New Review: State Bar Of Texas’ OYEZ, OYEZ, OH YAY! (OER)

The State Bar of Texas’ OYEZ, OYEZ, OH YAY! is a supplemental open-educational resource (OER) that supports social studies instruction for grade 8 and high school students. Instruction focuses on the landmark court decisions that have shaped the nation’s laws and history. The online program provides instructional materials for each of the court cases addressed in the U.S. History TEKS for grade 8 and 11 and U.S. government at grade 12 (e.g., Marbury v. Madison). Learning List has completed reviews of these resources.

Content focuses on civics and the importance of engaged citizenship and the judicial systems at the state and federal levels. Instruction is centered on a short video (about 15 minutes) for each case. Videos include an engaging host who provides the historical context for each case and background information about key figures. Videos contain commentary from university professors, attorneys, historians, and constitutional law experts, as well as illustrations, artwork, and photographs of important events and key figures in each case. Resources include downloadable teaching guides and case summaries, overviews of legal issues, and summaries of court decisions.

About the State Bar of Texas’ LRE Department*

The State Bar of Texas’ Law-Related Education Department has created Oyez, Oyez, Oh Yay!, an engaging and interactive site geared toward helping students (and their teachers) explore the court decisions that have helped shape our country and the state of Texas — and, most important, how these decisions have affected our everyday lives. What Does “Oyez, Oyez, Oyez” mean?
“Oyez” is primarily pronounced “o-yay,” although sometimes as “o-yez” or “o-yes.” It is used three times in succession to introduce the opening of a court of law, especially the U.S. Supreme Court. Word origin is Middle English and descends from the Anglo-Norman “oyez,” the plural imperative form of “oyer” (“to hear”). Thus, it means “hear ye” – a common call for silence or attention in medieval England.

*The content in this section is provided by or adapted from the State Bar of Texas.