PBS
Constitution Day
Travel back to 1787 as young scholars investigate the creation of the US Constitution. After first working in small groups to create sets of classroom rules, young scholars go on to read a summary of the Constitution and watch a short...
PBS
Constitution Day
September 17, Constitution Day so named because that was the day in 1787, that 39 men signed the Constitution, is the focus of a series of activities designed to simulate a Constitutional convention and open a study of the US Constitution.
Curated OER
What is the Federal System Created by the Constitution?
Explore the unique structure of the federal system of government in the United States. Class members will learn about how most nations were organized before the establishment of the Constitution, how power is currently divided between...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Using Historic Digital Newspapers for National History Day
Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement and passage of the Thirteenth...
National Constitution Center
To Sign or Not to Sign: The Ultimate Constitution Day Lesson Plan
Learners examine the ratification process. For this U.S. Constitution lesson plan, students discuss the ratification process and read a play based on the process. Learners debate the ratification process and determine whether they...
Curated OER
The Founders’ Library: Thinking as a Founding Father
Students analyze the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In this U.S. government lesson plan, students examine books, movies, and music that influence them today and then investigate writings that influenced the framers of the...
Curated OER
A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution
Sit back, relax, and transport to 1787! This instructional activity on the Constitution begins with guided imagery of the Constitutional Convention. The class reads A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution in an interactive...
Center for Civic Education
Constitution Day: What Basic Ideas are in the Preamble to the Constitution?
Young scholars investigate the document of the Constitution as part of a national day of recognition. The lesson plan uses many different activities to dissect the national document to increase student awareness of how the Constitution...
Curated OER
The Happy Progress of Our Affairs: George Washington and the U.S. Constitution
Students engage in a lesson which uses Washington's own words to illustrate the events leading to the establishment of our national government, and the crucial roles he played throughout that process.
Heritage Foundation
The Constitution, Federalism, and the States
The divide between federal and state government is responsible for much of tension that continues to this day, partly because of the US Constitution. The activities in the 14th lesson in a series of 20 are designed to help learners...
Curated OER
Philadelphia and the Constitutional Convention "Heat Up"
Students explore the Constitutional Convention of 1787. In this U.S. Constitution lesson, students role play the parts of delegates in a simulation of the convention.
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
Those "Other Rights:" The Constitution and Slavery
Did the United States Constitution uphold the institution of slavery, or did it help to destroy it? Young historians study Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution and evaluate the rights of slaveowners as they compared to or...
Curated OER
Constitution Day 2006
Learners consider how the U.S. Constitution affects their daily lives. They use picture books to take part in a Constitution Scavenger Hunt. They draw a picture showing one way their life might be different if the Constitution had not...
George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens
George Washington: Centerpiece of a Nation
A neat Presidents Day activity, this lesson plan provides a culminating learning experience for upper elementary aged learners. After analyzing George Washington's, "A Display of the United States of America," your learners will conduct...
Curated OER
U S Constitution--Checks and Balances
Students get an in-depth look at how our checks and balances system helps maintain the separating of powers between the three branches of government. They use current event head lines and insert them into he appropriate space on the...
Curated OER
The Constitution.
Second graders study the Constitution. They examine the meaning and fundamentals of the Preamble of The Constitution of USA. They assess the importance of having a Supreme Law that states the rights and obligations of the citizens. They...
Curated OER
The Preamble to the Constitution
Students discuss key phrases from the Preamble of the Constitution, find ways to relate the values stated in the Preamble to their daily lives, and explore possible changes needed in the Constitution by future generations of citizens.
Curated OER
Celebrate the Constitution
Students explore the process of writing our Constitution through an interactive program. They are to put themselves in the place of the statesmen and predict how they felt at the time. They compare the founding fathers.
Curated OER
U.S. Constitution - Checks and Balances
Learners examine the separation of powers of the branches of the U.S. federal government. In this U.S. Constitution instructional activity, students listen to a SMART Board supported lecture on checks and balances of the Judicial,...
Curated OER
A Nation's Voice
Young scholars research the Constitution and the War Powers Act in order to determine what the powers of the government are in times of conflict. They answer a series of questions then write a legal brief either supporting or condemning...
Curated OER
We the People: Promise and Practice in our Constitution
Students examine the concept that the constitutional government guarantees that our government is not all-powerful and analyze the purposes of our government that are listed in the Preamble. They assess that equality under the law and...
Curated OER
U.S. Constitution Roll Call
First graders simulate the signing of the constitution. In this American history lesson plan, 1st graders take on the roll of newspaper reporters during 1787. Students must pretend to interview signers of the constitution and create a...
Curated OER
How was the Constitution Used to Organize the New Government?
How did the United States Congress determine how the new president and vice president would be named when the nation was first established? Who would provide money for the government, and how would the executive branch be organized?
The New York Times
Where to Draw the Line: Balancing Government Surveillance with the Fourth Amendment
The question of how to balance Fourth Amendment Rights with national security concerns becomes critical in an age of planned terrorist attacks, election interference, and fake news. Get young social scientists involved in the debate with...