Constitution Day

Constitution Day is recognized every year on September 17th. On December 8, 2004, Public Law 108-447 was signed into law, requiring schools receiving federal funds to inform and instruct all students on the importance of the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787. Colorado is taking an active role in complying with this law and the education of students across the state.

CDE is aware of the importance and implementation of the social studies content standards regarding the Constitution but special recognition will only serve to enhance our State social studies and allow students to see that being an informed citizen goes beyond the social studies curriculum and classroom.

The resources provided on this website are intended to provide a quick access list for educators to use in a way that supports their instructional planning. Provided resources should be previewed and used with teacher discretion. Because this page contains resources outside of the CDE website, CDE cannot control changes in outside content and listing these resources does not indicate an endorsement by the Colorado Department of Education. 

Annenberg Classroom: A guide to the U.S. Constitution
What it means, what it says? This site includes numerous lessons on the Constitution.

Ben's Guide to the United States Government
Maintained by the U.S. Government Printing Office, this site offers activities and related websites related to the Constitution and the U.S. government for grades K-12.

Bill of Rights Foundation
Constitutional activities, lesson plans, and other resources for teaching Middle and High School students.

Center for Civic Education
Lessons for grades K-12 are available for free download from the Center's website. The lessons are adapted from the Center's We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution and Foundations of Democracy curricular materials.

Constitution Facts
This site contains everything “constitutional”, including the text of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and many of the legal documents pertaining to the Constitution. In addition, it contains crossword puzzles, famous quotes, and dates to remember concerning the development and ratification of the Constitution.

The Constitutional Rights Foundation
This site includes lessons and activities about the Constitution for K – 12 teachers to use in their classrooms.

Landmark Supreme Court Cases
This site includes resources and activities to support the teaching of landmark Supreme Court cases.

Library of Congress: Patriotic Melodies
Patriotic Melodies tells the stories behind many of the songs that have now become part of the American national heritage. A combination of hymns, national songs, music of the theater, radio and television, military themes, and poetry, all of this music demonstrates that while over history many things have changed, this expression of pride and hope remain a constant part of the American experience.

Library of Congress: American Memories Collection
This site includes documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789. The Continental Congress Collection and the Constitutional Convention Collection contain 277 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Items include extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

The National Archives: the Charters of Freedom
This site provides photos of the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights, as well as activities for observing Constitution Day such as meeting the Founding Fathers and signing the Constitution.

National Council for the Social Studies
NCSS offers a variety of articles about teaching the Constitution as well as lesson plans and links to other online resources.

School House Rock: Preamble
This link goes directly to the Preamble lyrics; however, this site also includes amusing audio and text for additional history related topics such as the Constitution and our Three-Ring Government. Additionally, most of the Schoolhouse Rock videos can be found on YouTube and iTunes.