Videos from ConSource Events
Watch educational videos by constitutional history experts, noted authors, Supreme Court Justices, and other public officials recorded live at ConSource events. Watch videos here.
Lesson Plans
ConSource offers high quality K-12 lesson plans and guides to constitutional themes, written by ConSource staff, institutional partners, and contributing educators. View the collection here.
Virtual Supreme Court Competition for High School Students
During the October 2012 Supreme Court term, The Harlan Institute and The Constitutional Sources Project (ConSource) launched the Virtual Supreme Court Competition. By participating in this competition, high school students gain experience in researching contemporary constitutional issues, crafting persuasive appellate briefs on their classroom blogs, and presenting convincing oral arguments to legal experts in our virtual courtroom over Google+ Video Hangouts.
The Virtual Supreme Court Competition takes place in two stages: submission of an appellate brief and presentation of oral argument. In 2016, the high school finalists participated in the championship round in front a panel of distinguished judges at the National Constitution Center as part of their Annual Freedom Day Celebration. The grand prize for the top two high school students is an all-expense paid trip to attend ConSource’s Annual Constitution Day Celebration. Students and teachers can register for the competition here.
Constitution Crash Course
ConSource offers a three-and-a-half hour course exploring the text, structure and history of the U.S. Constitution. Participants will closely read the text of the Constitution, explore important constitutional precedents such as the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 and Articles of Confederation, and review the Constitutional Convention and state ratification debates. The goal of the course is to give participants a fuller understanding of U.S. Constitutional history. Upon request, the course can be taught as a day-long workshop. Contact info@consource.org for more information.
Civic Education Coalitions
ConSource is involved with two major civic education coalitions.
The Civics Renewal Network, Charter Member
The Civics Renewal Network is an alliance of 26 nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations that provide free online classroom resources for civics education. The organizations gathered in April 2013 during a Civics Summit convened at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Sharing the belief that understanding the Constitution plays a vital role in creating knowledgeable and engaged citizens, they agreed to work together as the Civics Renewal Network to raise the visibility of civics education and to make high-quality resources more accessible to teachers through a one-stop website. The network partners also will collaborate on developing resources in the future and on events such as Constitution Day.
Partner organizations include: American Bar Association, Annenberg Learner, Annenberg Public Policy Center, Bill of Rights Institute, Center for Civic Education, Center on Congress at Indiana University, Constitutional Rights Foundation, Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago, Constitutional Sources Project, Dirksen Congressional Center, Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, iCivics, James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation, Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Constitution Center, National History Day -National Endowment for the Humanities, EDSITEment Project, Newseum, Rock the Vote, Share My Lesson, Street Law, U.S. Courts, What So Proudly We Hail
CivXNow, Coalition Member
CivXNow works on strategies for expanding civic education standards at the elementary, middle, and high school levels across America.