It has been 225 years since the United States Constitution went into effect in 1789, and you can never have too many resources for teaching this essential element of American history. For starters, in honor of Constitution Day, the folks at Junior Scholastic graciously allowed us to post a free download of content from this month’s issue. These Junior Scholastic pieces impress upon students how the Constitution is relevant to their lives, particularly regarding students’ rights. Click here to download the PDF, which includes the teacher’s guide!
If you are looking for primary sources and curriculum from the Library of Congress, on their website you can find Constitution Day Teacher Resources and primary source sets, as well as several lesson plans:
- The Bill of Rights: Debating the Amendments (6-12)
- The U.S. Constitution: Continuity and Change in the Governing of the United States (6-12)
- The Constitution: Counter Revolution or National Salvation? (9-12)
- The Constitution: Drafting a More Perfect Union (9-12)
Our Scholastic Teachers site has also developed a Constitution Day collection of lessons, including activities such as creating a classroom constitution and the online Celebrate the Constitution Game. In addition to that, Scholastic News features Kids Press Corps interviews with U.S. Senator Robert Byrd, who wrote the law establishing today, September 17th, as Constitution Day, and President Barack Obama, who taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago.
Finally, I can’t help but mention a few graphic novels and illustrated resources that bring this 225 year old manuscript, and the context of its creation, to life:
The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, written by Jonathan Hennessey and illustrated by Aaron McConnell- The United States Constitution: A Round Table Comic Graphic Adaptation, adapted by Nadja Baer and illustrated by Nathan Lueth
- Shh! We're Writing the Constitution, written by Jean Fritz and illustrated by Tomie dePaola
- If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution, written by Elizabeth Levy and illustrated by Joan Holub
- We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America, written and illustrated by David Catrow
- Unite or Die, written by Jacqueline Jules and illustrated by Jef Czekaj
This is just the tip of the iceberg. As I mentioned earlier, there are many high-quality resources out there for teaching this document. If you have any favorites that you rely upon, share them in the comment section below.
Happy Constitution Day!
