Constitution Week celebrates the signing of the U.S. Constitution and was started by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). In 1955, DAR petitioned Congress to set aside September 17–23 annually to be dedicated for the observance of Constitution Week. The resolution was later adopted by the U.S. Congress and signed into public law on August 2, 1956, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

According to DAR, the goals of the Constitution Week celebration are to: 

• Emphasize citizens’ responsibilities for protecting and defending the Constitution.
• Inform people the Constitution is the basis for America’s great heritage and the foundation for our way of life.
• Encourage the study of the historical events that led to the framing of the Constitution in September 1787.

Here’s a few resources to get you started on celebrating Constitution Week with your students. 

• Visit the National Constitution Center’s website for a variety of live classes, virtual town halls, a media library, and other Constitution Day activities. Click here for more info.
• Head to the National Archives website for a list of Constitution Day activities and resources.
• Constitution Day is a great time to remind students and their families to fill out their 2020 Census and how their responses will help shape the future. Statistics in Schools has a plethora of activities and resources focusing on the importance of the census and other Constitution Day-related fun facts, with videos and downloadable worksheets to boot.
• Check out this article, “27 Classroom Ideas to Make Constitution Day Memorable,” from WeAreTeachers. Many of these ideas can be altered for the virtual classroom, too.
• Education World has its own list of ideas for commemorating Constitution Day, which you can find here.
• America 250—the commission charged with preparing celebrations of the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026—has posted an online quiz to put your knowledge of the Constitution to the test.

Constitution Week is a perfect time to learn more about the document integral to this country’s foundation and its future as we all keep working to “form a more perfect Union.”