School-Age: Constitution

Last week I took a break from presenting the school-age program. One of my Library Assistants, Ms. Shelby, graduated recently from library school and is in the process of applying for librarian positions. I wanted to let her have an opportunity to present a program and it gave me a break halfway through our Summer Reading Program. 

She did a program about maps and map-making. Ms. Shelby discussed the cardinal directions, she read "How to Find Gold" by Viviane Schwarz, and they played games using real compasses. Then they made fridge magnets out of map pieces, mod podge, flat glass stones, and magnets. 

THIS week we learned about Independence Day and the Constitution since it was 4th of July earlier this week!

1. Reading:
We started off with the book "I Need My Own Country" by Rick Walton. It was funny and the kids loved it. They already started talking about what rules they would have if they started their own countries. 

2. Discussion:
Since the kids were already running away with the discussion before I even asked them, we talked about what their country's would look like. What rules would they have? 

Some of the answers were pretty great. We had kids that wanted everyone to treat each other well -- no stealing, no fighting, being kind, etc. Then we had the kids that had rules like 'you only eat candy in my country' or 'girls are not allowed'. 

3. Reading:
Our discussion led right around into another book. With all the rules we had to keep track of, and no one all agreeing, the book "We, the People" by Peter Spier was a perfect tie-in to our topic. It introduces kids to the opening lines of the constitution and to a small piece of history surrounding the document. 

Spier discusses how our young nation was having difficulty coming together on a shared goal. The Constitution of the United States ended up being the document that helped this country continue successfully. Because, if you are a country and you have rules, everyone has to agree to those rules in order to function. 

4. Discussion:
I brought it back to our original discussion about what their country's would look like. Would everyone in their country agree to the same rules? These would be important things for them to think about.

One kid was cracking me up because he said in his country everyone could do whatever they wanted. I asked him who was in charge. He was, of course. Perhaps we need another program about dictatorships another day...

5. Craft:
Since they were going to create their own countries, they would need their own flags! I had my teens glue 6 jumbo craft sticks together to make a flag shape. Then the kids could make their own flags using markers, glue sticks, and paper. 

Here's an example one of the teens made:

Notes:

We only had the program one day instead of twice this week because of the holiday. It was a ton of fun and I love when the kids get super into a topic because they get their own ideas and thoughts heard. And who wouldn't want to make their own country?!