Primary VOICE: Literature and the Law
is a curriculum-based program for primary age students.

Primary VOICE helps students develop an appreciation for the rule of law, a respect for the views of others, as well as reading, communication and cooperative problem solving skills. Primary VOICE becomes a stepping-stone for primary school students on the path to more thoughtful exploration of ways in which the rights and responsibilities that support our constitutional heritage are understood and assimilated.

Primary VOICE is a key component of Educating for Democracy, CRFC's multi-grade (1-8) initiative in the Chicago Public Schools. Educating for Democracy provides long-term faculty support, partnerships with legal professionals and grade-appropriate curriculum as a critical first step in developing democratic knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the school setting. Primary VOICE also lays the foundation for knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will be reinforced in subsequent Educating for Democracy programs in the upper grades: VOICE (grades 4-6), A More Perfect Union (grades 7-8), Lawyers in the Classroom (grades 2-8), and Project Citizen (grades 5-8).

Primary VOICE Curriculum
The foundation of the Primary VOICE program is its curriculum Primary VOICE: Literature and the Law. The curriculum consists of twelve lessons in four units:

• Unit 1 introduces the concept of governance by engaging students
  in the process of developing rules for the classroom.
  
• Unit 2 develops students' understanding of responsibility.
  
• Unit 3 focuses on conflict resolution.
  
• Unit 4 involves students in a service learning project.

Throughout the curriculum, students focus on literature that stresses critical thinking about the four basic components: governance, responsibility, conflict resolution, and service. In addition, CRFC continues to supplement the core curriculum with an anthology of suggested literature correlated for each unit. This supplement is disseminated to every teacher who receives the curriculum.

Major funding has been provided by Polk Bros Foundation.

For more information about Primary VOICE, Jessica Chethik at CRFC at 312-663-9057, or via e-mail at chethik@crfc.org.