Improving Civic and Legal Literacy Skills of Secondary Level Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students Using the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights.

This practicum was designed to develop a national model for teaching students with deafness or hearing impairments about their legal rights and responsibilities. The model included implementing a law-related education curriculum specifically written for students with deafness or hearing impairments, addressing their needs in legal knowledge and disability issues. Implementation of the practicum was achieved by conducting teacher training conferences, providing support and resources for teachers, making site visits, developing an activities schedule for a 12-week implementation period, writing portfolio assessment guides and charts, developing relationships with the media and Congressional leaders as a public relations effort, and assisting teachers with overall guidance for implementing the curriculum. Students showed increased knowledge about constitutional issues following the practicum, and teachers were positive about the training and use of the curriculum. Appendices contain the activities schedule, pretest and posttest, a curriculum evaluation form, a portfolio criteria chart, a student portfolio chart, and other relevant materials. (Contains 23 references.) (JDD)