Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational institution. This posting is intended to remind affected educational institutions of this responsibility and provide some resources for them to use in developing their program.

To assist you in planning Constitution Day and Citizenship Day programs, we are pleased to provide links to Federal Web sites that contain materials that can be publicly accessed for general use or for use as teaching materials in the classroom.

The Department of Education maintains a Web site for finding teaching resources across the Federal government. It's called FREE.

Constitution Resources:
Meet the delegates who gathered in Philadelphia in May 1787 to rewrite the Articles of Confederation. Learn what issues they faced. Discover the sources that inspired them. Read the essays printed in New York City papers urging ratification of the delegates' proposal. Explore a 200-year timeline showing the impact of the Constitution on our history. Search the Constitution, and see explanations of 300 topics.

Also, we encourage you to access the National History Education Clearinghouse (NHEC) that is funded by the U.S. Department of Education under contract no. ED-07-CO-0088. In late August the NHEC homepage will feature special, highlighted information on teaching resources for Constitution Day. The information will include teaching resources on the Constitution and Constitution Day. You may access the site at www.teachinghistory.org.

In addition, we refer you to the National Archives and Records Administration's Web site.

Celebrate Constitution Day:
Read the Constitution in its original form and in a transcript. View Webcasts of Senator Byrd's remarks and discussions on federalism and checks and balances.

The Constitution of the United States:
View high resolution scans of the original, signed Constitution. Obtain a transcript. Read an essay about the Constitutional Convention. Learn dozens of fascinating facts about the Constitution. Learn about each of the signers of the Constitution.

Observing Constitution Day: The Signers of the Constitution:
Find out about the delegates who signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787.

Observing Constitution Day: The Constitution Game:
Explore, in this simulation, how the members of the Constitutional Convention might have felt as they gathered in Philadelphia's Independence Hall and began the task of writing the Constitution.

Teaching With Documents: The Ratification of the Constitution:
Uncover the issues involved in the creation and ratification of the Constitution and the new government it established.

For Teaching American History Grantees
Thank you for your interest in classroom instruction on the Constitution. We are pleased to provide access to these valuable documents and Web sites.

Alex Stein, Team Leader
Teaching American History Team
Office of Innovation and Improvement
U.S. Department of Education
Alex.Stein@ed.gov