Gwynedd-Mercy College

Constitution Day is September 17. If the 17th falls on a Saturday or Sunday, "Constitution Day shall be held during the preceding or following week" (Section 111 of Division J of Pub. L. 108-447).

Constitution Day Background

Notice of Implementation of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day on September 17th of Each Year: Read the notice from the Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education in the Federal Register: May 24, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 99): html or pdf

The Constitution

The National Archives Experience: The Charters of Freedom: A New World is at Hand offers high-resolution images of the Constitution, information on Constitutional Amendments, and facts about the Constitution.

Classroom Activities, Discussion Starters, and Lesson Plans

National Constitution Center: Constitution Day - Educators' Resources wide variety of links to lesson plans and other activities, organized by grade level and also searchable.

National Archives Digital Classroom: Constitution Day Workshop; Teaching With Documents: Observing Constitution Day

EDSITEment: This site, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, offers lesson plans searchable by topic and grade level, including:; The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union? (Gr. 3-5); The Constitution: What the Founding Fathers Said (Gr. 6-8); James Madison: From Father of the Constitution to President (Gr. 9-12)

OurDocuments.gov: The Classroom Integration page offers suggestions for working with primary documents. Check out the downloadable Teacher Sourcebook for more information and resources.

First Amendment Schools: This organization, sponsored by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, offers resources for lesson plans and discussion starters on the topic areas of Religious Liberty, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition.

Federal Resources for Educational Excellence: This government site provides access to lesson plans and educational materials from various federal agencies. They have compiled a list of Constitution Resources to support teaching and learning on Constitution Day.

CongressLink: The Dirksen Congressional Center: Lesson plans cover various topics on Congress and the Constitution, including Congressional Elections, Congressional Powers, and Teaching the Amendments. Supports Grades 6 through undergraduate levels.; A Mock Congressional Convention (Gr. 9-12); Amending the Constitution (Gr. 11-12); Class Constitution (Gr. 6-12); Teaching the Amendments (Gr. 7-12)

Justice Learning: A guide to sites from Justice Learning, the Annenberg Foundation, and other organizations at Constitution Day Educational Materials cover the constitution and related issues. Download and print a variety of well-designed promotional materials.

Searchable Lesson Plan Sites

Try these general lesson plan sites for more ideas about incorporating the Constitution into your day. All of these sites are searchable: try Constitution, U.S. Constitution, Constitution Day, or United States Constitution for relevant materials.

GEM: The Gateway to Educational Materials: Searchable "gateway" to thousands of educational materials, brought to us by a consortia of organizations, non-profits, and interested companies and individuals.

Daily Lesson Plan: Searchable archive of lesson plans from the New York Times.

PBS TeacherSource: Free, searchable lesson plans from Public Broadcasting, including some unique Constitution activities.

MERLOT: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching: Primarily for higher education.

Compiled July 2005 & Updated August 2007 by Lianne Hartman, Reference/Instruction Librarian, Lourdes Library, Gwynedd-Mercy College