Celebrate the Constitution on September 17th!
Every year many around the country take the opportunity to celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day on September 17th. The purpose of the day is to “commemorate the formation and signing on September 17, 1787, of the Constitution and recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens.”
The day is especially important in our nation’s schools, giving teachers the opportunity to shine a light on the importance of the Constitution to our nation’s founding. In fact, educational institutions that receive public funding are required to implement programming for the day. Some teachers in Washington choose to take advantage of the Washington Courts’ Judges in the Classroom program for their Constitution Day programming.
For the past year, the Washington State Law Library has been collaborating with the Board for Judicial Administration’s Public Trust and Confidence Committee to provide supplementary content to their Spotlight on Civic Learning in Washington blog. The blog primarily highlights individual lessons that are available through the Judges in the Classroom program. The library compiles supporting teaching materials in the form of research links, lesson plans, and media, which are published on the blog.
Spotlight on Civic Learning in Washington’s most recent post is about Constitution Day and we share with you here the accompanying Constitution Day Teaching Resources post in its entirety.
Constitution Day Teaching Resources
The reference staff at the Washington State Law Library has put together a list of Constitution Day resources, including research links, lesson plans, and media. The State Law Library provides legal research assistance by phone and email Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. Teachers and students can reach out to them with their research needs at 360–357–2136 or library.requests@courts.wa.gov.
Websites and Articles
Constitution Annotated — the Library of Congress and the Congressional Research Service
The Interactive Constitution — National Constitution Center
The United States Constitution for Kids — Constitutional Sources Project
Guide to the United States Constitution — Annenberg Classroom
U.S. Constitution: 1789 — Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government
Bill of Rights: 1789–91 — Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government
5 Thing to Know About the Constitution — We The People
The Bill of Rights (Grade 4–6) — We The People
Media
Constitution Day Live — Video — Bill of Rights Institute
Constitution Series (9/12 to 9/23) — Webinars — National Archives
The Constitution EXPLAINED — 35 part video series — Center for Civic Education
Constitution 101–18 part video series — National Constitution Center
Judges on Judging Event (9/16) — Webinar — National Constitution Center
Kids Town Hall: The Constitution and the First Amendment (9/16) — Webinar — National Constitution Center
Virtual Walking Tour of Historic Philadelphia (9/15 and 9/17) — Webinar — National Constitution Center
Constitution Day — Online Activities — ACLU
Key Constitutional Concepts — Video — Annenberg Classroom
A 3-minute guide to the Bill of Rights-Belinda Stutzman — Video — TedEd
Facts of Congress: The Bill of Rights — Animated Short — IU Center on Representative Government
Preservation and Perseverance: The Lincoln Memorial & Our Constitutional System — Video — Bill of Rights Institute
Race to Ratify — Game — iCivics
That’s Your Right — Game — Annenberg Classroom
Founding Documents: The Constitution — Podcast — Civics101
iCivics with the Center for Civic Education — the Constitution explained in short videos
Lesson Plans
Constitution Day Quiz — ACLU
The Bill of Rights for Real Life — Bill of Rights Institute
Presidents and the Constitution — Bill of Rights Institute
The Constitution: Drafting a More Perfect Union — Library of Congress
The Bill of Rights: Debating the Amendments — Library of Congress
The Bill of Rights and You: Rights and Responsibilities — Bill of Rights Institute
Fine Tuning the Balance of Powers — Constitutional Sources Project
Passing the Constitution: A Lesson in State Ratification — Constitutional Sources Project
The Bill of Rights & Me — Constitutional Sources Project
Methods of Interpreting the Constitution — Constitutional Sources Project
The Bill of Rights 2.0 — Constitutional Sources Project
The Bill of Rights (grades 9–12) — PBS Learning Media
Back to the Future of the Bill of Rights — American Bar Association
The U.S. Constitution: Continuity and Change in the Governing of the United States — Library of Congress
The Constitution: Counter Revolution or National Salvation? — Library of Congress
The Preamble to the Constitution: A Close Reading Lesson — Edsitement
National History Day: Origins of the U.S. Constitution — Edsitement
Blogging the Bill of Rights — Newseum
Constitution 101 (15 units — high school) — National Constitution Center
The Constitution at Work — DocsTeach
The Constitution at Work — Elementary Edition — DocsTeach
Rules Rules Rules (Elementary) — American Bar Association
Learning History Through Objects: The Founding Documents — National Museum of African American History and Culture
Unit 8: The United States Constitution — CoreKnowledge (free with registration)
Civil Discourse and the Constitution: Candid Conversations — US Courts
‘A More Perfect Union’ — Constitutional Rights Foundation
Read Aloud Lessons: Constitution Day (K-5) — The Rendell Center
Constitution Day! (list of lesson plans by grade) — Center for Civic Education
Street Law’s Rule of Law Teach-In on September 16, 2022
