Constitution Day on September 17th doesn’t have to be just another checkbox on your long list of things to teach! If you’re feeling the stress of trying to make this mandatory lesson engaging, don’t worry – I’ve got you covered!
All public school teachers are required to teach a lesson about the U.S. Constitution, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a snooze-fest for your students (or you!). Say goodbye to outdated textbooks, boring worksheets, and those overwhelming graphic organizers that make you wish you could just skip the lesson altogether.
Instead, I’ve pulled together a list of my top 5 Constitution Day activities that will not only save you time but will make your students excited to learn! No more stressing over what will keep them engaged. These interactive escape rooms, scavenger hunts, and creative activities will help students dive deep into the Constitution with hands-on fun that actually works—without leaving you scrambling for prep or grading at the end of the day.
These activities are designed to boost critical thinking, teamwork, and creativity – everything you’re hoping for on a busy school day! Ready to make your life easier and Constitution Day unforgettable? Check out these activities, and make teaching about the Constitution a highlight of the year!
1. PRINTABLE ESCAPE ROOM
This Print and Go Constitution Day Escape Room is a winning combination of reading comprehension, reading passages, movement, secret codes, citing evidence, deductive reasoning, puzzles, collaboration, close reading skills and critical thinking. Everything a teacher dreams of wrapped up into one FUN and engaging non-fiction activity that reinforces ELA skills.
Topics: History of Constitution Day, Constitution Week, Daughters of Liberty, Constitutional Convention, September 17th, United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, historic amendments
With their informational text in hand, students will move around the classroom visiting 4 puzzle decoders. Give your students a chance to get out of their seats, decode puzzles and read passages, all while actively learning! Even reluctant learners will dive in!
No prior knowledge is needed, so this escape room activity makes a great introduction to your September Constitution Day or Civics lesson plans. This reading comprehension activity allows students to get some facts while previewing key vocabulary words, people, places or events that you will teach throughout your unit. To ensure understanding, students will answer questions that can be found directly in their reading passage.
No locks required! No fancy envelopes to stuff! No odd shapes to cut out. This NO PREP, PRINT & GO activity is meant to make your teacher-life easy! The only thing you need to do is place the 4 puzzle decoders around the room! If you prefer, you can certainly add a programmable 4-digit lock to add an element of mystery (but not required).
2. DIGITAL ESCAPE ROOM
Cure student boredom with a DIGITAL US Constitution Trivia Escape Room!
The DIGITAL Escape Room is a winning combination of trivia and critical thinking that requires NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE!
A fascinating NO-PREP, self-checking digital activity with a twist of FUN that covers the U.S. Constitution, Branches of Government, and Constitutional Convention. Great Activity for Constitution Day!
The whole activity is housed on ONE website, making this a cinch to share and play! No outside links and no accounts or login required!
As students progress through the “amusement park” themed digital escape room, they will visit 9 attractions with a total of 35 questions. This trivia escape is ideal for igniting critical thinking and deductive reasoning skills, while gaining or reviewing knowledge on the topic.
No grading involved! This is a self-checking activity with an “answer bank” for each challenge that offers immediate student feedback. The questions are set with “answer validation,” therefore, students cannot move on to the next challenge until they answer the questions correctly. If you are using the activity for front loading and they have no prior knowledge, they will still be able to play!
Students will use deductive reasoning as well as trial and error to figure out the correct answer because each challenge includes some sort of answer bank (drag and drop, drop-down menu, click and disappear etc).
3. Bill Of Rights Color By Number
This is the perfect Bill of Rights Activity and extension to your U.S Constitution lessons.
You can use this Bill of Rights activity as an anticipation guide to assess prior knowledge. You can use this activity as a unit review when you finish teaching the U.S. Constitution.
You can use this activity as a stand-alone or with other Constitution classroom activities. This is a fun, colorful activity that allows students to show mastery while learning, relaxing and coloring in their answers.
Practice reading comprehension skills with this Bill of Rights Color by Number Close Reading Activity. Students will examine the non-fiction, informational text multiple times. This activity includes TWO options for students (individual coloring page or group collaborative poster).
First, students will read the passage. Using close reading skills, they will read the passage a second time and circle their answers to 12 multiple choice questions. Next, they will color the image based on their answer. They will reread the passage to find evidence in the text and underline it using the same corresponding color.
Option 1: Individual work – Students work on their own to complete the questions, coloring, and underlining. Lastly, they will write a summary statement or main idea.
Option 2: Group work – Students will create a collaborative group poster. Place students in groups of four. Each member of the group will receive a different page to color. In the end, the group will assemble their picture with tape or glue. The group images will result in a colorful pop-art poster.
4. CONSTITUTION DAY SCAVENGER HUNT
This Constitution Day Scavenger Hunt lesson is an engaging cross-curricular activity that incorporates reading comprehension, informational text, citing text evidence, movement and critical thinking skills. It also includes an escape room aspect of a final 4-digit numeric code and 4-digit alpha code, leaving your students eager to finish the task.
Great introduction to your Constitution unit!
No more boring reading passages where students are stuck at their desk turning textbook pages! Students will move around the classroom visiting TEN reading cards, reading short passages, finding text evidence and answering 10 questions. Each question has an “image” answer that indicates a specific LETTER of the alphabet.
Students will revisit the non-fiction text multiple times practicing reading comprehension skills as they rotate around the room seeking text evidence. To ensure understanding of the subject matter, students will answer questions that MUST be found directly in the reading passages. No prior knowledge is needed.
Instead of hunting for “locations,” students will hunt for answers seeking text evidence. All you have to do is print the 10 reading passage cards, cut them in half and hang/hide them!
5. CONSTITUTION WORD SEARCH ESCAPE
This Print and Go U.S. Constitution Escape Room Word Search is a winning combination of reading comprehension skills, movement, mystery words, stations, puzzles, collaboration, critical thinking, mini word search and close reading.
The activity strengthens non-fiction ELA skills with a fun, interactive approach to learning that keeps your students hooked from beginning to end.
Give your students a chance to get out of their seats, decode puzzles and read passages, all while actively learning!
No prior knowledge is needed, so this escape room activity makes a great introduction to your Constitution or Branches of Government lesson plans.
HOW DOES IT WORK? With their informational text in hand, students will move around the classroom visiting 5 puzzle stations. Each “clue card” station includes 6 questions and a puzzle decoder. Each clue card, with questions answered correctly, results in a mystery word that needs to be unscrambled. Questions include matching, true/false, short answer, fill in the blank and multiple choice. Each station has a different set of question types.
When all clues have been decoded, those words will serve as the word bank for the mini word search – which ALSO reveals a final mystery word. This way, students must complete each task and can not simply find the words in the word search without putting in the work first. **Hint cards are included to help with tricky puzzles, making this a fun experience for all students.
When an assignment includes elements like secret codes or mystery words, it feels less like work and more like a fun challenge. This added layer of excitement motivates kids to complete the task to “win” or uncover the hidden element.
CONSTITUTION WORKBOOK
Prefer physical workbooks instead? The US Constitution interactive notebook has enough content to cover your whole US Constitution unit!
History doesn’t have to be boring – especially when it comes with a dash of mystery and a twist of F-U-N!
WHAT’S INSIDE?
21 Reading Passages: (2 full pages each)
Each passage is crafted to draw your kids into the past, making history relatable and intriguing for learners at home or in the classroom. To ensure understanding, each reading comprehension passage comes with two interactive worksheets.
Worksheet 1: Crack the 4-Digit Code!
This activity turns reading into a puzzle, keeping kids motivated to dive deeper into the material. Your learners will answer comprehension questions based on the passage and correct answers will reveal a secret 4-digit code.
Worksheet 2: Mystery Word!
To ensure they’ve truly grasped the material, kids answer another set of questions, based on the same reading passage, that unveil a secret word. The more they read, the more the information sinks in, ensuring understanding of the topic.
How do you teach Constitution Day in your classroom?
