Constitution Day Classroom Activities

Constitution Day is an annual American holiday celebrated on September 17, the same day 39 delegates signed the Constitution in 1787. You can commemorate Constitution Day in the classroom in many ways. Here are just a few ideas;

1. Have your students participate in a Constitution Scavenger Hunt:

Students will work with a partner and compete against other teams to find answers to 20 scenarios. This is a great critical-thinking activity and lots of fun too!

2. Test your students' knowledge about the Constitution with this fun game! Get it FREE HERE.

3. Explain the structure of the Constitution with this engaging presentation. It reviews the Articles of Confederation, the three branches of government and includes a notes template and film clips.

4. If you teach Civics this presentation might be helpful because it reviews the Principles of the Constitution; Popular Sovereignty, Limited Government, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, and Judicial Review.

I hope you find these resources useful!

Happy Teaching!

Fun Facts About U.S. Presidents

What better day than "President's Day" to write about Presidential fun facts! But first, a little about the holiday itself - President's Day was first established in 1885 in recognition of George Washington's birthday. Actually, it's still officially called "Washington's Birthday" by the Federal Government. It is always celebrated on the third Monday in February.

Now for the fun facts -  Your students might get a kick out of them! 
 
1. The Capital of Liberia was named after President James Monroe. Since Monroe was a big supporter of colonization of Liberia, they decided to name the capital after him.
2. Andrew Jackson taught his Parrot to curse. It actually cursed so much during Jackson's funeral the parrot had to be removed.
3. The phrase "OK" became popular because of President Van Buren. Many of his supporters joined groups called "O.K." clubs, named after the town he was from, "Old Kinderhook" in New York. The term "OK" came to mean "all right".
4. The "S" in Harry S Truman doesn't stand for anything. That's why it doesn't have a period after it.
5. President Bush Sr vomited on the Prime Minister of Japan. Bad sushi?
6. Eisenhower was the only U.S. President to serve in both World War I and World War II.
7. The "Teddy Bear" was named after "Teddy" Roosevelt after a toy company created a stuffed bear in response to Roosevelt refusing to shoot a bear cub.
8. Gerald Ford worked as a model during college.
9. President Kennedy was the first president to be born in the 20th Century and the first Catholic President.
10. Barack Obama's name means, "one who is blessed" in Swahili.

Are you looking for some Presidential teaching activities? Check out these engaging lessons for your secondary classroom:

 Click HERE to see resource

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