Our Project - Project Real

MULTIPLE RESOURCES, ONE PROGRAM

Project REAL reduces crime, protects students' futures, and makes Nevada safer for everyone through our Sequential Education Program - a series of unique annual learning experiences that help students develop into law-abiding citizens that contribute to their communities.

Students that receive one Project REAL experience during each year of school they attend end up accessing the greatest amount of personal, social, and academic opportunity we can provide, yet each individual activity offers its own significant impact as a stand-alone resource as well.

Explore this page to learn about the current steps in our Sequential Education Program, and check back regularly to see what new REAL law experiences can be used to empower the students of Nevada with excellence and achievement.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Our elementary school resources provide memorable experiences that establish a foundational understanding of courts and laws for students in grades 3-5.

These experiences beak down complex philosophies about courts, laws, and personal responsibility in ways that will inform and encourage the young students we are reaching.

Grade 3: Courts, Fairness, & You

This experience teaches third grade students the reasons courts exist (to promote fairness and minimize conflict) while giving them a general idea of what happens in courts. Our lessons are geared to elevate their understanding, thought, and experience that concludes with a costumed mock trial about a broken hockey stick (featuring Famous Canine VGK-Fan Bark Andre Furry).

Grade 4: Rules, Laws, & You

Our fourth grade experience helps students to differentiate between rules and laws and to understand concepts of jurisdictional authority. It also provides them with a foundational understanding of the basic steps of a criminal trial and the people who play important roles in those cases. This is really where our lessons that highlight the consequences of actions begin to enter the classroom.

Grade 5: Government, Courts, & You - Elementary Level

Our fifth grade programming is when we begin to get REAL with students about the consequences of their decisions. In addition to providing a clear understanding of the difference between civil and criminal law, our 5th grade experience focuses on the legal consequences bad decisions can produce. We believe students are excellent by nature, but they get put in challenging situations. This is our first step at preventing poor decision making.

Samples of the teaching materials and other resources for these activities can be viewed here

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Our middle school resources both warns and strengthens students in grades 6-8 with two approaches: Experiences that improve decision making, and lessons that contribute to character development.

Some of the lessons help students understand how their actions can have personal and legal consequences for themselves... and the people around them. These experiences foster a desire to be law-abiding citizens in the students that we reach. The lessons we provide middle school students help them to see the power that comes with understanding structures of law.

These two approaches work together to curb anti-social actions while promoting civic engagement.

Grade 6-8 : Play By the Rules

Play By the Rules exposes students to 200 laws (mostly from Nevada) and the consequences of breaking them. This is no mere 'list of laws to follow' though! Instead, students are asked to 'do the math' on the total possible charges they could face when very-real decisions lead to very-real consequences.

This resource prepares students to understand their legal responsibilities in those situations in a manner that causes them to think before they act, and is offered across all three middle school grade levels thanks to the branching paths students can take each time they participate in it.

Grade 6: Government, Courts, & You (Intermediate)

Government, Courts, & You helps students gain a more refined understanding of the difference between civil and criminal court while reviewing the roles people take on in courts and the processes involved with cases. When possible, our reading material is combined with a field trip which shows students live criminal proceedings, confronting them with real consequences of making bad decisions.

Grade 7: Government, History, & You

Based on Play By the Rules, Government, History, & You enhances middle school history classes by having students apply modern American laws to events from the eras of US History they're learning about in class. Our non-scolding, non-disciplinarian approach to encouraging law-abiding behaviors continues here in a manner that is highly successful in encouraging students to pursue law-abiding and civically engaged lives.

Grade 8: Government, Immigration, & You

Government, Immigration, & You illustrates how laws and policies aren't just a reflection of a student’s environment - they are a part of that environment. This understanding helps students see the value of civic engagement by showing them how current events shape policies, and how policies shape current events. The illustration of that symbiotic relationship makes clear that students have two choices: be shaped by their world or take an active role in shaping it.

Samples of the teaching materials and other resources for these activities can be viewed here

HIGH SCHOOL

Our high school resources are not as grade-specific as our lower-level ones since these students may not all end up taking classes in the same order. With that challenge to our 'sequence' in mind, we do what we can to provide each of our high school activities in a way that will prepare students for adulthood.

Whatever year of high school they connect with these experiences, our resources give students the greatest chance to be successful and bountiful as they prepare to live and make decisions as independent adults.

Year 1 - Government, Courts, & You (Advanced)

Students have a third opportunity to see live criminal proceedings in this experience, which focuses on emphasizing the legal consequences of poor decision making (though other interactive opportunities may be substituted based on availability). It is an important experience for them to have, and a bit of a final warning about poor decision making, knowing they will soon be living as independent adults.

Year 2 - Government, Rights, & You

Government, Rights, & You is a play that was written response to the numerous cellphone footage videos of police use-of-force incidents that make it online, and the protests that tend to follow those releases. This resource is available as a screenplay for in-class table-reads, or as a filmed performance. Both presentations foster healthy interactions between law enforcement and the communities being served.

High School Year 3 - Government, Privacy, & You

Government, Privacy, & You provides a more in-depth illustration of how laws and policies aren't just a reflection of a students' environment - they in fact are a part of that environment. If it only helps students to be more engaged in voting when they are of age (which it does), the material is a success. It accomplishes much more than that, provoking students on emotional topics, then demanding they reply with fact-driven arguments, preparing them for college level writing and civic engagement as an adult.

High School Year 4 - Government, Independence, & You

More of a handbook than a textbook, Government, Independence, & You explores different legal aspects of life for an independent adult. As a resource, it provides a roadmap through the legal terms and procedures faced regularly by 'the average adult'.

If you ever had a moment of 'my parents never taught me that' and the law was involved, this guide likely covers that topic. This capstone experience is the final tool we provide students, empowering them to live lawful lives as independent adults who are the best possible versions of themselves.

Samples of the teaching materials and other resources for these activities can be viewed here