In 2004, Constitution Day and Citizenship Day—previously established as two separate holidays—were combined into one. Through an act of Congress, the September 17 holiday commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution by the delegates to the federal convention in 1787 and recognizes all who “by coming of age or by naturalization have become citizens.”
To help mark Constitution and Citizenship Day, the Library’s education team will be supporting a free training seminar for educators and volunteers who lead adult citizenship programs. Led by the Citizenship Resource Center staff of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), the program will provide resources and training to support educators in teaching immigrant students about the naturalization process and preparing them for the citizenship test.
We are excited to contribute to the training by offering ideas for how adult citizenship educators might use some of the Library’s resources in their teaching practice. The Library’s digital collections offer a wide range of engaging primary sources related to the big ideas included on the citizenship test.
Many of these concepts are also relevant to a K-12 civics curriculum. They include: principles of American democracy; the U.S. system of government; rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens; as well as select events in United States History.
Resources we will share include the following: