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Constitution Day and Citizenship Day

September 17 is recognized in the United States as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. The purpose of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is to commemorate the creation and signing of the supreme law of the land and to honor and celebrate the privileges and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship for both native-born and naturalized citizens. Federal law requires that all schools receiving federal funds hold an educational program for their students on September 17 of each year.
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Lesson Plan

Pocket Constitution

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Orb and Effy Learn about Authority

This lesson introduces the study of authority. Children learn when people are exercising authority and when they are exercising power without authority. Children learn how and why authority is useful in society.

1

The Constitution: The Country's Rules

In this lesson, students develop an awareness of the Constitution by exploring what it is and why it is important. Students examine their classroom rules poster as an introduction to the concept of rules and learn that the Constitution is the law of the United States.

1-2

3-4

3-5

What Is Democracy NEW FOR 2019!

In this lesson from the We the People: The Citizen & Democracy textbook, students will learn a very simple definition of democracy from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. The lesson introduces the essential elements of a democracy, which is a country where the people have the right to make all the rules and laws either directly or by means of elected representatives. The teacher's goal for the lesson is to help students understand what it means for a democracy to be a government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people.

4-5
What Should the Representative Do?

In this lesson, students discuss how laws are made. In particular, they discuss what makes a good law, how representatives in Congress gather information about the issues requiring laws, and how their constituents feel about the issues and possible solutions. Through a public hearing simulation, students learn how difficult the decisions for lawmakers can be.

How Should We Choose People for Positions of Authority?

Students learn that under our system of government citizens have to choose people for positions of authority. It is important to know how to choose well. This lesson helps students to identify the requirements of a position of authority and the qualifications a person should possess to fill that position. Students learn a set of intellectual tools designed to help them both analyze the duties of the position and to decide if an individual is qualified to serve in that particular position. During the lesson students practice using the intellectual tools.

4-6
What Were People Like in the British Colonies in America during the 1770s? NEW FOR 2019!

This lesson will help you know about the people who wrote our United States Constitution. More than two hundred years ago, there were British, Dutch, French, and Spanish colonies in North America. In this lesson, you will learn how people lived in the British colonies. We want to learn about these colonies because they became the United States of America. They were the first thirteen states.

How Does the Constitution Protect your Right to Equal Protection of the Laws? NEW FOR 2019!

In this lesson, you will learn about the right of all people to be treated equally by government. You will learn the meaning of the term equal protection of the laws. The equal protection clause is one part of the Fourteenth Amendment. This clause has been used to prevent states from being unfair to citizens because of their race or gender

5-6

5-8

6-8
How Should We Choose People for Positions of Authority?

Students learn to identify the requirements of a position of authority and the qualifications a person should possess to fill that position. Students learn a set of intellectual tools designed to help them both analyze the duties of a position and to decide if an individual is qualified to serve in that particular position. In an excerpt from Theodore Roosevelt's Winning of the West, students learn the characteristics that qualified Lewis and Clark to fulfill the responsibilities of leading an expedition to the West.

7-8

7-12

9/11 and the Constitution: On American Identity, Diversity, and Common Ground

The anniversaries of the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, and the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787, provide us an opportunity to reflect upon who we are as Americans, examine our most fundamental values and principles and affirm our commitment to them, and evaluate progress toward the realization of American ideals and propose actions that might narrow the gap between these ideals and reality. These lessons are designed to accomplish these goals.

9-10

Constitution Day Scavenger Hunt with 60-Second Civics

Fifty-five delegates were present at the Constitutional Convention, which was held in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. Most students can identify George Washington, James Madison, and maybe even Alexander Hamilton. But what about the other fifty-two delegates? Who were they? How did they influence the convention? In this lesson students will familiarize themselves with the delegates by listening to a series of 60-Second Civics podcast episodes devoted to the Framers of the Constitution.

To Amend or Not to Amend, That's Been the Question...Many Times

This lesson asks students to examine recent proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution, analyze them for public policy triggering mechanisms, and compare and contrast them to amendments that have been ratified.

How Was the Constitution Used to Organize the New Government?

This lesson traces Lincoln's political life during a time of constitutional crisis. It examines Lincoln's ideas and decisions regarding slavery and the use of presidential power to preserve the Union.

9-12

How Should We Choose People for Positions of Authority?

Students learn to identify the requirements of a position of authority and the qualifications a person should possess to fill that position. Students learn a set of intellectual tools designed to help them both analyze the duties of a position and to decide if an individual is qualified to serve in that particular position. Students apply the intellectual tools to a job description fro president of the Untied States and create a list of some of the characteristics a person should have to fill the position and perform well in that office.

11-12

Historical Analysis of Constitutional Amendments

In this lesson, students examine one of six key amendments to the Constitution while considering their historical context. Students create timelines for each amendment that are later combined to fully evaluate and interpret how the Constitution has evolved within its historical context.

What Does Returning to Fundamental Principles Mean?

Permission to reproduce and use these lessons in a classroom setting is granted to K-16 classroom teachers. All other uses require the specific written permission of the Center for Civic Education. These lessons may not be posted or reproduced on any website.

The Center for Civic Education, in collaboration with the American Association of School Administrators, prepared these lessons in response to legislation passed by the U.S. Congress requiring educational institutions receiving federal funding to present a program pertaining to the U.S. Constitution.

For more information about these lessons, contact the Center at 818.591.9321 or cce@civiced.org.

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Constitution Day and Citizenship Day September 17 is recognized in the United States as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. The purpose of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is to commemorate the creation and signing of the supreme law of the land and to honor and celebrate the privileges and responsibilities of U.S.

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Craft: Class Community Puzzle | Scholastic

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Show class unity by working together to create a giant puzzle!

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Simple Explanation

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K-2