Welcome
The Center’s flagship civic education program, We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, is a comprehensive curriculum for elementary, middle, and high school students covering the history and principles of constitutional democracy in the United States.
We the People culminates with simulated congressional hearings where students testify before a panel of judges acting as members of Congress. In addition to state competitions across the country, every spring, the Center hosts the We the People National Finals and National Invitational for high school and middle school students in the Washington, D.C., area.
Curriculum & Textbooks
Beyond the Textbook: Simulated Congressional Hearings
The entire class, working in cooperative teams, prepares and presents statements before a panel of community representatives acting as a congressional committee. Students then answer follow-up questions posed by the committee members and get to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles.
The Center has offered high-quality educator professional development for decades. Today, we offer such opportunities through our partners in a number of states in addition to organized Center events, online self-paced courses, and online webinars.
Supplemental Resources
Free lesson plans? A daily civics podcast? An exhaustive archive of democracy quotes? Video explainers? We have all of that and more to help you engage students in every classroom.
