Celebrate Constitution Day

On September 16, 2011, the Bill of Rights Institute will celebrate Constitution Day with engaging educational games, videos, and activities for people of all ages, and classroom lessons for teachers across the country.

The Bill of Rights Institute’s newest resource, the Constitution Duel, is a 15-question quiz that challenges you to defend your constitutional honor. Individuals will be asked 15 multiple-choice questions from four categories; the Constitution, primary source documents, landmark Supreme Court cases, and historic people. Take the quiz as an individual, or as a team – even challenge another classroom, family, or workplace to a Constitution knowledge duel!

Also new for this Constitution Day, the Institute created a short video on the constitutional principle of representative government to help explore the key differences between republics and democracies. Exciting visuals from current events, an engaging historical narrative, brief scholar interviews, familiar music, and memorable quotes make this 7-minute video perfect for use on Constitution Day! A short viewing guide is also available.

Additional activities include Life Without the Bill of Rights? which explores how life would change without our constitutionally-protected rights and Madison’s Notes are Missing, which allows you to “travel through time” to converse with the Founders and report on the Constitutional Convention.   

The Bill of Rights Institute is partnering with the National Constitution Center to provide resources for Constitution Day. Tune in to Constitution Hall Pass, a free webcast which allows teachers and students to learn more about this historic day while chatting live with the National Constitution Center’s education staff. This year’s episode, Constitution Hall Pass: Freedom of Expression, brings the story of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights to life. The episode will be available on the Center’s website on September 16, with a live chat from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST.

All materials and more resources can be found at www.BillofRightsInstitute.org/ConstitutionDay.

The Bill of Rights Institute, founded in 1999, is a nonprofit educational organization. The mission of the Bill of Rights Institute is to educate young people about the words and ideas of America’s Founders, the liberties guaranteed in our Founding documents, and how our Founding principles continue to affect and shape a free society.