Constitution Day


Commemorating the Signing of the U.S. Constitution
September 17, 1787


In May of 2005, Congress enacted law requiring that “each educational institution (receiving) federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17th of such year for the students served by the educational institution."  For this requirement, the US Department of Education states that “educational institutions includes but is not limited to local educational agencies and institutions of higher education receiving federal funds from the Department.”   (Section 111 of Division J of Public Law 108-447, the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005.”)

Section 111 requires that Constitution Day be held on September 17 of each year.  However, when September 17 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, Constitution Day shall be held during the preceding or following week. The law does not authorize any funds to carry out this requirement nor does it define what an educational program is.

There are many good resources available for implementing the Constitution Day requirement.  The following list of comprehensive online resources, as well as the individual sites, will be continually updated through September.


SCORE History/Social Science http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/special_events/constitution_day
The H/SS SCORE site offers a wealth of lessons and web links that have been reviewed by H/SS educators.  Constitution Day resources and activities are sorted by grade levels and a list of suggested children’s literature is included.  Annotated links to other sites hosting Constitution Day resources are provided.

The National Constitution Center  http://www.constitutioncenter.org
Click on the “Constitution Day” display to access a wide range of teacher resources and student activities that explore both the history and contemporary relevance of the Constitution.  A Constitutional timeline and an interactive Constitution are only two of many options here.  Links to relevant activities of the Bill of Rights Institute http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org are provided.

Justice Learning  http://www.justicelearning.com
A collaboration of NPR's Justice Talking, The New York Learning Network, and the National Archives this site is rich with resources and teaching materials to tackle real life constitutional issues. Each year, two free topical programs are broadcast online and via satellite, so that schools and groups may be their own educational programs around them.   (2006 programming TBA)

C-SPAN in the Classroom http://www.C-SPANclassroom.org/
C-SPAN's  new web page will feature live programming on September 16th for Constitution Day (specifics TBA).  C-SPAN Classroom will provide resources to middle and high school civics and government teachers, including video clips that will be updated at least weekly to provide teachers with topical resources.

Constitutional Rights Foundation http://www.crf-usa.org/
Click on the “Constitution Day” button to explore resources and links.  CRF offers free online resources and lesson plans, readings, activities, and links to other resources.   Lessons include:  “The Constitution and the Bill of Rights,” “Its Yours: the Bill of Rights,” “Letters of Liberty: A Documentary History the US Constitution,” and more.
 
National Archives   http://www.archives.gov
In addition to good information, the National Archives homepage offers a link to “America's Historical Documents” that provides a good look at documents housed at this facility.  The section called “Educators and Students,” http://www.archives.gov/education provides many outstanding lesson plans, including one entitled, “Teaching with Documents.”

The Center for Civic Education http://www.civiced.org/
Lessons and resources are available for grades K-12.  Lessons contain multiple ideas for discussion topics, exercises, questions, and activities, as well as short background readings.  The lessons were adapted from the Center's well-known "We the People:  The Citizen & the Constitution" text and "Foundations of Democracy" curriculum.

California Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools http://www.cms-ca.org/constitution_day.htm
This site features a variety of resources and activities, including lessons for all grade levels on topics that celebrate the historical and contemporary significance of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
  



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