It is June, which means time for my annual presentation at the elementary school about how laws are made and the role of the courts and lawyers. It is a lot of fun and the kids seem to enjoy it. After I finish my presentation, the kids have their own mini-trial where they all play roles like the judge, attorneys, witnesses, and jury. The trial is about Humpty Dumpty. We all know he fell, but why? Was it an accident? Or was it Murder! The kids conduct their own trial and the jury returns a verdict.
The presentation is built in Keynote. I use all sorts of flashy word effects and transitions. It is much more glitzy than my normal jury presentations. I think all the motion seems to keep the kids interested. I find the entire experience very enjoyable. If you would like the presentation and Humpty Dumpty materials, drop me an e-mail and I will get it to you. I even have a quicktime clickable version for those of you stuck with Windows laptops. I’ve been distributing this for a few years now and enjoy hearing about it getting used.

Every year, about early June, I volunteer at the local elementary school where I give a presentation about how laws are made and the role of the courts and lawyers. This all started when my oldest daughter was in fifth grade and the teachers keep asking me to come back. I love it. It is so fun going over these topics with the kids and they ask such good questions. Once I finish my dog and pony show, the kids have their own mini-trial where they all play roles like the judge, attorneys, witnesses and jury. The trial is about Humpty Dumpty. We all know he fell, but why? Was it an accident? Or was it Murder! The kids conduct their own trial and the jury returns a verdict.
In terms of Mac geekery, the presentation is built in keynote and presented off my MacBook Air into the school’s projector. I use all sorts of flashy word effects and transitions. It is much more glitzy than my normal jury presentations. I think all the motion seems to keep the kids interested. I seem to have lost my third-party remote since my last trial so I had to use an Apple remote which worked fine.
It really was a blast to do it again this morning. My favorite question was one tiny little girl who asked, “Is it fun to stand up and yell objection?” to which I enthusiastically replied, “Yes!” If any of you would like the trial materials or the Keynote presentation for the fifth graders in your life, drop me a note. I even have a quicktime clickable version for those of you stuck with Windows laptops. I’ve seeded this out to lawyers and teachers all over the country the last few years and love to hear it is getting used.