Constitutionally Speaking: Improving Knowledge of the U.S. Constitution

September 17th is Constitution Day

September 17th is Constitution Day, the day that The Constitution of the United States was adopted in 1787. This keystone document covering our rights (and the structure of our government) is an essential part of our American identity and way of life.

Fundamental knowledge of our rights, our freedoms, and how government is supposed to work is exceeding low:

Unfortunately, general knowledge of the contents and meaning of The Constitution in American society is quite low.

The 2023 Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey of U.S. Adults found Many Don’t Know Key Facts About U.S. Constitution.

Here are some quotes regarding key finds from that study:

• “..when U.S. adults are asked to name the specific rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, only one right is recalled by most of the respondents: freedom of speech, which 77% named.”
• “The civics knowledge survey… also finds that although two-thirds of Americans (66%) can name all three branches of government, 10% can name two, 7% can name only one, and 17% cannot name any.”
• “only one in 20 [just 5%] can name all five freedoms protected by the First Amendment.”

This conclusion by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and director of the survey is especially sobering:

“One is unlikely to cherish or work to protect freedoms one does not know one has and will have trouble holding elected and unelected leaders accountable if one does not understand the nature and prerogatives of each branch and the ways in which the power of each is kept in check.”

Make Constitution Day a strong emphasis in your classroom during the month of September:

As educators it is our duty to insure a well-educated people who know, respect, cherish and protect their freedoms and rationally work to keep elected and unelected leaders accountable. If we fail, our society will fall into chaos.

For years, Internet4Classrooms has had a strong resource page for the U.S. Constitution: https://www.internet4classrooms.com/links_grades_kindergarten_12/constitution.htm

This September our featured app is Interactive Constitution by the National Constitution Center – it’s free for both Apple IOS and Android devices.

We have three tech tips focused on teaching the U.S. Constitution:

• Free Classroom Resources for Teaching the Constitution
• Constitution Clips: Make the U.S. Constitution Come Alive with Video Clips
• Commemorating Constitution Day and Citizenship Day

Our monthly focus page for featured content also links to three additional resources for Constitution Day.

Guest Blogger:

Bill Franklin, the CEO of Internet4Classrooms, is our guest blogger this month. He has been on the faculty at The George Washington University, has years of platform instructional experience, was a career Army Special Operations officer and also has decades of experience as a youth sports coach.