founding freedoms - national constitution center · essay contest winners will be announced awards...
TRANSCRIPT
Essay Contest
FOUNDING FREEDOMS
Dear Educator,
The National Constitution Center is pleased to announce the return of
the Founding Freedoms Essay Contest. Thanks to the generous support
of the John Templeton Foundation, the Founding Freedoms Essay
Contest challenges public and independent school teachers throughout
the Mid-Atlantic region to increase constitutional literacy and awareness
of individual rights in their classrooms. The essay contest asks 6th, 8th,
and 12th grade students to compose essays exploring the contemporary
meanings of the relationship between the founding documents—
the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and
the Bill of Rights.
We are very excited to launch the contest and want to encourage all
educators to engage their students with the supporting materials and
lesson plan provided. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate
to e-mail us at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Kerry SautnerVice President of EducationNational Constitution Center
Founding Freedoms Essay Contest 2
Whether planning a field trip, looking for innovative ways to enhance classroom instruction, or seeking a deeper understanding of U.S. history and active citizenship, the National Constitution Center is an educator’s ultimate civic learning resource.
Learn more at ConstitutionCenter.org/Learn.
INTRODUCTION
Contest Information
Rules and Regulations
Submission Requirements
Essay Contest Prizes
Essay Prompt
Cover Sheet for Essay Submission
Scoring Rubric for Essay Assessment
Page 4
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Founding Freedoms Essay Contest 3
CONTENTS
Essay contest opens and submissions will be accepted
through NCC’s online submission platform.
Last day for essay submissions.
No submissions will be accepted after 11:59 P.M.
Essay contest winners will be announced
Awards ceremony for winning essay authors.
Winning essays will be published on the NCC’s website.
November 6, 2015
February 19, 2016
March 31, 2016
June, 2016
Enrollment
Length of Essays
Scoring
Essay Planning
Citations
Submission Date
Submission Process
Cover Sheet
File Name
Students must be enrolled in 6th, 8th, or 12th grade in a school
located in the Mid-Atlantic region.
A minimum of 300 words for 6th grade, 500 words for 8th grade,
and 1,000 words for 12th grade. Essays not satisfying the minimum
requirement will not be considered.
See the scoring rubric on page 8.
Essays should have an introduction, body, and conclusion.
Arguments must be clearly made with examples from the
Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the
Bill of Rights.
Essays should have clear, consistent citations. Please use APA
format for all citations. Additional primary sources are encouraged.
Essays are due no later than February 19, 2016, at 11:59 P.M.
Entries received after that date and time will not be considered.
Submissions must be made electronically through the NCC
website using the online form. Hard copies will not be accepted.
A signed cover sheet (see page 7) must accompany each essay.
Please name the essay file with the student’s name.
(example: KerrySautnerEssay.pdf)
Contest Timeline
Submission Requirements
CONTEST INFORMATION
Founding Freedoms Essay Contest 4
First place: $500 to the student and $100 to the teacher.
Travel and accommodations for the student (with one parent or
guardian) and the teacher to the June 2016 awards ceremony.
Second place: $100 to the student.
First place: $1,000 to the student and $250 to the teacher.
Travel and accommodations for the student (with one parent or
guardian) and the teacher to the June 2016 awards ceremony.
Second place: $500 to the student.
First place: $2,500 to the student and $250 to the teacher.
Travel and accommodations for the student (with one parent or
guardian) and the teacher to the June 2016 awards ceremony.
Second place: $1,000 to the student.
Essay Contest Prizes
6th Grade Essay Contest Winner
8th Grade EssayContest Winner
12th Grade Essay Contest Winner
Founding Freedoms Essay Contest 5
CONTEST INFORMATION
6th Grade Essay PromptHow are the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights relevant to your life?
8th Grade Essay PromptWhat are the relationships between the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights?
12th Grade Essay PromptThe National Constitution Center displays the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Why do people consider these the “documents of freedom?” How do these documents work together to define and protect our rights?
Founding Freedoms Essay Contest 6
ESSAY PROMPTS
Founding Freedoms Essay Contest 7
COVER SHEET FOR ESSAY SUBMISSION
Student name and grade:
Essay Title:
School Name:
School Address:
School Phone Number:
Teacher’s Name:
Teacher’s E-mail:
Student’s Home Address (Street, City, State, and Zip Code):
Parent/Guardian Name:
Parent/Guardian E-mail:
Parent/Guardian Phone Number:
I certify that this is an original research project constituting only my work and that I am
the sole author. I also grant the National Constitution Center all intellectual property
rights associated with this play, therefore permitting its reproduction by the National
Constitution Center for any purpose.
Student’s Signature:
Date:
Parent/Guardian’s Signature:
Date:
Founding Freedoms Essay Contest 8
4. ADVANCED
FOCUS
CONTENTDEVELOPMENT
ORGANIZATION
STYLE
CONVENTIONS
2. BASIC3. PROFICIENT 1. BELOW BASIC
• Sharp, distinct controlling point that responds skillfully to all parts of the prompt.
• States an argument/claim/opinion with insightful awareness of task.
• Clear point made about a single topic that responds to all parts of the prompt.
• States an argument/claim/opinion that demonstrates sufficient awareness of task.
• Limited point that responds to some parts of the prompt.
• States an argument/claim/opinion that demonstrates limited understanding of task/topic
• Minimal evidence of a topic.• Does not state an argument/
claim/opinion and/or demonstrates no understanding of task/topic.
• Substantial, specific, relevant supporting textual evidence.
• Insightful explanation/analysis of how evidence supports claim(s).
• Sophisticated organization of ideas and information into purposeful, coherent paragraphs that include an elaborated introduction with clear thesis, structured body, and insightful conclusion.
• Skillfully uses a variety of transitions, phrases, and clauses to connect reasons to argument/claim/opinion.
• Precise, illustrative use of a variety of words that are academic and domain-specific vocabulary.
• Purposeful and varied sentence structure.
• Consistent writer’s voice and tone appropriate to audience.
• Evident control of grammar, mechanics, spelling, usage and sentence formation
• Demonstrates creativity and flexibility when using conventions to enhance meaning.
• Sufficient and relevant supporting textual evidence.
• Clear explanation/analysis of how evidence supports claim(s).
• Functional organization of ideas and information into logical introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs.
• Appropriately uses transitions, phrases, and clauses to connect reasons to argument/claim/opinion.
• Appropriate use of words that are academic and domain-specific vocabulary.
• Correct and varied sentence structure.
• Clear writer’s voice and tone appropriate to audience.
• Sufficient control of grammar, mechanics, spelling, usage and sentence formation.
• Demonstrates grade-level appropriate conventions; errors are minor and do not obscure meaning.
• Limited supporting textual evidence.
• Limited explanation/analysis of how evidence supports claim(s).
• Confused or inconsistent organization of ideas and information into an introduction, body and conclusion.
• Simplistically uses some transitions, phrases, or clauses to connect reasons to argument/claim/opinion.
• Limited use of words that are academic and domain-specific vocabulary.
• Repetitive yet correct sentence structure.
• Incoherent voice and tone.
• Limited control of grammar, mechanics, spelling, usage and sentence formation.
• Demonstrates some grade-level conventions but errors obscure meaning.
• Irrelevant, inaccurate, or complete lack of supporting textual evidence.
• Inaccurate or no explanation/analysis of how evidence supports claim(s).
• Incoherent minimal organization due to the lack of paragraph structure and/or missing introduction, body, or conclusion.
• Lacking transitions, phrases, and clauses.
• Lacking academic and domain-specific vocabulary.
• Minimal control of sentence structure.
• Lacking voice and tone.
• Minimal control of grammar, mechanics, spelling, usage and sentence formation.
• Demonstrates limited understanding of gradelevel appropriate conventions and errors interfere with the meaning.
SCORING RUBRIC FOR ESSAY SUBMISSION
This rubric was developed using the Pennsylvania Writing Assessment Domain Scoring Guide (http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/state_assessment_system/20965/pennsylvania_system_of_school_assessment_%28pssa%29/1190526) and Elk Grove Unified School District – Opinion/Argument Rubric (http://blogs.egusd.net/ccss/educators/ela/rubrics-k-12/)