Minnesota We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution

Minnesota We the People… the Citizen and the Constitution fosters understanding of the institutions of American democracy, including the Constitution and Bill of Rights and our democratic system of government and its function. It is supported by a high school ebook and traditional textbooks produced by the Center for Civic Education. See below.

Minnesota We the People Competition and Showcasewtpcolor

December 15, 2022

Minnesota State Capitol 

St. Paul, Minnesota

 

Financial Support for Participating Minnesota Schools
There is no participation fee for the Minnesota We the People Competition and Showcase event. A grant from the Civic Education Program, Legacy Amendment, Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund helps support student transportation costs to St. Paul, teacher substitute costs, and lunch expenses.
For More Information Email jbloom@teachingcivics.org

We the People program components

  • Students engage in rigorous study of the Constitution, participating in interactive lessons and studying current issues. They build skills and knowledge required by the new Minnesota Social Studies Standards.
      • philosophical foundations of the American political system,
      • framers’ creation of the Constitution,
      • how the Constitution has changed,
      • the roles of the three branches of government,
      • rights, and
      • challenges we face in the 21st century.
  • Students participate in an engaging, simulated congressional hearing in which they “testify”  before a mock congressional committee of  other students or volunteer attorneys, educators and civic leaders.
  • (Optional culminating activity) Teams of secondary school students participate in the  Minnesota We the People Showcase and Competition at the State Capitol. In a simulated congressional hearing, each team explores important questions related to the content of one unit of study.

Classrooms that have a team participating in all six unit simulated hearings may apply to represent Minnesota at the national We the People Competition sponsored by the Center for Civic Education, April 27- May 1, 2018 held at the National Conference Center in the Washington, DC area. More information on the national competition. 


A Program Rich in History and Proven to Work

Created in 1987 in celebration of the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, over 28 million students across the country have participated in this innovative and acclaimed program.

Minnesota Program Support Material

We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution We the People ebook The Center for Civic Education publishes We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution. Some teachers use this curriculum as a course textbook while others supplement other textbooks with We the People’s expanded instruction in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Although the three levels of curriculum are suggested for grades 5-6; 7-8; and 9-12, the levels can be used to support differentiated curriculum efforts.

For More Information

Email jbloom@teachingcivics.org