Constitution Day Activities

Why is Constitution Day important to teach? Constitution Day, September 17, 2023, is an opportunity to engage students in the U.S. Constitution’s continued relevance. Use this day and the weeks leading up to teach students about the Constitution’s history, the rights students have, how those rights are protected, and how understanding their rights can help them make their voices heard.

Celebrate Constitution Day with George Washington & James Madison at the iCivics and Mount Vernon livestream event

Watch the recording of our virtual Constitution Day program with award-winning Constitutional scholar Linda Monk in conversation with George Washington and James Madison. They discussed the origins of the Constitution and the compromises made during the Constitutional Convention.

Watch On Demand

PLAY a Constitution-themed game

Race to Ratify

Take students back to 1787 with this immersive game. The debate over the Constitution comes to life as students have their say over whether it gets ratified.

Play

Do I Have a Right?

Test students’ knowledge of constitutional rights with one of our most popular games. Students will run their own firm specializing in constitutional law.

Play

WATCH our Constitution EXPLAINED video series

Teach students about the text, history, and relevance of the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and additional amendments with our new video series, The Constitution EXPLAINED. These 35 short-form videos are assignable, and each ends with call-to-action questions to prompt further exploration of the topics covered in the video.

Autoplay each category’s videos using our YouTube playlists and download transcripts for the videos to make them more accessible.

Link to Constitution Explained Video Series on Youtube

Developed in partnership with the Center for Civic Education, and with the invaluable contributions of constitutional scholar Linda R. Monk, JD. This video series was made possible by Kenneth C. Griffin.

View the Video Series

USE our Constitution Day lesson plan

Don’t have much time to plan? This interactive lesson plan gives students a quick snapshot of the Constitution, including the purpose of each article, the powers of the three branches, how a bill becomes a law, and the concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances.

See samples of what is included in the Teacher’s Guide and Student Documents below. Click “Use the Lesson” to get access to the complete lesson plan.

Step-By-Step Teacher’s Guide

Constitution-Day-Lesson-Teachers-Guide

Ready-To-Use Student Documents

The Constitution Student Activities
Use the Lesson

Other Popular Constitution Day Activities

These Constitution Day resources will help you highlight the ways in which the Constitution still guides our government institutions and processes today, including the roles and responsibilities of citizens.

constitution day resources and activities

Lesson: Anatomy of the Constitution

Help students learn about the duties and powers of the three branches, the amendment process, and the role of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land.

Use the Lesson
constitution-day-overview

DBQuest: America’s Founding Preambles

Task students with digging into the preambles and introductory text of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution.

Assign the DBQuest
constitution lesson plans

WebQuest: Constitutional Influencers

Magna Carta, Montesquieu, the Mayflower, and more! This WebQuest takes students through history to the events, people, and documents that inspired the writers of the Constitution.

Assign the WebQuest

Find more resources in these Curriculum units

Road to The Constitution

Explore how the Constitution came to exist.

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The Constitution

Explore key components of the Constitution.

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Citizenship & Participation

Explore what it means to be a U.S. citizen.

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Read reviews of our game, Race to Ratify

Race to Ratify was recognized with an official seal for quality and impact by Common Sense Education 2020 Selections for Learning. Reviewers noted:

“Immersing students in the human side of history — allowing them to see what it was like to live during this time and why people formed the opinions and stances they did — brings history to life and helps students realize that these people weren’t all that different from people today. Their debates may have been on different topics and their methods of communication were different, but they still fought for many of the same issues relevant today…”

Read the Full Review