The Constitution for Kids: Kindergarten through 3rd Grade

This file is intended for students in Kindergarten through 3rd grade. Other versions of this page are available:

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The Basics


The Constitution says how the government works. It creates the Presidency. It creates the Congress. It creates the Supreme Court.

The Right to Assemble is a key constitutional right The Constitution lists some key rights. Rights are things that all people have just because they are alive. By listing the rights, they are made special. They are made safe. The Bill of Rights is a part of the Constitution. The Bill of Rights lists many rights of the people.


We the People - the first words of the Constitution The Constitution was written in 1787. Yes, it is over 200 years old. We actually have old copies of what was created. We have pictures of the Constitution on this site.

The Framers are the authors of the Constitution In 1787, a group of men met to write the Constitution. They did not like the way the country was going. They fixed it by creating the Constitution. We call these men The Framers.

George Washington was a Framer and our first President Some of the framers are very famous. George Washington was a Framer. So was Ben Franklin.

Independence Hall in Philadelphia The Framers met in Independence Hall during a hot summer in Philadelphia. They had a lot of arguments. In the end, they agreed to the words in the Constitution. They knew they had to agree. If they did not agree, the fighting would keep going.

After the Framers wrote the Constitution, they asked the states to approve it. It took some time, but all the states did approve it.

Some people did not like the Constitution. Some were afraid because it did not do enough to protect the rights of the people. It had no bill, or list, of rights.

All laws passed in the United States have to abide by the Bill of Rights Promises were made to add a bill of rights. After the Constitution passed, the Bill of Rights was added. The Bill of Rights is the first ten changes to the Constitution.

The Bill of Rights

The police are our friends - and the Bill of Rights makes sure of that The Bill of Rights is very important. It protects important ideas. It protects your right to say what you want. It lets you think for yourself. It keeps the laws from being too hard. It gives rules for the police.

Religion is very important to a lot of people - and the Constitution keeps it safe It lets you believe in God if you want. No one can tell you not to believe. It lets you gather with your friends to talk. It makes sure you can read newspapers.

Your home is safe because the Constitution keeps it safe The Bill of Rights also protects your home. It helps keep Americans safe. Today, we are very happy the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution.

Making changes

The Constitution is not perfect. When it was written, they knew that it would have to be improved. The Framers added a way to make changes. This is called "amendment".

The Bill of Rights was actually added as a set of amendments. The Constitution has been changed 18 times since it was written. The amendments added things that the Framers didn't think of.

One amendment says that all black men can vote. Another says that all women can vote. One more says that the President can only be elected twice.

The first amendments, the Bill of Rights, were added in 1791. The last amendment was added in 1992. Lots of people have ideas for new amendments. Adding an amendment is hard — it takes lots of agreement. Maybe you have a good idea for a change to the Constitution.

How it all works

The Constitution sets up the government. It is split into three parts.

The U.S. Capitol Building One part is the Congress. The Congress makes laws. The people elect the members of Congress.

The White House The next part is the President. The President enforces the laws.

The Supreme Court Building The last part is the Courts. The courts decide what the law means when there are questions.

The People benefit from having a strong and honest government All of the parts have to work together. Just like the Framers agreed on the Constitution, the parts have to agree on the laws. No part has too much power. The power is shared. This helps protect the people.