{"id":4143,"date":"2020-09-15T17:35:20","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T21:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/teachersfirst.com\/blog\/?p=4143"},"modified":"2022-06-16T13:15:21","modified_gmt":"2022-06-16T17:15:21","slug":"celebrate-the-foundations-of-america-in-your-classroom-this-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/2020\/09\/celebrate-the-foundations-of-america-in-your-classroom-this-fall\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate the Foundations of America in Your Classroom this Fall!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"International Day of Democracy\" width=\"660\" height=\"371\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YQXaYMSmZ98?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Celebrate the foundations of the United States during the lead-up to the election this fall! <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/observances\/democracy-day\" target=\"_blank\">International Day of Democracy<\/a> is celebrated on September 15th, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.helpteaching.com\/blog\/10-activities-to-celebrate-constitution-and-citizenship-day.html\" target=\"_blank\">United States Constitution Day and Citizenship Day<\/a> are both held on September 17th, and our <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.almanac.com\/content\/when-election-day\" target=\"_blank\">National Election Day<\/a> is November 3rd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/curriculumblog.lgfl.net\/2018\/09\/international-day-of-democracy-15th-september\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">International Day of Democracy<\/a> was started to give the world the opportunity to not only celebrate democracy as a system, but also to bring awareness to issues surrounding the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/global-issues\/democracy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">global state of democracy<\/a>. It&#8217;s a great day to introduce the <a href=\"https:\/\/worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global Goals for Sustainable Development<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.insideout.net\/blog\/elessons\/democracy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contrast lessons<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gogivers.org\/free-stuff\/awareness-days-calendar\/international-day-of-democracy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">other countries<\/a> with those from the<a href=\"https:\/\/teachpeacenow.com\/international-day-of-democracy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> United States<\/a>. English Language Learners would benefit from the American English <a href=\"https:\/\/americanenglish.state.gov\/files\/ae\/international_democracy_day_activity.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">public debate lesson<\/a> plan. It can be a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.twinkl.com\/event\/international-day-of-democracy-2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> day of fun and learning<\/a> for students of all ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/teachersfirst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-SEP-Foundations-of-America-200x300.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4170\" srcset=\"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-SEP-Foundations-of-America-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-SEP-Foundations-of-America-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-SEP-Foundations-of-America.png 735w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www2.ed.gov\/policy\/fund\/guid\/constitutionday.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">United States Constitution and Citizenship Day<\/a> can be celebrated as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscourts.gov\/about-federal-courts\/educational-resources\/annual-observances\/constitution-day-and-citizenship-day\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one event<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/billofrightsinstitute.org\/constitutionday\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">separate events<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/citizenship\/resources-for-educational-programs\/constitution-day-and-citizenship-day\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&nbsp;U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services <\/a>&nbsp;and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/law\/help\/commemorative-observations\/constitution-day.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Library of Congress<\/a> offer many resources for celebrating both events. There are many government agencies that offer<a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/news\/topics\/constitution-day\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> resources<\/a>, lesson plans, and other activities for Constitution Day for students of all ages including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.civiced.org\/lesson-plans\/constitution-day-and-citizenship-day\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Center for Civic Education<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/education\/lessons\/constitution-day\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The National Archives<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/constitutionday.cpms.osd.mil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Department of Defense<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/programs-surveys\/sis\/resources\/constitution-day.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The United States Census Bureau<\/a>. Incorporating art and music into your Constitution Day celebration is simple with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.constitutionday.cc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">poster design contest<\/a> from ConstitutionFacts.com or <a href=\"https:\/\/teachinghistorywithhamilton.org\/for-teachers-3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lessons<\/a> from the hit musical <a href=\"https:\/\/teachersfirst.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/dont-let-a-pandemic-stop-you-from-being-in-the-room-where-it-happens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Hamilton<\/em><\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The upcoming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/extra\/tag\/election-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">national election<\/a> offers not only a chance to teach students about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usa.gov\/voting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">election process<\/a>, but also a chance to bring in<a href=\"https:\/\/namle.net\/publications\/core-principles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> media literacy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/namle.net\/publications\/electionresources\/\">lessons<\/a>. Teaching media literacy, <a href=\"https:\/\/home.edweb.net\/webinar\/commonsense20200824\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">especially during an election year<\/a> is an important <a href=\"http:\/\/www.teachingfordemocracy.org\/media-literacy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">learning opportunity<\/a> that will serve <a href=\"https:\/\/frankwbaker.com\/mlc\/media-politics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">students<\/a> for the rest of their lives! AllSides.com (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.teachersfirst.com\/single.cfm?id=13962\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reviewed here<\/a>) is an excellent resource to use when looking at the various perspectives around the elections and offers many <a href=\"https:\/\/allsidesforschools.org\/classroom-activities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">classroom activities<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/allsidesforschools.org\/lesson-plans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lesson plans<\/a> centered around media literacy. A variety of lesson plans and activities for all ages are offered by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scholastic.com\/teachers\/collections\/teaching-content\/elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Scholastic<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.google.com\/view\/c-span-classroom-campaign-2020\/lesson-plans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">C-Span<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ri.pbslearningmedia.org\/collection\/election-collection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PBS Learning Media<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/spotlight\/teach-the-2020-election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The New York Times<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.icivics.org\/news\/new-tools-teaching-2020-election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">iCivics<\/a> will make planning a unit or lessons about the elections simple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This fall, celebrate International Democracy Day, Constitution Day, Citizenship Day, and the national election in your classroom! The opportunities for learning are endless. As always, TeachersFirst.com offers a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teachersfirst.com\/search_action.cfm?grade_low=0&amp;grade_high=12&amp;searchtext=government&amp;searchtype=all\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">variety of resources<\/a> to make your lesson planning easy and the <a href=\"https:\/\/teachersfirst.com\/blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TeachersFirst blog<\/a> has helpful tips searchable by topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Celebrate the foundations of the United States during the lead-up to the election this fall! International Day of Democracy is celebrated on September 15th, United States Constitution Day and Citizenship Day are both held on September 17th, and our National Election Day is November 3rd. International Day of Democracy was started to give the world &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/2020\/09\/celebrate-the-foundations-of-america-in-your-classroom-this-fall\/\" class=\"more-link\">read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[46,81],"class_list":["post-4143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classroom-application","tag-lesson-ideas","tag-u-s-history"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4143"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6395,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4143\/revisions\/6395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}