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Planning Templates

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Public Event

Sample Run of Show

Before the Program:

  • Pocket constitutions handed out to each participant

  • Sign up table with joint one-pager from the sponsors

  • In the hour before the event begins, interested participants gather to read the entire constitution out loud for TV B-roll and to facilitate interviews 

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Possible Program Elements:

(Ideally 30 but no more than 45 minutes, with no segment exceeding 5 minutes) 

  1. Welcome

    • Recognize those who read the entire constitution

  2. Group recitation of the Preamble to the Constitution (led by a student)

    • Group photo of everyone holding their pocket constitution in the air

  3. Welcoming Remarks by local VIP/celebrity

  4. Reading & understanding of selected constitutional provisions

    • Student reads the provision

    • VIP, affected person, civics teacher or other person explains its real-world impact

  5. Judge or bar leader discusses the role of attorneys in upholding the Constitution

  6. Reading & understanding of more constitutional provisions 

  7. Local civics teacher and volunteer lawyer educator talk about constitution in the schools

  8. Announcement of the “Everyone’s Constitution” Pledge

    • Perhaps in conjunction with/hosted by the Constitution Center:  An interactive website allowing anyone to read the Constitution, connect to information that understand its relevance to daily lives, educate others, and pledge to complete a list of educator activities

  9. Renewals of Oaths to the Constitution

    • Attorneys

    • Selected others, possibly including federal and state employees and/or military personnel

    • If available, close with oath of citizenship for newly naturalized Americans  

  10. Conclusion: Recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance (led by a student) 

Press Conference

Sample Structure​

Time

12:00 -

12:10 

12:10 -

12:20 

12:20 -

12:30 

Activity

Opening Statement & Key Messages) 

Opportunity for Media Questions 

Brief Gathering & Call to Action 

Lead Person/

Group

Org. Leader & Key Speaker(s) 

Org. Leader & Speaker(s) 

Org. Leader

Notes

Deliver brief, impactful statements to the media outlining the urgency and importance of Constitution Day and the core principles. 

Take a few brief questions from attending media. Stay focused on core principles. 

Thank the media and address the gathered attorneys and public. Briefly reiterate the call to action and encourage continued vigilance and support. 

Teach-In Event

Sample “Getting to Know the Constitution”

Prepared by the New York Constitution and Canons Working Group

  • The Proposed Event would take place on Constitution Day in communities throughout the country in one or more locations in those communities, such as libraries, community rooms in houses of worship, community rooms in universities and museums, Bar Associations and/or other non-profits and public schools.  

    • The number of locations would vary in each community convening the Proposed Event and would be impacted by the anticipated attendance and the number of facilitators who are available to assist.

    • The anticipated length of a session of the Proposed Event would range from two to three hours.​

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  • Each session of the Proposed Event would commence with a relatively brief explanation of the US Constitution, its role in federal and state government and the manner in which it is enforced in the courts. Communities could host more than one session in a location on Constitution Day if warranted.

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  • Participants would then move to one of the three to five stations that are set up in each location.  

    • Each station would have one or two facilitators who would introduce the Constitutional issue and facilitate a thirty-minute discussion on one of five Constitutional issues raised by the actions of the Trump Administration. (The stations could be a table with chairs or chairs placed in a circle to facilitate discussion.)

    • Copies of the Constitution would be given to each participant – either upon entry or at the first station.  

    • Following the thirty-minute discussion participants would be invited to move to the next station. If a participant did not wish to attend any one or more of the stations, then he/she could move to a different station, if space permitted.

 

  • Discussion topics would include: (i) due process; (ii) equal protection; (iii)free speech and petitioning the government; (iv) birthright citizenship; and (v) separation of powers (the relationship between the Executive and Judicial branches in the fashioning and complying with court orders, and the relationship between the Executive and Legislative branches in enforcing or not enforcing statutes).  

○ Each community would be able to substitute for one [or two] of the topics if it believed that another subject would resonate with the community -e.g. religious freedoms, the emoluments clause and gun rights.

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  • The facilitators would ideally (but not necessarily) be local lawyers. A working group of the organizations leading the Proposed Event would be tasked with preparing briefing materials for each of the proposed topics.  

    • The facilitators would be expected to review the materials and receive some minimal training on the topic that she/he would facilitate.

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  • The Proposed Event should be non-partisan and should be educational. The sessions should engender discussion among the participants. 

Community Dialogue

Civic Discussion and Community Building 

Community Dialogues are structured, professionally facilitated town halls where residents engage in good-faith dialogue about civic and legal issues affecting their lives—ideally as part of events that can help build a culture of dialogue. 

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  • Assembling a Steering Committee of trusted voices from diverse backgrounds to plan and manage the events, including attorneys, mediators, grassroots leaders and communications experts. ​

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  • Engage institutional allies, including legal, civic, and grassroots groups. Seek community support, including funding from legal and civic engagement funders, local organizations and businesses that may underwrite logistics costs and in-kind support. 

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  • Creatively engage the community with local ambassadors like librarians, teachers, and pastors, tailor messaging to neighborhood concerns, and remove logistical barriers with offer transportation assistance, translators, and child-care and activities. ​

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  • Pre-event preparation should include preparing neutral fact sheets based on community concerns. Opt for venues with round tables seating up to 8 participants to foster small-group discussion, though larger formats suit preliminary town hall meetings.  

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  • Facilitator training should cover dialogue management principles, active listening (clarifying questions, repeating for accuracy, open-ended questions), and reframing unproductive rhetoric to prevent arguments. Training should also include de-escalation tactics and conflict avoidance through role-play simulations. 

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  • A sample agenda for a community dialogue event includes:

    • Welcome & Framing (15 minutes): Introductions, thanks, and explanation of goals, ground rules (no interrupting, "I" statements, "Golden Rule"), and structure. Begin with a neutral, fact-based prompt.

    • Small-Group Discussions (1 hour): Facilitators guide participants through three stages:

      • Story Circles: Each person shares a 2-minute personal experience to humanize issues and build empathy.

      • Legal Landscape Mapping: Facilitators provide handouts on relevant laws/policies, helping groups identify gaps between policy and lived experiences.

      • Solution Brainstorming: Groups generate ideas, with facilitators encouraging brainstorming and asking, "what else could we work together to do?"

    • Sharing Insights (30 minutes): Each table summarizes their conversation using a template covering three key concerns, two surprising areas of agreement, and one actionable suggestion. These are shared anonymously via a "gallery walk" of flip charts. 

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  • Closing & Next Steps involve the lead facilitator highlighting recurring themes and outlining follow-ups. Distribute information packets containing neighborhood group details, future session dates, relevant resources, and a post-event survey on safety, new understandings, and future discussion topics.

    • Analyze major themes from reports and surveys, focusing on priority concerns and unexpected common ground. Prepare a visually engaging report for participants, media, and government offices. Create an accountability dashboard to track how dialogue findings lead to concrete actions. 

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