Constitution Day, which commemorates the signing of the constitution of the United States on September 17th, 1787, is officially known as Citizenship Day. This is an important distinction, because all citizens are affected by, and responsible for upholding, the Constitution. Give your students the opportunity to understand the history and evolution of this document that shapes their lives as Americans by participating in our Virtual Viewing Party and utilizing the accompanying classroom resources.
A virtual viewing party is a shared viewing experience of the Discovery Education video Celebrate with DE: Constitution Day. The video discusses the importance of a constitution, the development of the document, and the ways in which people mark the day.
Thousands of classrooms will simultaneously access this video and share their thoughts and reflections about the importance of celebrating culture and heritage. If this is your first virtual viewing party read our FAQs for additional information.
The content and activities are suitable for all grades but we recommend you preview the video to determine if it is appropriate for your students.
We recommend you download the video, Celebrate with DE: Constitution Day, in advance of your viewing party for the most seamless viewing experience.
During our Virtual Viewing Party, join the conversation by following @DiscoveryEd on Twitter. Share photos of your classroom viewing, reflections from the essential questions, and more using #CelebratewithDE. Not on Twitter? Our Constitution Day Padlet will enable you to share reflections, photos, and outcomes while seeing what other classes have to say.
Why is a constitution important?
How does a constitution impact your life?
If you could, would you make any amendments (or changes) to the constitution?
To make the most of the virtual viewing party with your class, we suggest the following activities.
To familiarize students with the purpose of the constitution, distribute or show The Preamble and Articles of the U.S. Constitution Infographic and review it with the whole class. Students may highlight or underline printed copies or you may perform a Think Aloud while reading a projected copy. Then, have students work to answer Essential Question 1: Why is a constitution important? Students may answer individually in writing, in small groups, or through whole class discussion.
In preparation for the activity during the viewing party, begin the steps in the activity Vocabulary Stepping Stone, by preparing sets of the following terms and distributing one set to each student or group.
• Government
• Confederation
• Convention
• Amendment
• Federalism
• Legislative
• Executive
• Judicial
• Congress
You may also be interested in the following timely resources available from Discovery Education.