Ben's Guide to U.S. Government
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation
A federal law was passed in 2004 requiring that schools and other educational institutions, receiving funds from the U.S. Department of Education, present a program each year in observance of "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day." (1) This webpage features pictures, books, and websites offering educational materials from federal agencies. The materials provided by agencies include print materials, facsimile copies of original historic documents, lesson plans for teachers, coloring books for kids, and videos, CDs, and flash cards for people taking the citizenship test. This webpage accompanies an exhibit on the first floor of the University of Delaware (Morris Library). A printer-friendly copy is available on the Library Web: Resources for Educators (PDF).
"Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids." By U.S. Government
Printing Office.
Presents information on laws, elections, history of the nation, as well
as games and activities. Includes sections for parents, teachers, and grades
K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.
The
Citizen's Almanac: Fundamental Documents, Symbols, and Anthems of the United
States. By U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Homeland Security; U.S. Government Printing Office, 2007.
University of Delaware Library Annex U.S. Documents HS 8.2:C 49/2007
University of Delaware (Morris) Library U.S. Documents-Oversize HS 8.2:C 49/2/toolkit
The kit contains: 6 handbooks, 1 set of flash cards, 1 sound disc, 1 videodisc,
1 CD-ROM, 1 quick start guide, 2 posters. Text in English and Spanish.
University of Delaware Library Annex U.S. Documents HS 8.2:F 61/2
102 flash cards on U.S. government and history for studying to take the naturalization test. Also included in: Civics and Citizenship Toolkit.
Congress Hall, Capitol of the United States, 1790-1800:
Independence National Historical Park, Pennsylvania. By U.S. National
Park Service. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior; U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1990.
University of Delaware Library Annex U.S. Documents I 29.9/5: 147
University of Delaware Library Annex U.S. Documents Y 1.1/7: 106-215
A pocket sized edition of the Constitution and the Declaration. Also available in Civics
and Citizenship Toolkit.
"Creating the United States Constitution - Exhibitions - myLOC.gov." myLOC: Library of Congress. By U.S. Library of Congress.
The National Park Service
Teachers page. Provides curriculum guides, information on how to plan field
trips, lists of suggested readings. Also of interest: "For Kids," "People,"
and
"Places."
Learn
about the United States: Quick Civics Lessons for the New Naturalization
Test. Toolkit. By U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
U.S. Government Printing Office, 2009.University of Delaware Library Annex U.S. Documents HS 8.2:L 47/2009/pack.
The kit contains a book, an audio CD: “100 Questions and Answers for the New Naturalization Test,” and two inserts: "Old Naturalization Test" and "Notice to Naturalization Applicants Regarding the New Naturalization Test."
"The
New United States of America Adopted the Bill of Rights." America's
Story from America's Library. By U.S. Library of Congress.
Our
American Government.
By U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on Printing. House Document 108-94 (108th
Congress, 1st Session). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2003.
University of Delaware Library Annex U.S. Documents Y 1.1/7:108-94
Our
Documents: 100 Milestone Documents from the National Archives. By
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Oxford; New York: Oxford
University Press, 2003.University of Delaware (Morris) Library E173 .U62 2003
A collection of one
hundred documents important in the development of the United States from
its founding to 1965, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution,
and other important, though lesser-known writings. The website includes:
printable copies of the 100 documents, Ideas for Librarians, Meeting Standards
with "Our Documents," Tools
for Educators, and posters.
Page illustrated is the Supreme Court Case:
McCulloch v. Maryland 1819.
Our Flag. By U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on Printing. Senate Document 109-18 (109th Congress, 2nd Session). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2007.
University of Delaware Library Annex U.S. Documents Y 1.1/3:109-18
"Picturing
America". By National Endowment for the Humanities.
Picturing
America's slogan is: America’s history through America’s
art. The site provides famous American artworks and stories about them.
One example is the Norman Rockwell "Freedom of Speech" illustration
pictured on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post,
February 20, 1943.
"The
Question of Representation at the 1787 Convention, Lesson Plan Two of the
Curriculum Unit: The Constitutional Convention of 1787." From
website EDSITEment. By National Endowment for the Humanities.
The website offers educational
resources featuring the Smithsonian Institution's collections. Provides lesson
plans and many virtual exhibitions. The Search features allow searching for
a subject and limiting it to a grade level and searching for resources aligned
to each state's standards.
Symbols
of the U.S. Government: Ben's Activity Book. By
U.S. Government Printing Office. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office,
2004. University of Delaware Library Annex U.S. Documents GP 1.2:Sy 6 Contains pictures, quizzes, pages for coloring, and other activities for children.
The Library of Congress Teachers site. Provides lesson plans and activities and includes sections on teaching with various primary sources. Example: Constitution Primary Source Set.
Provides lesson plans, copies of primary documents from the holdings of the
National Archives of the United States, and teaching activities correlated
to the National History Standards and National Standards for Civics and Government.
Includes the popular: Teaching With Documents: U.S. Constitution Workshop.
"U.S.
Constitution Teaching and Learning Resources." From Website: FREE:
Federal Resources for Education Excellence. By U.S. Department of Education.
Legislation Relating to Constitution Day
The law mandating Constitution Day programming appears as a section of an appropriations act: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, Public Law 108-447. The Constitution Day and Citizenship Day measure appears in 118 Stat. 2809, 3344-45 (Section 111).
The measure changing the name from Constitution Day to Constitution Day and Citizenship Day appears in the United States Code (36 U.S.C. §106).
The Notice of Implementation appeared in the Notices section of the Federal Register, May 24, 2005 (70 FR 29727).
