Constitution Day Lessons

JA Worldwide® has developed five lesson plans on the U.S. Constitution that can be downloaded and used in conjunction with Constitution Day. In addition, three of these lessons were published in the September issue of the National Council for the Social Studies publication, Social Education. Lessons can be accessed and downloaded below.

Grade Level: Elementary Grades K-2
Students will learn how the Constitution of the United States and its amendments provide certain rights pertaining to personal property. Using a scenario about classroom rules, students demonstrate the importance of having individual rights.

Grade Level: Elementary Grades 3-5
Students will learn how the Constitution of the United States provided the framework for our country’s democratic form of government. Students also will learn how the Constitution provided for representation within our government. A short story about the Boston Tea Party gives the background related to “taxation without representation” and how that changed with the advent of the new nation and later the Constitution.

Grade Level: Middle Grades 6-8
Working in representative groups, students analyze the Bill of Rights and rank each amendment based on its significance to the group.

Grade Level: High School 9-12 (Activity 1)
Students will better understand the U.S. Constitution by exploring the Bill of Rights. Through the eyes of business owners, student groups review and discuss the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Grade Level: High School 9-12 (Activity 2)
Students will learn how the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution relates to private property and how the power of eminent domain was defined in a recent Supreme Court case. Students will review summaries from Kelo v. New London to gain a better understanding of this case that dealt with the limits of a government’s right of eminent domain. They also will have the opportunity to defend one of the two viewpoints contained in this court decision.