Why is it important for students to renew their understanding of the Constitution?

On September 17, 1787, thirty-nine of fifty-five delegates signed the new U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia. It was not ratified by the nine states needed to enact it until June 1788, and the thirteenth state (Rhode Island) did not ratify until May 1790.

At the last date, lingering concerns about increased government power were a hot topic of debate. This led, in 1791, to the creation of the first ten amendments to the Constitution (the Bill of Rights) designed to protect the individual rights of citizens.

To celebrate the birth of our unique form of democracy, Congress has declared September 17 of each year to be National Constitution and Citizenship Day. All schools that receive federal funding are required to integrate activities that day or week to help students understand the benefits and importance of the U.S. Constitution.

Recently, several issues have been debated by our leaders that are directly affected by the Bill of Rights of the Constitution. These include:

Gun control
2nd Amendment
Shootings at Virginia Tech

Right to privacy from search and seizure
4th Amendment
Patriot Act

Women's rights
Battle to overturn Roe v. Wade
Partial-birth abortion

Government financial support for religious schools and charities
1st Amendment

Each of these issues involves continuing debates between citizen groups who have credible arguments for their opposing causes.

The Constitution gives the Supreme Court the power to decide to uphold any existing law that is challenged by citizen groups, or have it repealed because it is in violation of the Constitution.

The pendulum of individual vs. societal rights continues to swing back and forth over time, but the trend has been to rule in favor of the rights of individual (e.g. gender, race, and existing rights contained in the Bill of Rights).

These constitutional freedoms and our checks and balances system of government have made the U.S. one of the most prosperous and stable countries in the world.

Standard E16 -- The student will access and use information from a variety of sources.

E16.8 -- Design and carry out research projects by selecting a topic, constructing inquiry questions, accessing resources, and organizing information.

Research Goal (RS) -- The students will access and use information from variety of appropriately selected sources to extend his or her knowledge.

USHC-2.5 -- Analyze underlying political philosophies, the fundamental principles, and the purposes of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, including the ideas behind the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances.

The SIRS Leading Issues feature provides more than 100 important issues for students to research and debate. Many of them have their basis in the Constitution's Bill of Rights.

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution were created to provide a compelling reason for the states to finally adopt the Constitution. The Bill of Rights ensures the individual rights of citizens and was not found in any other governmental system of the world at that time.

Here is a list of Leading Issues that have their primary basis in the Bill of Rights:

• Abortion; Affirmative action
• Capital punishment; Censorship; Church and state; Civil rights
• Death penalty
• Freedom of religion; Freedom of speech; Freedom of the press
• Gun control
• Privacy, Right of
• Racial profiling
• School prayer
• Treatment of prisoners

Teachers should assign students different issues from the list above. This will provide a variety of reports and reasoned opinions. Each report should refer to the specific Bill of Rights amendment that is its basis.

Students should be assigned a two- to three-minute oral report using the special Leading Issues templates for either the mini-research report with note cards, or the PowerPoint presentation (click More Issues . . . in the Pro vs. Con box > scroll down to the bottom right for links to download the student guides).

Oral presentations are required by state standards and help to develop essential language arts skills necessary for success in higher education and in careers. Oral presentations also motivate greater preparation and help to share academic knowledge among students.

Students will be using MyAnalysis, a unique five-step research and reporting process from SIRS that's integrated within each Leading Issue. It provides the necessary structure to help students organize, analyze, synthesize, and report their reasoned conclusions.

SIRS Leading Issues supports the school's and teacher's goal of integrating technology, information literacy, state standards, critical thinking, and real world academic content (21st Century Skills) while making the teacher's and the students' work less complicated.

There are many news events related to issues that have their basis in Constitutional rights that are presented each day on TV and covered in newspapers and magazines. Students in schools who use SIRS Discoverer are most likely aware of many of these events but probably not aware of their connection to the Bill of Rights of the Constitution.

Teachers can help students to make these connections by assigning mini-research activities that focus on these events and issues:

1. Burning the American flag
2. Government secretly checking your email and telephone calls
3. Mass killing of fellow students by a Virginia Tech student
4. Faith-based charities getting federal funding
5. The Pledge of Allegiance in public schools
6. Two new Supreme Court Justices can help to change our laws
7. Religious displays including the Nativity and Ten Commandment on government property
8. Outlawing of the juvenile death penalty
9. Bible study elective courses in schools
10. Limiting the powers of the President
11. Banning books like "Harry Potter" in school libraries

Teachers should assign each of these topics to different students. Students should prepare a two-minute oral report (or PowerPoint) that uses information from at least two resources. These reports are an opportunity for students to practice presentation skills and to share their new knowledge and ideas with each other.

Each report should address the following questions:

• What happened to bring attention to this issue and event?
• What Amendment in the Bill of Rights to the Constitution is affected?
• How would you have ruled on this case if you were a Supreme Court Justice?
• What are the reasons for your decision?

Pathfinder for resources on this assignment:
Click the icon HISTORY & GOVERNMENT > United States of America > Constitution

The U.S. Constitution provides a flexible system of government whose challenge is to provide a balance between the rights of individuals and the rights of the government.

As the world becomes "flatter" (according to Thomas Friedman's book of the same name), Americans have increased opportunities to see the differences in the types of governments in other countries and to compare the degree of individual freedoms that their citizens have. It becomes apparent in these comparisons that the greater the control the government has over the rights of its people, the lower the standard of living is, and the greater the gap between the rich and the poor.

These comparisons are important to today's citizens who are wrestling with challenges to the Constitution that will result in either greater or less individual rights in the future.

Teachers will want students to create reports that summarize and compare systems of government:

Pathfinder:
Part II: Global Dynamics
Chapter 4: Ideologies

Compare the Ideologies of the existing form of world governments.
Compare the economic systems and standards of living.

Teachers will want students to create reports that explore how the Constitutional form of government can operate successfully in a "flatter" world that include issues of international law and cooperation, international justice, economic cooperation, immigration, and other challenges:

Pathfinder:
Part III: Global Decision Making
Chapter 10: International Relations

How does the Constitution provide for directing foreign policy?
What does the Constitution have to say about international organizations of governments and government agencies?