The Constitution Bee - Frequently Asked Questions
2009-2010 Kansas Constitution Bee Winners
On April 10, 2010 Kansas high school students competed in the second annual Kansas Constitution Bee, a state-wide contest that tests high school students’ understanding of American history and civics. To learn more about the Constitution Bee, click here.
- Mary Beth White, a student at Heights High School in Wichita won first place and $750.
- Jonathan Cohen, a student at Lawrence High School in Lawrence won second place and $500.
- Nicholas Clow, a student at Shawnee Mission West in Overland Park won third place and $250.
- Nick Henriquez, a student at Topeka High School in Topeka won an honorable mention and $200.
The Bee, which culminated in a final competition among the top 16 regional winners at the Wichita Hyatt, is sponsored by the Bill of Rights Institute, a nonprofit educational organization based in Arlington, Va., and underwritten by the Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Foundation of Wichita.
“These students demonstrated knowledge of our Founding period and a firm understanding of the Founding documents and our constitutional government,” said Victoria Hughes, President of the Bill of Rights Institute. “We’re proud to honor these students and their teachers, whose great dedication to teaching these concepts has had a lasting impact.”
“Our goal for the Kansas Constitution Bee is to encourage learning about our nation’s Founding documents and principles,” said Susan Addington, grants manager for the Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Foundation. “We also view the event as a great way to provide students with meaningful and useful knowledge they can apply in their daily
lives.”
Students from four regions corresponding to Kansas’ Congressional districts began competing for spots in the Kansas Constitution Bee at the classroom level last fall. Regional competitions followed in January, February, and March. The competitions assessed the students’ understanding of five civic knowledge categories: the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; famous people, documents, and events from United States history; Supreme Court decisions; current events; and civic values and skills. The Kansas Constitution Bee state final included a written and oral examination requiring students to answer questions about American history and current events. The four students with the highest scores moved forward to compete in a third and final round, the “Civic Conversation” roundtable discussion.
These students were asked the following question 30 minutes prior to the discussion: “Discuss the role of federalism in promoting liberty—past, present, and future.” They were then asked to relate the question to the Supreme Court Case U.S. v. Lopez (1995), Federalist Essay No. 39, Abraham Lincoln’s Cooper Union Address (1859), and Anti-Federalist Essay: Brutus No. 1. Students addressed the question in an opening statement and participated in a 30-minute roundtable discussion with other finalists, speaking before contest officials, parents and teachers. The students were judged according to their knowledge and understanding of the question and historical documents, as well as their contributions to the civil discourse.
What is The 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. It is the goal of the Institute to help the next generation understand the freedom and opportunity the Constitution offers.
The Bill of Rights Institute has been actively reaching out to Kansas teachers and students for ten years, providing materials, seminars, and competitions that have reached over 850 teachers and thousands of students statewide.
What is the Kansas Constitution Bee?
- A citizenship education program and academic competition for ninth- through twelfth-grade students.
- Focused on knowledge of the United States Constitution as well as documents, individuals, events and values related to the Constitution.
- The Bee is
- easy to implement
- creates new interest in civics and government
- brings positive publicity to participating students and schools
What is the prize structure?
Students and teachers are eligible to win the following prizes:
Regional Bee prizes:
Regional Champion - $200
Second Place- $125
Third Place - $100
Fourth Place - $50
Teachers participating in the Regional Bee will receive a copy of Property Rights: Yours, Mine, or Ours? from the Bill of Rights Institute.
All four winners at the Regional level receive an all-expense paid trip to the State Finals in Wichita on April 10, 2010
State Finals prizes:
Kansas State Champion - $750
Second Place - $500
Third Place - $250
Fourth Place - $200
How do students prepare for the Bee?
The Study Guide, located at www.constitutionbee.org is the official source for all materials used in the Bee competition. Teachers need not prepare the students through in class activities or after school practice session unless they choose to do so.
The Study Guide has six categories:
- The Constitution
- Documents
- People
- Landmark Supreme Court Cases
- Civic Values and Skills
- Current Events
To do well in the Current Events portions of the Bee, be sure to study the following:
What are the rules of the Competition?
School level competitions:
- Each school is allowed two (2) participants at the regional level.
- The selection process is entirely up to the individual school, although the use of a competitive test or bee format is preferred where possible.
- You may use the Constitution Bee Qualifying Quiz to select your participants.
- Teachers must fill out and submit an “Intent to Compete” form and send it to their regional coordinator no later than two weeks prior to the date set for the Regional Bee.
Regional Bee:
Round 1 - Written Test
- 65 questions in 30 minutes
- Four sections
- People and Documents
- Landmark Cases and Civic Values and Skills
- The Constitution
- Current Events
- Two Supplementary written exercises for use in case of a tie are completed as well
Round 2 – Oral Rounds
- Four Rounds
- Three rounds are based on material in The Study Guide.
Categories may include:
- The Constitution,
- Documents,
- People,
- Landmark Supreme Court Cases,
- Civic Values and Skills.
- One round of current events questions
ALL students participate in all four oral rounds, you are not eliminated by an incorrect answer
- Students have 60 seconds to begin a substantive answer.
- Time starts as soon as the question has been read.
- Contestants may request that the moderator read all or part of a question or spell a word, but this is part of the 60 seconds.
Winners are determined by totaling the scores for both rounds.
The top 4 from each region advance to the State Finals in Wichita
State Finals – Wichita, April 10, 2010
Written and Oral Rounds are conducted the same as at the Regional level.
After completion of written and oral questioning, the top four students will advance to a final round called the “Civic Conversation.”
- participate in a round-table discussion in response to a question received thirty minutes before.
- Students will be required to base their discussion on four previously selected documents, and they may bring annotated copies of those documents to the final round.
The winners of the state competition will be based on a combination of scores from the written, oral and “Civic Conversation” rounds.