The U.S. Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. In honor of that day, Congress in 1952 named September 17, "Citizenship Day." In 1956, it asked the president to proclaim the week beginning September 17 and ending September 23 each year as Constitution Week. In 2004, September 17 was renamed Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. The purpose of this day is to mark the signing of what is the supreme law of the land and encourage all citizens to honor and celebrate the rights and duties of U.S. citizenship. To help fulfill that purpose, the law requires all schools receiving federal funds to hold an educational program for their students each September 17.
These new lesson plans for Constitution Week, produced by the Civics Alliance and Freedom in Education, offer teachers and students an opportunity to learn about the drafting and creation of the U.S. Constitution.
This event features Jonathan Burack, a producer of history curriculum materials for middle and high school students for several decades, including a line called MindSparks; Alex Nester, an investigative fellow at Parents Defending Education and the political director of PDE Action; Rich Elsarelli, a veteran of the U.S. Army and Advanced Placement U.S. History, ESL U.S. HIstory and "unlevel" U.S. History teacher; and Steve McGuire, the Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.
This event is moderated by David Randall, the Executive Director of the Civics Alliance and Director of Research for the National Association of Scholars.
