a private, non-profit association that conducts and promotes law-related education programs in Connecticut’s public, private, and parochial schools, including Mock Trial, Debate, and We the People, an immersion in the United States Constitution. Students who participate in Civics First programs develop self-confidence, critical thinking, and public speaking skills while learning about the Constitution and the rule of law. Established in 1976, Civics First partners with many private and public groups and individuals throughout the state, including the bar, state and federal courts, and institutions of higher education.
• Close Up Foundation - "Close Up welcomes participation on its programs without regard to gender, race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or disability. To carry out our mission, we partner with educators, schools, and youth organizations throughout the country to help young people develop the skills and attitudes to become informed and engaged citizens."
• Connecticut Network (CT-N) State Civics Toolbox - This site "offers lesson plans and classroom activities that utilize videotaped debates of bills before the Connecticut General Assembly. Videos are available to middle school and high school teachers free of charge from The Connecticut Network, a non-profit broadcast service covering Connecticut State Government."
• Connecticut Supreme Court Historical Society - Promoting and preserving the state's judicial and constitutional tradition through scholarship, memorials, publications and education.
• Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention - Juveniles and the Death Penalty - "This Bulletin examines the history of capital punishment and Supreme Court decisions related to its use with juveniles."
• Courts to Classes - from the U.S. Courts Web Site  "As part of the Federal Judiciary's educational outreach program, this site is designed to assist educators in teaching about the federal court system in ways that are consistent with law-related education practices and relevant social studies standards. Content focuses on the purpose, structure, and function of the courts and is driven by the input, needs, and experiences of educators across the country."
• Doses of Connecticut Legal History
• Famous Trials,  by Doug Linder (2004) - Available from the University of Missouri-Kansas School of Law, this web site provides extensive resources, including striking photographs and portraits, of 35 of the most famous trials in history.
• First Federal Congress Project - "This exhibit contains extensive opportunities for using primary documents to explore the actions, issues and significance of the First Federal Congress (FFC), which, as the exhibit explains, was a virtual "second sitting" of the Federal Constitutional Convention."  The site includes an introductory classroom lecture along with four different approaches to use with the lesson.  Offered through George Washington University.
• Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - Thousands of American history-related materials are offered on this site, beginning with the Colonial period through modern times.  Educators may search for resources by Period, Topic, or by using the Reference Room.  This site also includes links to relevant music from historical eras as well as audio of important historical speeches.
• Government Information for Children (GIC) - GIC’s mission is to promote government information in order to engage K-12 students in learning about the arts, literature, history, culture, science, technology, and government through games and other interactive activities; to assist teachers and school librarians with locating teaching aids, lesson plans, and exciting tools to enhance students' learning; and to provide librarians with a collection of free government resources to advance their reference interview and collection development decisions.
• History Matters - "Designed for high school and college teachers and students, History Matters serves as a gateway to web resources and offers other useful materials for teaching U.S. history."  Offered through George Mason University.
• iCivics - iCivics is a web-based education project designed to teach students civics and inspire them to be active participants in our democracy. iCivics is the vision of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is concerned that students are not getting the information and tools they need for civic participation, and that civics teachers need better materials and support.
• Kids in the House - From the Office of the Clerk, this site includes a Lesson Plan Library for Parents and Teachers, with activities such as how to have a mock debate, and understanding how a bill becomes a law.
• Landmark Supreme Court Cases - "This site was developed to provide teachers with a full range of resources and activities to support the teaching of landmark Supreme Court cases, helping students explore the key issues of each case. The "Resources" section features basic building blocks such as background summaries and excerpts of opinions that can be used in multiple ways. The "Activities" section contains a range of short activities and in-depth lessons that can be completed with students."
• Law Library of Congress’ Educational Resources for the Classroom – "Lesson plans, presentations, and other resources designed to assist instructors with using primary source materials to teach about government, law, and politics."
• Library of Congress Online: A Guide for Middle School and High School Students - This guide provides links to primary and secondary sources, as well as information on citing sources, formatting papers, strategies for searching, and types of sources. It is designed to help identify and use online resources from the Library of Congress for a range of research projects.
• Library of Congress-Primary Documents in American History - "The Library of Congress is home to many of the most important documents in American history. This Web site provides links to materials digitized from the collections of the Library of Congress that supplement and enhance the study of these crucial documents."
• National High School Mock Trial Championship - The 2018 National Championship was held in May 2018 in Reno, Nevada.
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention - "OJJDP provides national leadership, coordination, and resources to prevent and respond to juvenile delinquency and victimization."
• Our Documents: A National Initiative on American History, Civics, and Service
  - "To help us think, talk and teach about the rights and responsibilities of citizens in our democracy, we invite you to explore 100 milestone documents of American history. These documents reflect our diversity and our unity, our past and our future, and mostly our commitment as a nation to continue to strive to form a more perfect union."
• Street Law - "Street Law is practical, participatory education about law, democracy and human rights. Through its philosophy and programs, Street Law empowers people to transform democratic ideals into citizen action. Street Law's programs do not end at the door of the classroom. Each student gains essential lessons that can be used for life."
• Student Press Law Center - The Student Press Law Center is "devoted to educating high school and college journalists about the rights and responsibilities embodied in the First Amendment and supporting the student news media in their struggle to cover important issues free from censorship."
• Supreme Court Historical Society - This web site features an interesting array of resources pertaining to the history of the United States Supreme Court, how the Court works, a Learning Center, and Researching the Court section.
• UNICEF Voices of Youth - Voices of Youth consist of three forums: 1) The Meeting Place is a forum where visitors "share ideas about important world issues." 2) The Learning Place offers several "interactive global learning projects." 3) The Teachers Place is "where teachers, trainers, educational planners and young people can discuss the use of electronic networks for global educational projects."

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