State of the Union 2010

Today, the White House announced that Pres. Obama's first State of the Union Address will take place on January 27, 2010. (You can read more about the announcement and other constitutionally relevant news on the Center's Constitution Newswire.) This major speech is an excellent opportunity to draw your students' attention to current events and the Constitution.

Constitutional Connections
Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution calls for the president to inform Congress about the state of the nation. This passage is broad and has been interpreted differently by presidents throughout American history. One thing has remained, the constitutionally mandated report to Congress has been delivered by every president going back to George Washington.

In addition to the speech itself, the contents of the speech will also have their relevance to the Constitution, from immigration to health care and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Discover the constitutional connections at www.constitutioncenter.org/constitution

In Your Classroom
The Center is again offering its very popular State of the Union Bingo lesson, originally created by Eli Lesser. This year, the lesson has a new twist. In addition to the card our Education team created, we've included a blank card and instructions for your students to fill it in. This will allow some variety in the cards, and will have your students evaluating current events.