The Constitution: See It, Read It
1. Constitution of the United States www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution.html
The National Archives displays and cares for the original constitution. This site will take you to images of the document and an easy-to-read transcription of the text. Links to the Bill of Rights and other amendments are provided.
Learn about Constitution Day
1. Text of Constitution Day bill http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2005-2/052405b.html
Looking for Ideas? Try these sites!
1. Votes for Women: Selections from the National American Woman Suffrage Collection, 1848-1920
The Library of Congress has extensive and varied resources related to the campaing for woman suffrage (voting rights) in the United States. This selection of 38 pictures includes portraits of many individuals, photographs of suffrage parades, picketing suffragists, and an anti-suffrage display, as well as cartoons commenting on the movement.
2. Charters of Freedom: A New World is at Hand
This colorful site from the National Archives tells how history unfolded leading to the constitution and goes further by portraying developments after its ratification.
3. U.S. Civil Rights Commission
The mission of the Commission is “to investigate complaints alleging that citizens are being deprived of their right to vote by reason of their race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or by reason of fraudulent practices.”
4. The Avalon Project: Treaties between the United States and Native Americans
From the Yale University Avalon Project, search the treaties signed between the United States and Native American nations.
Our Constitution Day Resource List
1. GovDoc Kids Group Resource List Constitution Day Resources.doc
Activities and Best Practices
1. The National Archives www.archives.gov
The National Archives preserves important government documents that are needed for legal or historical reasons. These valuable records are available to you. Some, including images of the Constitution, can be accessed through the website.
2. Celebrate Constitution Day! http://tinyurl.com/ddqhy
The National Archives in Washington, D.C. celebrates Constitution Day with a variety of activities. This site links to other sources of inspiration for those far from the capitol.
3. Teaching with documents from National Archives and Records Administration www.archives.gov/education/lessons
This link goes to lesson plans arranged by historic subject date from the National Archives.
4. National Constitution Center www.constitutioncenter.org
The National Constitution Center, located in Philadelphia, was established by the Constitution Heritage Act of 1988. This site provides a wealth of information about the constitution, and includes educational resources for teachers and students.
5. ABA Conversations on the Constitution www.abanet.org/publiced/conversations/constitution/home.html
The American Bar Association’s Conversations on the Constitution is designed to further dialogue about constitutional values and principles. Lesson plans, ideas for classroom conversations, and more are available on this site.
6. Back to School for Constitution Day http://www.llrx.com/columns/govdomain8.htm
Peggy Garvin compiled excellent resources, including government documents and related historical materials, sample speeches, and teaching aids.
7. Teaching with documents: Lesson plans www.archives.gov/education/lessons
“Contains reproducible copies of primary documents from the holdings of the National Archives of the United States, teaching activities correlated to the National History Standards and National Standards for Civics and Government, and cross-curricular connections.”
8. Constitution Day http://edsitement.neh.gov/constitutionday/constitution_index2.html
The National Endowment for the Humanities provides here Constitution Day ideas for teachers and families.
9. Constitution Day Resources for Educators http://www.gmc.edu/library/Constitution_Day.htm
Lianne Hartman, Reference/Instruction Librarian, Lourdes Library, Gwynedd-Mercy College, has compiled here a rich collection of documents, Constitution Day activities, and lesson plans.
10. Constitution Day Implementation guide http://www.naspa.org/policy/guide.pdf
The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators has prepared here a thorough, attractive document including statistics on constitutional knowledge, programming ideas, and constitutional links and resources.
11. Bill of Rights Institute http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/
“The mission of the Bill of Rights Institute is to educate young people about the words and ideas of America's Founders, the liberties guaranteed in our Founding documents, and how our Founding principles continue to affect and shape a free society.” Visit this site for instructional materials, lesson plans, and more.
12. Constitution Day Resources from the Library of Congress http://thomas.loc.gov/teachers/constitution.html
Visit this Library of Congress site for primary source documents, lesson plans, American Memory Collections a list of books, and more.
13. Federal Resources for Educational Excellence—U.S. Constitution http://free.ed.gov/subjects.cfm?subject_id=19&res_feature_request=1
Check out US. Constitution resources from a variety of federal agencies.
Field Trip Ideas
1. Presidential Libraries http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/
Find a presidential library and museum near you. Visit the museum. For advanced research, contact the library for access.
2. National Register of Historic Places http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/
Visit an historic place near you. Find them on this site.
Kansas City metro area
1. Eisenhower Library and Museum http://www.eisenhower.utexas.edu/
Visit this site for the Eisenhower Library, a national repository for the preservation of historical papers, audiovisual materials and the artifacts relating to Dwight D. Eisenhower and his times.
2. Harry S Truman National Historic Site www.nps.gov/archive/hstr/home.htm
Harry S Truman National Historic Site includes the Truman Home in Independence, Missouri, and the Truman Farm Home in Grandview, Missouri.
3. Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/ka1.htm
The Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Site is located at the Monroe School in Topeka, KS. This site commemorates the landmark case in which the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of black and white students in public schools violated the Constitutional rights of students.
Important Government Documents
1. Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/continental
This site by the Library of Congress, provides bibliographies for all ages and links to the historic Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789. Click on “Collection Connection” for Classroom resources for teachers from the Learning Page
2. Public Papers of the Presidents http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/
Search the presidential papers from Hoover to Bush. Listen to significant speeches.
1. Sources for the study of the constitutional era: a bibliographical and historiographical essay. 81 Law Library Journal 47-67 (1989)
This survey of primary sources and historians’ interpretations is an aid for librarians to select historical literature for their collections and to help patrons find other research libraries.
2. Analysis and Interpretation of the Constitution: Annotations of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States: Senate Document No. 108-17: 2002 Edition: Cases Decided to June 28, 2002 ; with 2004 supplements http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/browse.html
For serious research on the Constitution and how the Supreme Court has interpreted the document, this resource is essential.
3. Federal Register: May 24, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 99 www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2005-2/052405b.html
This regulation states, “Pursuant to legislation passed by Congress, educational
institutions receiving Federal funding are required to hold an educational program pertaining to the United States Constitution on September 17 of each year. This notice implements this provision as it applies to educational institutions receiving Federal funding from the Department.”