Our Government - Learning About the Constitution

Patriotic Constitution Day and September 11th Social Studies Kindergarten Lesson Plan
Photo Source: larremoreteachertips.blogspot.com

Time just seems to fly by! Can you believe it's back-to-school season already?! And while today it's back-to-school units and first day of school activities, soon it will be 9/11, Constitution Day, and Johnny Appleseed activities! We decided to fast forward a bit and share some of the fun activities we've been finding for your September themes.

Patriot Day, held in remembrance of those who lost their lives on 9/11/01, and Constitution Day offer a great opportunity for your kiddos to explore the principles and values that America was founded on and what the United States stands for. While the original documents drafted by our founding fathers are sure to be difficult for your kinders to understand, we found this great lesson plan, shared by April Larremore of Chalk Talk, and thought it did a fantastic job of helping students understand the meaning of the Preamble of the Constitution.

Created to compliment David Catrow's We The Kids, after reading the story, April and her kiddos began by discussing each statement in the Preamble, breaking them down and putting them into words that everybody could understand. They then worked together to paraphrase the Preamble, highlighting the main ideas and vision for our government.

Be sure to head on over to Chalk Talk for the full lesson! April shares some other great ideas - including a link for creating a Preamble quilt craft - that we know your kinders will enjoy!