Teaching the Constitution
Federal law passed in 2004 requires that all schools that receive federal
funding provide a course to all students on the Constitution on Constitution
Day, September 17. The law is known as H.R. 4818, and the text is found at
section 111(b):
Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a
fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution
on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational
institution.
This law does not distinguish between elementary, secondary, or college-level
institutions, so it must be interpreted to apply to all levels. This page offers
several suggestions for how the very broad subject of "The Constitution" can be
taught for high-school level students (as well as printables for younger students). Teachers at other levels can
use the suggestions as a basis for lesson plans for younger or older students.
Also, the law does not specify what the "educational program" should consist of.
This provides a lot of leeway in your presentation.
The following pages on this site may be useful for various grade levels:
The Constitution can be brought into many subject areas. This page has
information that can be used in some of those.
Younger Student Suggestions
Understand the concepts embodied in the Constitution
Depending on the class level, the actual Constitution itself may be too advanced.
Using the Constitution for Kids Page or any one
of a number of books likely available in your library, you can introduce the
concepts.
Suggested books
- ... If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution by
Elizabeth Levy
- Shh! We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz
- The U.S. Constitution and You by Syl Sobel
- If you have access to video equipment, Schoolhouse Rock has several
relevant songs
Suggested discussion questions
- What is voting? Talk about voting in everyday life: making a choice in the
lunch room is a form of voting, for yourself. What if there was a vote for
what to have for lunch? What if pizza always won, would that be fair to those
who vote for chicken? How could the chicken voters influence some of the
pizza voters to switch?
- What is a state, and what is a country? What if the United States were
actually 50 different countries? How would it be if you had to have a passport
to travel to a neighboring state? What if people from other states had to pay
a fee to eat in the restaurants in your town? What if another country attacked
a neighboring state? What are the advantages of being a part of a larger
country? What are the advantages of being a part of a state?
- What is slavery? What is it about skin color that made it so white people
held black people as slaves? Could eye color be used instead of skin color,
or hair color, or height? Would it be fair if blue-eyed people had to do all
the work and brown-eyed people got to tell The Blues what to do? Why was it
important that skin color be no different than eye color in terms of how
people are treated?
- Why is there a difference in how the House and Senate seats are divided
up? If House seats were divided by state size, rather than state population,
what states would have the most seats? Which would have the least? Do these
list match the actual seat counts at all?
- Why was it important to compromise when making the Constitution? Small
states wanted all states to have the same number of representatives; large
states wanted the seat count based on population. Explain why each group
wanted what it did. How did the Framers compromise on this issue?
- List some of the individual rights: speech, religion, assembly, etc. Is
there any right which is more important than the others? Why? Is there any
right that is less important? Why? It has been found that school newspapers
can be censored or edited by the schools - is this fair to students? Why is
it a good idea, or a bad idea, for school papers to be edited or
censored?
- What is "separation of powers"? Why is it important that no one person or
group hold too much power? Explain the relationship between Britain and the
colonies - does this explain why the United States Constitution ensures that
power is spread out over the three branches? Does any branch have too much
power? Should any branch have more power?
Social Studies/History Suggestion 1
Read and understand the Constitution
Read the Constitution. Then, answer the following
questions:
- What are the main topics of each of the seven Articles of the
Constitution?
- What branches of government are created by the Constitution?
- Provide some examples of how each branch has power over another
branch.
- How can Congress remove the President from office?
- List some of the powers that belong to the federal government only.
- What is the longest time a President elected today can stay in office?
- How long to members of the House of Representatives serve? Senators?
- How old do you have to be to be a Representative? A Senator? A federal
judge?
- How old do you have to be to be a federal judge?
- How old do you have to be to be President? Vice President?
- Explain "habeas corpus."
- Explain what an ex post facto law is.
- Explain "bill of attainder."
- How many states had to ratify the Constitution to put it into effect?
- How many states have to ratify an amendment to make it part of the
Constitution?
Social Studies/History Suggestion 2
Understand the events that lead to the creation of the Constitution
Read the Articles of Confederation Topic
Page and the Report of the Annapolis
Conference. Then, answer the following questions:
- What is a confederation? Why might a confederation fail as a system of
government?
- Who was the first President of Congress?
- Who was a champion for the changing of the type of government of the
United States?
- What were some of the defects of the Articles that the delegates to the
Annapolis Conference listed?
- Where did the Annapolis Conference delegates propose to meet, and
when?
- Who is Daniel Shays, and what did he do to influence the creation of the
Constitution?
Social Studies/History Suggestion 3
Understand the Constitutional Convention
Read the Constitutional Convention Topic
Page. Then, answer the following questions:
- Who is considered the Father of the Constitution? Why?
- Where was the Constitutional Convention held, and when?
- What state did not send delegates to the Convention?
- Who was the President of the Convention?
- Whose notes on the proceedings give us insight into the thoughts and
debates behind the Constitution?
- Describe the differences between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey
Plan.
- Explain the Great Compromise.
- Explain both sides' concerns over slavery and representation in
Congress.
- Why did the delegates leave out a bill of rights?
- Who expressed his feeling that the Constitution was imperfect, but was the
best the Convention could come up with?
- What was the Committee of Style?
Social Studies/History Suggestion 4
Understand the Bill of Rights
Read Amendment 1 through Amendment 9 and the Bill
of Rights Topic Page. Then, answer the following questions:
- Why was a bill of rights not included in the original Constitution?
- Who was the champion of the Bill of Rights in Congress?
- How many articles of amendment were sent to the states?
- How many of the original articles of amendment are now part of the
Constitution?
- What rights are guaranteed by the 1st Amendment?
- What do you consider to be the most important right in the Bill of Rights,
and why?
- Are there any rights in the Bill of Rights that you do not find to be
important? Why?
- What does it mean to "take the 5th?"
- When did the Supreme Court begin to apply the Bill of Rights to the
states?
- What parts of the Bill of Rights have not been found to apply to the
states?
- What rights would you like to see protected in a constitutional
amendment? Why?
Social Studies/History Suggestion 5
Understand how the Constitution applies to students
Read the Student Rights Topic
Page. Then, answer the following questions:
- Describe "in loco parentis."
- Do you agree that students should have fewer rights in school than outside
of school? Explain.
- Make an argument that t-shirts with obscene messages can be banned by a
school. Make an argument that they cannot be banned.
- Should student publications that criticize school officials be used in
disciplinary actions against students? Why or why not?
Mathematics Suggestion
The Electoral College
Read the Electoral College Topic Page.
Using the States Page and the Government Topic Page, answer the following
questions:
- Note the number of electoral votes needed to win the Presidency.
- Determine the minimum number of states that someone needs to win the
Presidency.
- Determine the maximum number of states that someone can win and still lose
the Presidency (hint: see the answer to the above question).
- Assume that Puerto Rico becomes a state before the next election. Using
current census numbers, determine the number of electoral votes Puerto Rico
would get.
Geography Suggestion
Representation
Read Government Topic Page. Using the States Page, answer the following questions:
- Categorize the states into five categories based on population and color
a United States map using a new color for each category. Do any trends
emerge? Explain.
- Note the populations of the states that gave their electoral vote to
George Bush and to John Kerry in the 2004 election. Is there a correlation
between population and how the state voted?
English Suggestion
Usage quirks
Read the Constitution. While doing so, answer the
following questions:
- Note the use of British spellings in the original Constitution. Why were
these spellings so prolific?
- Note any words that are capitalized in the text of the original
Constitution. Is there a pattern to which words were capitalized? If so,
what is it?
Coloring Pages
Click on an image to get an image suitable for printing. PDF files are also
available. These pages make great learning tools for kids in the preschool
through 2nd grade ages. These images can be copied as many times as needed, for
educational purposes.
We
the People - the famous first three words of the Preamble of the Constitution.
(Be sure to print in Landscape orientation!)
(PDF)
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration
of Independence and the Constitution were created
and signed.
(Be sure to print in Portrait orientation!)
(PDF)
This is the chair back that George
Washington sat in as President of the Convention. Benjamin Franklin remarked
that until the Constitution was completed, he was unsure if the sun was rising
or setting, but he was then convinced it was surely rising.
(Be sure to print in Landscape orientation!)
(PDF)
The Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., where the Congress meets.
(Be sure to print in Landscape orientation!)
(PDF)
The White House in Washington, D.C.,
where the President works and resides.
(Be sure to print in Landscape orientation!)
(PDF)
The
Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., where the Supreme Court meets and
hears cases.
(Be sure to print in Landscape orientation!)
(PDF)
Other sites
These sites also address the federal requirement and offer teaching aids and
suggestions:
URL: http://www.usconstitution.net/constteach.html
