Seasons of Service

 
Constitution Week ~ September 17 - 23

What better way to beat the Holiday Gimmees and observe Red Letter Days than to practice good deeds? Here's a way to discover the true meaning of holidays and heroes. Please join us in celebrating the following Season of Service.


Americans revere The Constitution of the United States signed by 39 delegates at Philadelphia's Independence Hall on September 17, 1787. But studies show that most of us know little about it. Students who explain this great document to the entire community can insure the longevity of the world's oldest working constitution.

Organize lunch time Voter Registration drives at local high schools, homeless shelters, and senior centers. Present printed online version of The Bill of Rights to participants.

 

Prepare a schoolwide assembly. Distribute the Preamble of the Constitution and lead audience in its recitation. Reenact a scene from the Constitutional Convention where delegates compromised.

 

Study the Bill of Rights. Visit a class of fourth or fifth graders. Share highlights about the first 10 Amendments. Introduce them to an interactive Bill of Rights game.

 

Compare paintings of The Signing of the Declaration of Independence and The Signing of the Constitution. Display them and advertise a schoolwide essay contest asking: Who's Missing from these Pictures? Invite community leaders to read entries. Publish winning essays in school and local papers.

 

Research The Liberty Bill Act proposing to print an abridged version of The Constitution on the back of U. S. currency. Invite parents and students from other classes to a debate on the bill's pros and cons.

 

Create a Timeline highlighting important events and issues of the Constitutional Convention. Ask permission to exhibit it on an appropriate wall of the District Court House.

 

Read selected children's books on The Constitution. Visit an elementary school class and share them with youngsters.

 

More Web Sites about the Constitution of the United States

Thanks to National Park Rangers John Stanwich and Karen Yourell and the Adams National Historical Park for engaging hundreds of Boston Public School students in their We the People: the Constitutional Convention. See above photo by Maggie Hoyt.

Thanks to Mindy Nierenberg and Scholars from Tufts University College of Citizenship and Public Service (now Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service) for working with Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC) Students on Voter Registration Drives.