Constitution Day, California


Celebrate the U.S. Constitution with the
California Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools

A 2005 act of Congress states that all educational institutions receiving federal funding must observe September 17 as Constitution Day, which celebrates the 1787 signing of our founding document. To support California educators, the Campaign is sponsoring a variety of activities and providing free resources.

For current Constitution Day resources, please click here.

Free Lessons for All Grade Levels: Celebrate in your classroom with engaging, high-quality lessons on topics related to the historical and contemporary significance of our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Grade Level:

 

Ideas to Involve Parents, Legislators, Law Enforcement & Legal Professionals: Celebrating Constitution Day provides an excellent opportunity to engage parents and community resource people in kicking off the school year. The Campaign has worked with PTA members, legislators, and other professional groups to generate ideas that promote positive interaction between adults and students and support the Promising Approaches for Civic Education. Research shows that the effective use of outside resource people in the classroom can have positive impacts on civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

Ideas for:

 

Civic Participation and Constitution Day: Engage students in activities that promote civic capacities and demonstrate participatory citizenship. The Campaign has worked with the Secretary of State’s Office, the Annenberg School of Public Policy, and the Alameda County Office of Education to provide special resources related to voting and civic-based service learning. The Annenberg School of Public Policy has generously provided a special Student Voices website for California students!

Resources:

 

Constitution Day, 2006 State Capitol Display

At least 1,200 panels were displayed for two weeks at the State Capitol in Sacramento. The remainder of the panels are on public display in other locations around the state.

The California Campaign thanks Assemblymember Betty Karnette, the Secretary of State’s Office, and History-Social Science coordinators from county offices of education around the state for assisting with this project.

Picture gallery of the 2006 State Capitol display


Resolutions in observance of Constitution Day:

Questions? Contact:

Keri Doggett
Director of Programs
Constitutional Rights Foundation
(213) 487-5590


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A project of Constitutional Rights Foundation in collaboration with the
Center for Civic Education and the Alliance for Representative Democracy.
This project is made possible by generous grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Skirball Foundation