Description (August 22-September 16, 2005)

Constitution Day - On September 17, 1787, the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention completed and signed the U.S. Constitution.

Educational institutions receiving Federal funding are required "to hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of each year." Since this date falls on a Saturday in 2005, schools can celebrate Constitution Day on Friday, September 16.

National Constitution Center - A must see museum next time you are in Philadelphia. Until that time, a virtual visit will be a significant addition to your classroom.

At this site you must explore "Centuries of Citizenship: A Constitutional Timeline." It is an online experience highlighting some of the key dates and events that mark more than 200 years of our constitutional history. These timeline entries, taken as a whole, tell the evolving story of the U.S. Constitution and the continuing role that it plays in our lives.

Browse through a collection of stories and headlines -- annotated by images, audio and video clips and interactive content -- to explore some of the people, events and issues that have shaped the Constitution and the history of our nation.

To give educators time to study the resources and to plan, this Site of the Week page remains online for a longer period of time and focuses on a researched list of web resources to use in the classroom:

• Charters of Freedom - an in depth presentation of the history and impact of the Constitution from NARA.
• TeachFirstAmendment.org - Bill of Rights Constitution Day resources.
• The Constitution - a video instructional series from Learner.Org
• To Form a More Perfect Union - From the LOC, a history of the Continental Congress and Consitutional Convention.
• Constitution Resources - Lesson plans, primary source documents from F.R.E.E.
  

Curriculum Integration

• I Signed the Constitution - a toolkit available for download to help you plan this Consitution signing event.
• Learner.Org - video instructional series about the Constitution.
• In depth biographies of the signers of the Constitution
• NARA (The National Archives) - has many resources for Observing Constitution Day including primary sources and activities (The Constitution Game)