Constitution Day September 17 (Friday)

This year Constitution Day is on Friday, September 17. Take the time to share with students the blessings that American liberty affords. I hope this blog gives you an opportunity to share the day with your students.

Daily Civic Learning Blog

Resources for Educators:

http://www.constitutioncenter.org/ncc_edu_Education_Team_Blog.aspx

Whether planning a field trip, looking for innovative ways to enhance classroom instruction or seeking a deeper understanding of American history and active citizenship, the National Constitution Center is an educator’s ultimate civic learning resource.
New to the site is the Daily Civic Learning Blog. Current events and news items are highlighted, with ideas on how to explore these events with students. This site can be subscribed to via email or a reader.
The website is a program of the Annenberg Center for Education & Outreach.

ESL Civics

http://www.elcivics.com/
Learn EL Civics with great pictures and easy words. Just click on a picture to start a lesson or activity. The following EL Civics units are now available: Statue of Liberty, Washington, D.C., American Bald Eagle, and Gateway Arch. English Language Civics provides an easy way to learn about American history, geography, and culture. New lessons, worksheets, PowerPoint presentations, and videos are added to elcivics.com almost every week. Free lessons for students and teachers

Interactive Constitutional Games

http://games.sunnylandsclassroom.org/constitutiongame/CCG/index.html Annenberg Foundation

The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands is developing an ensemble of interactive educational resources about the Constitution.

US Constitution Scavenger Hunt

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/constintscav.htm US Constitution Scavenger Hunt

Scene at the Signing of the Constitution Painting

http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/christy/

Not much is known about the story behind the Christy painting of the Signing of the Constitution (on 17 September 1787) despite the fact that it is conventionally acclaimed as the best single picture ever created of the American Founding.

Prentice-Hall Constitution

http://stage.lin.phschool.com/curriculum_support/interactive_constitution/

Constitution and excellent links library and glossary.

The Holiday Zone

http://www.theholidayzone.com/constitution/interactive.html

Interactive puzzles and quizzes for Constitution Day.

MrNussbaum.com Interactive Constitution

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/constitution.htm MrNussbaum.com


Games and other tools to help explain the Constitution. Recommended for children.

iConstitution

iConstitution, the Interactive Constitution, enables people to learn about the constitution like never before. Discuss, critique, and ask questions about the constitution in an open forum, with no log-in required. Defend your liberties by sharpening your constitutional skills, and by voting for politicians that are champions of constitutional principles.

Interactive Constitution

http://72.32.50.200/constitution/ National Constitution Center

Discover how the Constitution relates to more that 300 indexed topics from school prayer to civil rights. Use the search box to search for keywords in the text of the Constitution and the in-depth explanations linked to it.

ESL Civics Curriculum Framework

http://www.pde.state.pa.us/able/lib/able/profdev/EL-Erie.pdf
ESL CIVICS CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK and INS questions, Pennsylvania

Good information regarding History, Constitution and INS questions from the International Institute of Erie.

Citizenship News

http://www.citizenshipnews.us/

Welcome to Citizenship News, where citizenship education providers can find information, resources, and the latest news concerning citizenship education, the U.S. citizenship test, and the naturalization process.

Bill of Rights Institute

http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/Teach/FreeResources/Lessons/ Here are some free lesson plans and resources for teaching the Bill of Rights. There is also a section called "Bill of Rights in the News" http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/Teach/News/PastHeadlines.asp?action= which uses actual news stories to illustrate how rights are applied in current day situation. Many of the articles come from the First Amendment Center http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/ which also has additional study materials. As always, it is important to review the material before use, as some of it may be controversial.

National Constitution Center

"National Constitution Center" <education@constitutioncenter.org> http://hancock.constitutioncenter.org/images/www_Edu/index.html

This site produces a monthly newsletter on constitutional matters suitable for the classroom. It has some particularly interesting exercises appropriate for this election year.

Constitution Day Resources and Lesson Plans

http://cfbstaff.cfbisd.edu/davidj/Special%20Events/Constitution%20Day/constitution_day.htm

Resources, Lesson Plans, Presentations, Constitution Games, Quite a comprehensive list.

Resources for Constitutional Study

http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/hist.htm This is a great linked list to resources for Constitutional Study

Constitution Day Lesson Plans

http://www.illinoisfirstamendmentcenter.com/classroom_materials.php

Classroom Materials, Constitution Day, English and Spanish Educational Materials, ESL, ELL,. Constitution Day Educational Materials – Grades K – 12th

Constitution Day Lesson Plans

http://www.crf-usa.org/constitution_day/constitution_day_home.htm

A 2005 act of Congress states that all educational institutions receiving federal funding must observe September 17 as Constitution Day, which celebrates the 1787 signing of our founding document.
According to the guidelines put forth by the Department of Education, teachers and schools are free to design Constitution Day programming that best addresses the needs of their students. Constitutional Rights Foundation is pleased to present a series of free online lessons, resources from the CRF catalog, and Internet links to help educators design their own Constitution Day program.

U.S. Constitution and ESL Civics

http://www.elcivics.com/constitution_civics_1.html EL Civics Lesson: Constitution of the United States facts and information for ESL students. Great practice for the citizenship test.

Wikipedia on the Constitution

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution Wikipedia is a constantly changing resource for information about the Constitution.

Bill of Rights

I added a new widget to quickly let you read the Bill of Rights from this site. Scroll down to the bottom of this site and use the widget to review the U.S. Bill of Rights without leaving this page. You can click through the entire Bill of Rights randomly or in order. There is a link at the top(Constitution Site) that takes you to the Charters of Freedom site : (http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters.html)

New: Spanish Constitution Hotlist, Nuevo: Hotlist de los sitios de la constitución

http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listspanishjs1.html

A new Hotlist has been created for Spanish GED students. To access the Hotlist, simply click on the title and it will take you to the appropriate site. Additional sites will be added later.

Un Hotlist nuevo se ha creado para los estudiantes españoles de GED. Para tener acceso al Hotlist, chasque simplemente encendido el título y le llevará al sitio apropiado. Los sitios adicionales serán agregados más adelante.

How to Use AELC Hotlists and Gabcasts

This Website has several tools for students to help them understand the various parts of the Illinois and Federal Constitutions. Follow these easy instructions to using these tools:

Using Gabcasts:
Gabcasts are audio podcasts that were created by AELC instructors Patricia Huelsman and Char Rokop. To use them:

* Find the blue Gabcast icon under the topic you are interested in learning more about.
* Click on the slider bar on the word 'PLAY'. The information should start to play immediately.

You may listen to the Gabcasts as often as you like.

Using the Hotlist:
To better help you find useful Websites for reviewing the Illinois and U'S. Constitution, find the section (located in the left hand column of this Blog) that is titled 'CONSTITUTION HOTLIST'.

* Click on the underlined words U.S. and Illinois Constitution Hotlist. This will take you directly to a page of Websites that you can use for study.
* Click on the underlined title of any of the Websites to take you directly to that Website. You do not need to type in any Web addresses. One click does it!

Commentary: Sotir: Happy Birthday, Sputnik! (October 4, 1957)

It's been 50 years since that little 183 pound ball of aluminum made Americans sit up and take notice. It was about the size of a basketball, but the impact it had on the future was staggering. Americans were stunned and unnerved by the event, and everyone demanded that the U.S. respond. On February 7, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) which had, as its mission the charge of preventing technological surprises. So they launched, and we launched...and launched. It changed our lives, our furniture (remember the Sputnik-inspired lamps?) and our society. Of course, as society goes, so goes education. It became fashionable to do math and science became a major focus.

By 1960, ARPA was moving full steam ahead, funded with what seemed to be endless dollars all with the goal of putting America back on top. In 1962, ARPA established and funded the Information Processing Techniques Office. Although the title seemed less than inspired, the new director, JCR Licklider, was anything but commonplace. In 1960 he had published the much heralded 'Man-Computer Symbiosis' and showed the world his vision of the future. This article anticipated the development of many information technologies, including the Internet itself. While the Department of Defense had computers for quite some time, the new vision was to have those computers freely sharing their information. While the rockets still launched into space, the developments on this planet were staggering. ARPA funds were given to MIT to start Project MAC, and the inclusion of academic research combined with government agencies (and money) spurred on progress. The interesting factor was that Licklider had both the money and the talent to achieve amazing success. By the end of 1968, new technologies such as the mouse and hypertext links were forming the base of computer to computer communication. The first Arpanet host-to-host message was sent from UCLA to Stanford in 1969, which led to the first 'internetting' project linking various kinds of packet-switching networks.

It's hard to imagine a world without the Internet, or the World Wide Web. When I first got involved in technology, there was no Web, only a very rudimentary system called the Bulletin Board System, or BBS. Within a relatively short time, the BBS morphed into the WWW, and lives were forever changed. With visionaries such as Licklider and his talented teams from both government and academia, we have bounded into the future. All those 'Modern Math' classes that we had as children in response to the Sputnik-mania formed young minds and gave a base (of something other than 10) to the future. Children today do not know that there was a world without computers. I wonder what their children will know?

Annenberg Foundation

This is an excellent resource for classroom instructors who are teaching the Constitution. The Foundation funds projects on the Constitution in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania. There are learning materials including lesson plans and audiovisual resources available at http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/

Commentary: 9/11/06

On the 5th Anniversary of 9/11. we should all pause to consider how strongly our forefathers valued freedom, and endeavored to safeguard those freedoms through the ages by documents such as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We have much to be thankful for, and owe it to future generations to preserve those freedoms, not just for the U.S. but for all people in the world. Our thoughts and prayers still remember those who died on that tragic date, and we vow to never forget them. In addition, we also those heroes who worked tirelessly to assist those in need, and dealt with the horrible aftermath so courageously.

Constitution Day, September 17, 1787

http://usgovinfo.about.com/blconstday.htm

Historical references to the first Constitution Day from About.com

Resources for Observing Constitution Day
Transcript of the ConstitutionComplete text of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and all subsequent amendments. From your About Guide.
Constitutional ResourcesMore articles and Web sites for learning about the Constitution and its interpretation and enforcement by the Supreme Court over the years. From your About Guide.
Bill of Rights -- the Original VersionTranscript of the Bill of Rights as originally submitted to the people for ratification. There was an amendment that failed to be ratified. From your About Guide.
George Washington's Farewell Address Washington says goodbye and offers advice to the people on how to go forward with freedom. Complete text of the 1796 address. Provided by your About Guide.

Constitution Day Made Easy

http://www.justicelearning.org/constitutionday/index.asp

To help schools comply with the federal requirement to offer an educational program on Constitution Day, the Annenberg Classroom, in cooperation with a prestigious group of educators and media organizations will offer a variety of educational resources for use in high schools, colleges and universities and by federal agencies on Constitution Day. They also offer some free materials to assist with the presentation of Constitution Day to students and faculty.

Constitution Day, Sunday, September 17, 2006

Celebrate the birthday of your government! The Constitution Day website is located at http://www.constitutioncenter.org/constitutionday/display/MainS/Home and features information for educators, students and community leaders. Partner USA Today also offers resources such as:
1st Amendment Project-Based Learning Lesson
Democracy TODAY - Election '06 Website
Elections and Beyond Website
Freedom of Assembly Case Study
Freedom of Speech Case Study

There is also a list of audio/visual resources to help bring the documents to life: http://www.constitutioncenter.org/constitutionday/display/EducM/Search+Audio+Visual+Resources

Constitution: Free Resources

http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=190301916

Just in time for the next Constitution Day (September 17), here is a list of free resources on the Constution compiled from FREE (Federal Resources for Educational Excellence) sites byTechLEARNING online.

Financial Literacy

In 2003, Congress established the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (the Commission) through passage of the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act under Title V of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-159). The Commission has recently published an in-depth review of financial literacy in America. The 160-page report is available on the Government web site, linked below. Improved financial literacy among all Americans requires an increased public awareness of the issues, as well as the many state, local, and national resources that are available for financial education.The Financial Literacy and Education Commission has established an information distribution infrastructure which will help increase public awareness of the resources available within the Federal government by establishing MyMoney.gov, a clearinghouse for financial literacy materials. This Web site contains links to free financial literacy and educational material produced by Commission members. MyMoney.gov also provides links to selected .edu sites maintained by publicly funded colleges and universities affiliated with the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), as well as .org sites affiliated with government entities such as the Federal Reserve Banks, to ensure that valuable financial information and learning tools are available from sites beyond Federal government agencies. The goal of the MyMoney.gov Web site is to provide a convenient and accessible source for credible and free resources. The Web site now contains useful information for individuals who are facing an array of financial needs, such as balancing a checking account, shopping for a mortgage or auto loan, researching ways to pay for a college education, reviewing credit card statements, putting money away for retirement, understanding a credit report, or simply deciding whether to pay cash or to charge a purchase. It contains information on how to understand, evaluate, and compare financial products, services, and opportunities and assists investors in understanding how to proceed when they encounter difficulties with market intermediaries.Although the Web site is arranged to be accessible and helpful to consumers, it also will make it easier for community educators and nonprofit organizations to find and use those same resources, reducing costs of needless duplication.
http://mymoney.gov/
http://www.mymoney.gov/ownership.pdf

Sherry Burlingame

ABE/GED/ESL The Learning Page: Library of Congress

http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/index.html

This is a companion site to the Library of Congress (LOC) site listed below, and is set up for instructors to enhance the LOC pages. It includes lesson plans, features and activities, collection connection, community center and professional development information. I includes over 7 million historical documents, photographs, maps, films and audio recordings, and offers lessons, features, activities and tips and tricks to use these collections effectively.

Constitution: Library of Congress

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bdsds/bdsdhome.html

The Library of Congress' repositories for Constitutional documents and information.

'Be Not Afraid': Justice Clarence Thomas on Supreme Court Functionality

http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/sayitplain/cthomas.html

This speech from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas entitled 'Be Not Afraid' American Enterprise Institute (February 13, 2001) is from Say It Plain, A Century of Great African American Speeches, on American Radio Works. The speech context is both in spoken and written formats. The speech discusses Constitutional interpretation by Thomas, and the role of the Supreme Court in the strict interpretation of the law. He includes thoughts such as:

"Third, this approach recognizes the basic principle of a written Constitution. "We the people" adopted a written Constitution precisely because it has a fixed meaning, a meaning that does not change. Otherwise we would have adopted the British approach of an unwritten, evolving Constitution. Aside from amendment, according to Article V, the Constitution's meaning cannot be updated, or changed, or altered by the Supreme Court, the Congress, or the President. "

The speech is clearly spoken by Thomas, at a good rate of speed to encourage understanding. Having the actual context of the speech is also helpful for students to increase their level of understanding. The ideals of justice being blind, and the role of the Court to interpret the Constitution without prejudice or change from the original intent is important for students to understand. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to work on language, context and the Constitution all at the same time.

It ends with the simple exhortation from Pope John Paul II to 'Be Not Afraid'. A simple message to millions who are challenged by tyrants and murderers to offer a quiet resolve and unvoiced courage necessary to endure the inevitable intimidation. His last words are:

"The Founders warned us that freedom requires constant vigilance and repeated action. It is said that when asked what sort of government the Founders had created, Benjamin Franklin replied that they had given us "a Republic, if you can keep it." Today, as in the past, we will need a brave "civic virtue," not a timid civility, to keep our republic. So, this evening, I leave you with the simple exhortation: "Be not afraid."

This gives us a perspective both historical and current, and helps students to understand the founding principles of our country in their quest to understand the Constitution. I highly recommend this speech, but a minimum reading level should be about 8th grade to truly understand the concepts that are expressed. However, students at a lower reading level can still gain some understanding by listening.

US Law and History

Discussion of several aspects of US Law and History, including:
Law
Congress
President
Courts
Founding Documents
History of USA

Illinois Constitution Webquest

This webquest was designed to allow students to learn about the Illinois Constitution and also some historical facts concerning Illinois. There are assignments that may be printed, completed, and turned in for evaluation purposes. If completed properly this webquest will prepare students for the required test on the Illinois Constitution.

Constitution Society

This site aims to eventually provide almost everything one needs to accurately decide what is and is not constitutional in most situations, and what applicable constitutions require one to do. It is for constitutional decision support.
The Constitution Society is a private non-profit organization dedicated to research and public education on the principles of constitutional republican government. It publishes documentation, engages in litigation, and organizes local citizens groups to work for reform.
This organization was founded in response to the growing concern that noncompliance with the Constitution for the United States of America and most state constitutions is creating a crisis of legitimacy that threatens freedom and civil rights. Although the focus here is on government in the United States, coverage also includes the rest of the world, and private as well as public organizations. We maintain that the principles of constitutional republicanism are universal, and applicable to all nations, although not well understood or upheld by most. We also examine the related principles of federalism and nomocracy, the rule of law, of nomology, the science of law, and show how those principles are applicable to solving the fundamental problem of avoiding excessive or unbalanced concentrations of power.
We have a Liberty Library of Constitutional Classics collection that should be of interest to anyone seeking guidance on constitutional interpretation.

Video and Online Broadcasts of Justice Department Workings

http://justicel.bootnetworks.com/ConstitutionDay/index.asp

Online and satellite broadcast Sept. 16, 2005 of "Justice Talking: Free Speech in the Digital Age" (1:30 p.m. EDT) and "Conversations with Supreme Court Justices" (noon and 3 p.m. EDT).

The site also has a series of excepts with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor that can be shown at any time on the computer, using Windows Media or RealMedia.

Lesson Plans/Modules

www.gilderlehrman.org/teachers/module2/index.html

A module on the Constitution for teachers and students, prepared by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

National Archives and Records Website

www.nara.gov

The official site of the National Archives and Records Administration, featuring historic primary-source documents.

National History Day Website

www.nhd.org

The Web site of National History Day.

National Constitution Center's Website

www.constitutionday.us

The National Constitution Center's official Constitution Day Web site.

Constitution Day September 17th

ThisWeek@newsweekeducation.com

The Newsweek Education Program has teamed with National History Day and Oxford University Press to bring teachers a variety of classroom activities to use in commemoration of Constitution Day. The activities, along with other recommended resources, are presented below in a Newsweek ThisWeek Extra! The same content can be found on our web site at www.newsweekeducation.com/constitutionday where it is available in a formatted four-page PDF document and also as a Microsoft Word document.

Great lesson plans and teaching ideas.

Reference Tools

Reference Tools ----------------- Excellent resources:

REFDESK - In a library, if you don't know where to look for a reference book, you go to the Reference Librarian. On the Internet, if you don't know where to look for answers, you go to Refdesk.com. At first glance, the sheer amount of useful links on the Refdesk home page can be overwhelming. But it's really quite well organized and useful.
RefDesk - http://www.refdesk.com

LIBRARY SPOT - Convenient links to popular online Almanacs, Calculators, Dictionaries, Directories, Encyclopedias, Historic Documents, Quotations, Statistics, and Thesauri. LibrarySpot - http://www.libraryspot.com

Constitution Daily Special

Char Rokop and Pat Fabian reviewed all the GED programs on the network, as well as Learning 2000 and the Grolier Encyclopedia. They put together a list of the acceptable portions of the program, by content area and reading level, and developed a new Constitution Daily Special for use this fall. Together with the Web sites, they create a very meaningful program for the students on Constitution Day, September 17. We can work on finishing up and promoting the Daily Special when classes resume in the fall. Thanks, Pat and Char!

Citizenship Test: Adults

http://www.herald-sun.com/votebook/citizenship/citstart.html This is a short test with questions that are likely to be asked by the INS. Students can answer and score the test online.

Citizenship/ESL: Kids, English and Spanish

http://www.goodcharacter.com/pp/citizenship.html

Another good Family Literacy site, this covers how to be a good citizen, discussion questions, writing assignments and student activities. Although created to go with a video on the Six Pillars of Character (information on the video is on the site), many of the lessons are adaptable, and are also in Spanish. For grades K-5.

Citizenship: Kids

http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr008.shtml

This is a curriculum for kids, and is great for Family Literacy. It covers: Teaching Citizenship’s Five Themes Activities from the editors of Weekly Reader can help develop K-6 students' understanding of the five citizenship themes and has a solid curriculum with some discussion points that can be used for parents and children to explore the main themes.
Advocating the five themes of citizenship -- honesty, compassion, respect, responsibility, and courage -- is not enough. Exploring those themes, talking about them, and making connections between those themes and your students’ lives are the keys to developing a true understanding of the concepts. The activities below, which will help develop those themes, are divided by grade levels:
Activities for Students in Kindergarten and Grade 1
Activities for Students in Grades 2 and 3
Activities for Students in Grades 4, 5, and 6

ESL Citizenship: Kids Page

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/laic/

For Family Literacy, this is a great page on citizenship from a child's perspective. Created by PBS Kids in New York, it covers what being an American is all about and also has a section on New York which includes the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Areas addressed include: For Teachers, Parents & Kids NY Online Explore the Learning AdventuresPBS Online Thirteen Online American Experience .

ESL: Citizenship

http://www.usnaturalization.org/

This site is the US Naturalization Services home site, and has a trove of information on U. S. Citizenship requirements and forms.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/citizen.htm

Information on eligibility requirements, fees, green cards etc. Also a U.S. Government site.

Citizenship: Questions in English and Spanish for EL/Civics

This is a DVD or VHS tape that can be purchased from High Tec Productions, 348 Illinois Avenue, Mercedes, TX 78570. The cost is $19.95 per DVD, but quantity prices are available. The information is also available in a Mandarin/English version. The Study Guide includes a booklet with questions in English and Spanish, as well as a quiz, plus one DVD which includes 3 videos covering the Federal Government, Constitution and History, Symbols and State Government. On the video, the question is first asked in English with a picture or video that represents the topic of the question or answer. The question is then repeated in the second language. The question is last repeated in English followed by a pause so that you can answer the question in English. Each study guide is set up so that you purchase the one with the correct answers for the state in which your interview or test will be conducted.

email address is: sales@hightecproductions.com, and a phone number is (956) 565-5589

Constitution: Constitution and Government via Benjamin Franklin

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/ Ben's Site

This is an interesting site that uses the character of Benjamin Franklin to explore the Constitution and the U.S. Government. The site develops the information for various grade levels, including K-2 3-5 6-8 9-12 Parents & Teachers and would be appropriate for ABE/GED, ESL, Family Literacy and Literacy level students.

Constitution: Constitution Simulation Activity

http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/marston/constitution/ A Web Quest

Developed for students at a middle school level, this site gives a simulated game type program for students to explore the Constitution by taking on the persona of a member of one of the three branches of government.

The Introduction explains this simulation further:

"The United States Government needs your help! Your mission for this project is to become a member of one of the three branches of government, and to investigate information about your branch of government. You will need to research websites that deal with the United States Constitution. Once you uncover information about your particular branch, you will participate in a simulation where real life situations will be posed, and you will need to decide who in the three branches has the power to do what. For instance, if the President of the United States wants to make a treaty with China, how would the three branches of government make it happen? Good luck--the fate of the country is in your hands."

Constitution: Lesson Plans

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/SSExecutiveBranchUSConstitutionJH.htm

A great resource for instructors who wish to teach the Constitution in a class setting. This is done for students at a junior high level, so the content level is appropriate for GED prep students.

Constitution: U.S. Constitution Quiz

http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/constitution/quiz/ this is the kids.org site exploring the Government, but it is an interesting sites for students wanting to test their knowledge of the Constitution and facts.

Constitution: Constitution Center/Interactive

http://www.constitutioncenter.org/explore/TheU.S.Constitution/index.shtml

This site translates the Constitution into Spanish and other languages, and would be useful for students to get the full impact of the document in their native language. There is also a wonderful interactive section to explore by keyword search, by topic or by Supreme Court cases. Another section gives a Constitutional timeline that includes audio clips, point/counterpoint debates, newspaper headlines and maps and graphs. This is an excellent teaching tool. I especially liked that the text is read aloud, and that it discusses the Constitution throughout the various eras. This section requires broadband.
Founding documents are also featured, including:

Magna Carta
Mayflower Compact
Virginia Declaration of Rights
Declaration of Independence
Articles of Confederation
Federalist Papers
Constitution
Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments)
Reconstruction Amendments

Constitution: U.S. Senate Reference Home

http://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm

Includes the original text and an explanation of the text, a listing of the current U.S. Senators with districts and addresses, committees, a bill search feature and art and history relating to the Constitution.

Constitution: Search Information

http://www.nwbuildnet.com/nwbn/usconstitutionsearch.html

"We have provided this service to help our users better understand their rights and freedoms under the law and the United States Constitution. You can search by keywords, titles, articles, etc."

Use this handy form provided US House of Represenatives to help you find and contact Members of the United States House of Representatives. Please note that the contact information accessible through this service is provided by each Member office.
Digital Diplomacy for Students: The U.S. Department of State's special web page for students in elementary, middle, and high school.
Our National Directory of U.S. Government Resources provides a comprehensive list of construction specific agencies, departments and services available online from the US Government.

Constitution: Constitution Facts

http://www.constitutionfacts.com/ Constitution Facts

At Constitutionfacts.com you'll see the entire text of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence - and much more! You'll find interesting insights into the men who wrote the Constitution, how it was created, and how the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution in the two centuries since its creation.

Constitution: Yale Law School Avalon Project

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/usconst.htm The Avalon Project at Yale Law School

This site contains many of the previous documents that formed the base of knowledge used in creating the Constitution, as well as important speeches and documents from other centuries to the present.

Constitution: Interactive/Multimedia

http://www.constitutioncenter.org/
Dedicated to honoring and explaining the U.S. Constitution through interactive and multimedia exhibits, photographs, film, sculpture, text, and artifacts.

Constitution: Hypertext Version

http://www.usconstitution.net/ hypertext version of the U.S. constitution, with a FAQ, message base, glossary, and comprehensive links to information on U.S. State and other constitutions.

Constitution: National Archives

http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/constitution.html

The National Archives has a nationwide network of research facilities. This site has a scan of the U.S. Constitution available online.

Welcome to the Constitution Blog!

The Waubonsee Community College Constitution Day blog is being developed to give students some interesting Websites for Constitution Day/Citizenship Day on September 17th. However, this blog will be available to all students at any time, celebrating the wealth of national treasure that is shared by all Americans.