All participants in this Montpelier-sponsored program will receive a free set of We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution textbooks; a lecture by Constitutional Scholar Stephen Frantzich and a signed copy of his book; lesson demonstrations by teachers at the elementary, middle, and high school levels; Representative Democracy of America free resources and training (DVDs and books); elementary, middle, and high school resources for the teaching of Constitution Day; and Project Citizen sessions for middle and high school teachers with free textbooks.

The workshop is open to teachers in Northern Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Prince George County, Maryland.

Montpelier Weekend Seminars are a unique professional development opportunity for social studies teachers and other civic educators. Participants in a Montpelier Weekend Seminar will live and study on the grounds of James Madison's Montpelier, one of the central sites of the American constitutional founding. Participants will receive a collection of primary documents in advance of the seminar, specific to the content of each program, which will be the basis of most discussions. These include writings by James Madison, sections of the Federalist Papers, selections from Antifederalist writers, and other fundamental documents. Each seminar includes an intensive session on ways of reading a document of political or constitutional theory, and will conclude with the lecture "American Citizenship as Constitutional Citizenship: The Exemplar of James Madison."

Teachers will also become acquainted with the curriculum We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution, which is widely used across the nation and is compatible with state and national standards. All participants will receive a complete classroom set of the We the People textbooks, appropriate to the grade level they teach. A classroom set includes 30 student texts and one teacher's guide.

This particular seminar will explore citizenship and questions that include the following: What does it mean to be a citizen of a constitutionally founded nation? Among its other innovations, American constitutionalism has redefined the concept of citizenship and political community—how does the Constitution help us define what it means to be an American? How has our understanding of what is a citizen of the American constitutional order evolved (or devolved)?

The Foundations of Democracy Series consists of curricular materials for students from kindergarten through fifth grade on four concepts fundamental to an understanding of politics and government: Authority, Privacy, Responsibility, and Justice. This multidisciplinary curriculum draws upon such fields as political philosophy, political science, law, history, literature, and environmental studies.

This Center for Civic Education curriculum provides lessons and activities for grades 4–12. The primary goal of the program is to promote civic awareness and responsibility in students. By emphasizing student involvement and encouraging students to relate important concepts and principles to historical and contemporary situations, it strengthens students' critical thinking and public speaking skills.

This event will provide an examination of two Facing History resources that explore the critical role that race has played in U.S. history as it relates to immigration policy: Race and Membership in American History: The Eugenics Movement and Becoming American: The Chinese Experience.

NPR's Weekend Edition host and author Scott Simon will share insights and stories from his reporting on immigration in the U.S. and abroad. Along with student artists from the photography exhibit "The Way We See It: L.A. Teens on Immigration," Simon will help attendees consider what it means to "become American" in the 21th century.

Divided We Fall is the first feature-length independent documentary about hate violence in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Filmmaker Valarie Kaur documented stories in the Sikh, Muslim, and Arab American communities. Over the next five years, Kaur's journey unfolded into a larger exploration of "who counts as American." In 2005, Sharat Raju and his film crew joined Valarie as she retraced her steps across the country, revisiting her original interviewees and other scholars, lawyers, and legislators about race, religion, and security in post-9/11 America. The screening is free and open to the public. It will include a showing of the film and comments by Dr. Jaideep Singh, co-founder of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Assistant Professor in Department of Ethnic Studies, CSUEB, and Ranjit Singh Sabharwal Chair in Sikh and Punjabi Studies and by Neha Singh, Western Region Director of the Sikh Coalition, Fremont. A question-answer period with panelists will end the program

Bill Moyers's documentary, Becoming American: The Chinese Experience, explores the challenges faced by Chinese Americans from the 1800s to the present and raises questions about the tensions between race, democracy, and citizenship. Participants view excerpts and explore parallels between the Chinese experience and those of other newcomers to the U.S.—what it means to "become American" today.

"An NCHE team of Fritz Fischer, Ted Green, and Lucinda Evans will explore the topic of Extending the Common Good in the 20th Century at this colloquium."

"Elementary, middle and high school teachers from across Virginia will travel to James Madison's Montpelier for 3 1/2 days of intensive work with the We the People curriculum. The institute will feature three lectures on content from We the People, work with fellow teachers to ways to implement the curriculum in their classroom and the institute will conclude with the mock congressional hearing."