founding freedoms - national constitution center · essay contest winners will be announced awards...

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


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


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.



Second place: $500 to the student.

First place: $2,500 to the student and $250 to the teacher.



Second place: $1,000 to the student.

Essay Contest Prizes

6th Grade Essay Contest Winner

8th Grade EssayContest Winner

12th Grade Essay Contest Winner


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?


ESSAY PROMPTS


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:


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/)

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