Web Lesson Sites & Web Quests U. S. Constitution Site Focused Grade Bands Description Web Address National Archives Lessons and activities on the http://www.archives.gov/national-archives- Elementary/Middle/High Experience Constitution. Question section. experience/charters/constitution_q_and_a.html National Archives This is another site maintained by Elementary/Middle/High National Archives on the US http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/constitution-day/ Constitution Day Constitution. The National Constitution Center created National Constitution this section to help teachers teach the Elementary/Middle/High http://www.constitutionday.us/ Center Constitution and other civic-related topics to students of all ages. The National Library of Congress also maintains a web site for materials on Library of Congress Elementary/Middle/High http://thomas.loc.gov/teachers/constitution.html Constitution Day. There is a special section for teachers. Lessons and teacher resources are Bill of Rights Institute Elementary/Middle/High http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/ provided at this site. This site contains links to Constitution The White House Elementary/Middle/High http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/constitution/ facts, quizzes, and other resources. Center for Civic The Center will post lessons at their web Elementary/Middle/High http://www.civiced.org/index.php Education site in August for celebrating this day. National Endowment for This site contains lessons for teachers as http://edsitement.neh.gov/ConstitutionDay/constitution_inde Elementary/Middle/High well as materials for families and the Humanities students. x2.html A teacher has reviewed some lessons from the web and other sources, and she Vicki Blackwell’s Best Elementary/Middle/High http://www.vickiblackwell.com/constitutionday/index.htm provides what she considers the best ones for you at her web page. The site provides facts about the The Constitution for Kids Elementary/Middle/High Constitution for students at different age http://www.usconstitution.net/constkidsK.html ranges. This is a web quest that allows students to We Were There…* Middle/High http://babylon.k12.ny.us/usconstitution explore the Constitution. This is a web quest that allows students to The US Constitution* Middle explore the Constitution designed by a http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/marston/constitution/ middle school teacher. The Five Freedoms of the This is a web quest that allows students to http://www.milforded.org/schools/harborside/edoyle/freedo Elementary/Middle explore the First Amendment of the First Amendment* Constitution… m/webquest.html#Resources Created by James Bryan 1 September 1, 2008 (updated) Web Lesson Sites & Web Quests U. S. Constitution Site Focused Grade Bands Description Web Address Constituional Rights This is a web site that provides lessons http://www.crf- Elementary/Middle/High for teachers to use. There are also Foundation PowerPoints that you can purchase. usa.org/constitution_day/constitution_day_home.htm * The web quests were provided by Don Simmons, Lexington 2 School District. He reminds teachers that they should examine the web quests first, and then adapt/change as they see fit.

Created by James Bryan 2 September 1, 2008 (updated) Books on the U. S. Constitution Title Author Discussion Shh! We're Writing the Constitution Jean Fritz Behind the scenes at the Constitutional Convention. Ages 7-11. If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution Elizabeth Levy, Joan Holub Discussion of the Constitution. Ages 9-12. The Constitution Marilyn Prolman From the Cornerstones of Freedom Series. Ages 9-12. Declaring Freedom: A Look at the Declaration of Gwenyth Swain This book discusses how government works. Ages 9-12. Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution The Bill of Rights R. Conrad Stein From the Cornerstones of Freedom Series. Ages 9-12. We the Kids follows three youngsters and one dog as they get ready We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the David Catrow for a camping adventure, and their story is told through the United States Preamble. Ages 5-10. More Perfect Union Betsy Maestro Describes how the Constitution was drafted and ratified. Age 7. This books tells boys and girls about the Constitution, explaining The U. S. Constitution and You Syl Sobel exactly what it does, as well as how it affects and protects people today. Ages 8-10. Drafting the Constitution: Weighing Evidence to Draw Drafting the Constitution: Weighing Evidence to Draw Sound Kristin Eck Sound Conclusions Conclusions. Age 5-8. This is the stories of the men behind the Constitution are as powerful Founders: The 39 Stories Behind the U.S. Constitution Dennis Brindell Fradin as the nation it created. Ages 12 and Up. The book is from the beginning of the Constitution to the present age Our Constitution (I Know America) Linda Carlson Johnson and explains the how's, why's, and who's of everything involved in the development of our Constitution. Age 5-8.

Created by James Bryan 3 September 1, 2008 (updated) Suggested Activities Suggested by James Bryan  Write an essay on one of our rights that stated in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution.  Have students draw a political cartoon/editorial cartoon that illustrates one of our rights in the Bill of Rights.  Have students go to Daryl Cagle’s Professional Cartoonists Index site, http://www.cagle.com/, and search for a political cartoon that illustrates one of our rights. Have them copy and paste it to a MS Word Document, and then explain the cartoon and its relation to our Bill of Rights. (There is a teacher guide at his site.)  Create a wall or bulletin board of pictures and articles of people exercising the rights guaranteed to them in the Constitution. Using magazines and newspapers, you can do this activity.  Hold a discussion on how the Constitution is present in each of our lives on a daily basis. What rights do students use on a daily basis?  Have students search the Constitution for sections that they feel apply to their lives, and then students will write a paragraph on how the section chosen does apply.  Divide the class into groups and hand each group one of the amendments in the Bill of Rights. Have them prepare and present what the amendment means to citizens of the United States.  Use the PowerPoint available from James Bryan to review the Constitution. It is a large one, but can be emailed.

Suggested by Schools School Activities Pine Ridge Middle School  Watched a video on the Constitution and discussed.  The plan is to have our students go outside, little ones waving flags. The principal (or designated reader) will E P Todd Elementary read the Preamble, then we will recite the pledge and sing a patriotic song.  I usually invite any and all to come in before or after school or a recess for a couple days that week and conduct their own research (book not Internet) and if they find out the right answer to the question I've posed then they get a prize. One year they were to find a picture of George Washington's false teeth. I knew North Central Middle School Media I had a great picture of it in one of the books. They were sworn to secrecy so they wouldn't share the Center information with their friends. Each one who completed the process to the end not only got a little prize but also their name went into the pot for a bigger door prize drawing. I explained that if they went out and told everyone they would just have less of a chance of winning the door prize since there would be more and more names in the pot than would have ordinarily been. They cooperated and it was a big hit.

Created by James Bryan 4 September 1, 2008 (updated)