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How will a
Laws of Life Essay Contest benefit schools or communities?
By sponsoring a contest, schools and communities communicate to their
youth that they believe ethical and moral development is important.
Research tells us that students who reflect and think about ideas learn
them at a deeper level. And, the Laws of Life program integrates
character development into the writing curriculum. It provides students
with a compelling occasion to write, edit, and revise - critical
components of the writing process. Although Laws of Life can be
administered as an extra-credit option or an extracurricular activity,
teachers are encouraged to integrate the contest into the curriculum as
a class assignment. This allows students to engage in the full writing
process of brainstorming, outlining, drafting, peer review, editing, and
final copy. The process of writing Laws of Life essays stimulates
students and gives them greater motivation to write - thus providing an
additional opportunity to prepare for writing assessments.
How does the Laws of Life Essay Contest
fit into the required curriculum?
The Laws of Life Essay Contest can be used to meet requirements
of the Ohio English Language Arts Academic Content Standards. An added
benefit is that the contest can help students improve composition skills
required by the new SAT and ACT exams.
How does the Ohio Statewide Laws of Life
Essay Contest work?
Schools, districts or community groups sponsor their own local contest
and judge entries. Some local contests choose to award prizes with
locally generated funds, but that is not required. A contest can be as
simple as a teacher assigning the essay to the class, and soliciting
other teachers and administrators to help judge the essays.
Winning entries from each local contest (see instructions for number of
entries per contest) are submitted to OPCE for judging in the statewide
contest. OPCE coordinates the judging of the statewide contest.
Finalists are chosen in both the high school and middle school divisions
and invited along with their parents, teachers and contest coordinators
to the Awards Banquet held in the fall in Columbus. At the banquet,
finalists are awarded cash prizes. Teachers of the winning students and
the contest coordinators are also awarded cash prizes.
How can schools obtain information about
starting a local contest?
The Templeton Foundation will send a complete contest information
package free of charge. To obtain a packet, call the John Templeton
Foundation at 1-800-245-1285 or materials can be downloaded from their
website www.lawsoflife.org.
Is fund raising necessary?
No - the contest can be as simple as a single classroom essay assignment
with other staff or community members serving as judges. The format for
the essay contest is flexible, and we encourage you to implement the Laws
of Life Essay Contest in a manner that best suits your community. As
the John Templeton Foundation aptly advises, "Do what fits!"
As your contest grows, you may want to add prizes. Many times local
service clubs or businesses are willing to donate prizes or funds for
scholarships, as are PTA's or PTO's. These organizations can also be a
source of judges for the contest. Involving the wider community in a
positive way is an added benefit of this program.
For
Further
Contest Information:
Contact
Lucy Frontera, OPCE Director, at 614 486-6531x137 or lucy.frontera@charactereducationohio.org
with questions or for further information.
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