1-2-3 Teach Some Constitution Day Activities With Me

I'm back!  I took the summer off for a much-deserved rest, but am now in the swing of things again and excited to share my latest creation.

I don't know about you, but when it came to being a fount of knowledge about our Constitution, I was sadly lacking expertise.

So, in 2004, when our government declared September 17th Constitution Day (also Citizenship Day), all public schools had to teach something about the Constitution.

I, along with many of my teacher friends thought, "Where will I find the time to squeeze that activity in with all of the other 'have-to-get-done' lessons?" 

Don't get me wrong, I love being an American citizen and am extremely grateful for our country's freedoms, feeling blessed indeed; but as a teacher faced with yet another thing to add to an already full plate, one can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed, with the prospect of "What on earth am I going to find that my early elementary students will understand?" All while thinking, " and when will I get time to prep this?"

No worries.  I put in the time so you don't have to!

"Find Me a Fact" is an easy-peasy, no prep, "print and go” activity you can simply run off and pass out.

If you don’t know much about the Constitution, no problem.

I’ve spent hours researching factual information about the Constitution, then compiled 8-pages of easy-to-understand background information, plus interesting and fun facts for you.

Students simply pick a “Topper”. I designed these semi-circular "glue ons" complete with Constitution-themed clip art. 

There are 9 designs students can choose from, and are just the right size to top a full sheet of writing paper. 

The graphics come in both black & white, as well as color, so that teachers can quickly & easily make an example to share.

I've also included 4 kinds of writing paper templates.

Pick the one that best suits your students' writing abilities, or have them complete their assignment on a sheet of notebook paper. 

You can use my background information to make your own example, or share it with your students as a non-fiction read. 

I designed an Uncle Sam "I want you..." poster that can be used to introduce the lesson. (The poster lists what you want students to do.) 

Afterwards, you can use Sam as the center for your bulletin board display, as completed projects make an awesome student-made bulletin board for Constitution Day, that's sure to get lots of compliments.

I've also included several posters to scatter around your display to add some extra pizzazz.

Simply run off the patterns.

Students choose a "topper" then they color, cut and glue this to their completed assignment, which is to find 3 facts about the Constitution.

You can use my list of educational and very helpful website LINKS about the Constitution, to steer your kiddos in the right direction.

This can be done as a homework assignment, or be part of your class computer lab.

There's also a worksheet that students fill out to help them navigate finding their 3 facts, as they provide URL links and explain how they know these facts to be true and the websites they used reliable.

There are also 7 “danglers”, which are a bunting-like decoration that's glued to the bottom of their paper.

You can skip this step, but I really think the borders add extra pizzazz and take just a few minutes more time.

To reinforce lessons learned about the Constitution, students share one of their facts with their classmates the next day.

As an extension to the lesson, after hearing everyone's answer, children can choose their favorite or most interesting fact that they learned, and jot it down on yet another worksheet. 

Yippee! Fun, fast, educational, easy and a bulletin board to boot.

Woo Hoo and Happy Constitution Day to you!

Since we also study apples in September, the FREEBIE for today is called "You Can Count on Willie".

It's a sweet, little apple craft, which is a super-fun way to practice counting.

There are several options to help your students count from 1-10, as well as skip count by 2's,3's, 5's, or 10's.

Well that's it for today thanks for stopping by.

It's the perfect day to be putzing with crafty things, as the sky is electric with lightning, and a gentle rain whispers as the rivulets cascade down my windowpane. 

Wishing you a wonderful week and a blessed Constitution Day.

"To teach is to learn twice." -Joseph Joubert