Constitution Day!

Tomorrow is Constitution Day. For those of you who don’t teach Civics or Government -- tomorrow is especially for you.

Every day is Constitution Day in Civics and Government courses. But for the rest of us, sometimes, it’s a stretch.

I mean, 6th Grade is currently teaching Mesopotamia. 8th grade is currently teaching the Colonies. High School World History is on Islam. High School US History is currently working on Industrialization.

None of those are quite as easy to fit the Constitution Day lessons into as it is in Civics or Government courses.

But it’s still important in all those other courses. Especially in those other courses.

Use some time tomorrow to figure out a way “tuck” the Constitution into your lesson.

• Teaching about Mesopotamia and the Characteristics of Civilization? Try to talk about Government back then and Government here and now -- which is the Constitution!
• Teaching about the Colonies? Talk about the Mayflower Compact and colonial governments -- and then talk about how those are related to our modern Constitution.
• Teaching about Islam? Take some time to look at the First Amendment and the issue of religion in our Constitution and what that looks like today.
• Teaching about Industrialization? Talk about how immigration and citizenship are addressed in the Constitution and how that continues to be a current issue.

And in case you need some last-minute inspiration, here are a few links to Constitution Day resources to get you rocking.

• Constitution Day Lesson plans http://edsitement.neh.gov/constitution-day/teachers
• Interactive Constitution http://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution
• Annenberg Institute Constitution Day http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/constitution-day-2015
• Constitution Center Resources http://constitutioncenter.org/constitution-day/
• Teaching with Documents https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/constitution-day/
• Smithsonian Museum of American History article on fitting in C-Day http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2011/09/teaching-constitution-day.html
• Constitutional Rights Foundation http://www.crf-usa.org/constitution-day/constitution-day-lesson-plans-kindergarten-middle-and-high-school.html

How do YOU celebrate Constitution Day? As always, I love to hear! Email me at newmantr@pcsb.org