OTAN News

Getting Ready for Constitution Day and Citizenship Day

Image by Wynn Pointaux from Pixabay

Each year on September 17, we celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day to commemorate the signing of the US Constitution on September 17, 1787. Although the day is popularly known as Constitution Day, the day has its origins in celebrating those people who had become American citizens. Over the years, recognition of the signing of the Constitution merged with reminders of the responsibilities of all US citizens to form the focus of the day’s celebrations. You can read more about how Constitution Day and Citizenship Day came to be in this Library of Congress article.

In case you weren’t aware, each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year is required to hold an educational program about the US Constitution for its students. To help you prepare for the day, there are a number of resources to explore below for teachers and students to use in the classroom and for adult education programs to create activities for the day:

• Constitution Day website by the National Constitution Center – This website has a number of teaching resources, including discussions of constitutional issues, and information on the Center’s Interactive Constitution app. (If you find yourself in Philadelphia on the 17th, admission to the Center is free!)

• Celebrating Constitution Day at the National Archives – This webpage has teaching resources, including some short videos, that can be used with students.

• Commemorating Constitution Day and Citizenship Day at the US Department of Education – This webpage has links to additional resources housed online by other federal agencies.

• ConstitutionDay.com website - This website has a written copy of the Constitution, all of the Amendments, and information on the Founding Fathers.

• ConstitutionFacts.com website - This website has more history of the day, additional information about the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Founding Fathers, and the Supreme Court, and some activities in its Fun Zone.

Jennifer Gagliardi from Milpitas Adult School hosts the very popular US Citizenship Podcast, and she has a webpage devoted to Constitution Day with a number of videos about the Constitution and citizenship and videos of her interviewing adult ed students preparing for their citizenship interviews. Check out the many resources on her webpage and consider sharing some with students and your Citizenship programs.

Happy Constitution Day and Citizenship Day on Tuesday, September 17!