Constitution Day Activities for Middle School

Constitution Day is September 17. If you teach middle school social studies, it is so important to address this day in your class. I also teach a complete unit on the Constitution as part of my curriculum, but it comes towards the end of the year. It pays to have a few fun, easy activities on hand. Read on for some ideas.

Constitution Day Activity: Rank the Bill of Rights

To start, let’s look at a quick win on Constitution Day. Give kids a simplified version of the Bill of Rights. Discuss them briefly. Then, alone or with a partner, have kids rank them in order of importance to them.

Next, you can then have a group discussion. Kids can debate on what they feel is the most important of the first 10 Amendments.

Life Without the Bill of Rights

To start, use a simplified version of the Bill of Rights. Assign each student one of these first ten Amendments. You can have kids work in partnerships as well.

Then, have kids draw an example of what life could look like without this particular Amendment. I would have them write the Amendment out on top and then write a sentence or two to explain their picture.

For example, for the third Amendment, “Housing of Soldiers”, students could draw a picture of a soldier sleeping on their couch or eating their food.

“Bell Ringers” – Constitution Day Quick Activity

“Bell Ringers” are a quick and easy win. Post a meaningful and relatable question about the Constitution on the Google Questions portion of your Google Classroom. (Need help? Click here for info about Google Questions.) Another idea is to just post it on the board and have kids write their responses on a post it. Make some time to share and debate.

Need ideas? You are in luck…I have a freebie for that! Click here for your free copy of Constitution Questions.

Centers -If You Have More Time

There’s nothing more enjoyable than having centers set up and ready to go. After you explain them, kids are off and working on their own. In addition, centers provide time to move about, interact, meet with kids, or let’s face it…get some work done on your own.

Next, be sure to provide time to share. This can be as simple as keeping their favorite center on their desk. Kids can walk around and look in a “museum” style of sharing.

I love including art history, artifacts, primary sources, biographies, and geography in my centers. Read here for more information on centers.

I have a freebie template for centers. Just plug in your ideas and you are all set.

I also have a ready-made Constitution set. Click here to check out my Constitution Centers Product.

Another idea are Boom Cards. They also make a quick and easy center. If you’ve never used Boom Cards, they are self-grading, interactive, and engaging. Here is a deck that I put together: Constitution Boom Cards

Jigsaw Activity

An easy idea is to break down the Constitution into segments. Basically, you assign a group of kids to each of the seven Articles. Have them do a basic summary, such as what it pertains to, two or three main ideas, and why it’s important. Then they can share with the class.

Additionally, you can do this type of activity so many ways by breaking it down differently. For example, you could assign a few Amendments to different groups of kids and have them do this the same way as in the other example. This usually makes a perfect, one-day class activity.

Interactive Game

Lastly, there are so many free and interactive games available on the internet. Here are some of my favorites:

• Branches of Power
• Do I Have a Right?
• Citizenship Quiz

If you’re looking for something a little more robust, check out my Constitution Interactive Game (TPT product)

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Finally, I’d love to hear any of your ideas. Comment below!

P.S. If you are making bulletin boards, be sure to grab my FREE patriotic bulletin board letters.

Wishing you and your students all the best.

-Linda A. “All in One Middle School“

Helpful Links:

Membership for Social Studies Teachers

American History Year-Long Curriculum

Constitution Products on my TPT store

Constitution Question of the Day Bell Ringers Freebie

One-on-One Coaching for Observations and Lessons