1. It’s Constitution Day! September 17 th, 2010

2. Let’s Brainstorm... What is a Constitution? A constitution is a set of traditions, rules, and laws for the way a country is run. OUR Constitution contains the rules Americans follow

3. The Story of Our Constitution Today, there are fifty states in the United States. When the Constitution was created, there were only thirteen!

4. The Story of Our Constitution Over 200 years ago, America was a new country and Americans wanted to create rules and laws for the country.

5. The Story of Our Constitution In 1787, 55 men called delegates met in Philadelphia for a meeting or convention to form the rules of the new country. The men were called the Framers of the Constitution.

6. The Story of Our Constitution After many days with many fights, 39 delegates signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787. Some of the delegates are famous people- do you know these two?

7. Facts About the Constitution It is the highest law of the land. The Constitution creates the office of the president, the Congress, and the courts.

8. Facts About the Constitution Our government has three parts—the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

9. Facts About the Constitution Amendments are changes to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments (changes) to the Constitution. There are 27 amendments today!