CONSTITUTION HELP  Congress is now requiring all schools that receive federal funds to teach about the Constitution every year on Sept. 17, the anniversary of the signing of the document. To help teachers with this new mandate, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has launched a Web site offering free teaching guides and lesson plans that explore the First Amendment. Other resources include tools for starting and protecting student newspapers and broadcast stations, and a short quiz for teachers and students to test their own knowledge of the First Amendment. The site, which also links to posters, books and many other materials, is located at www.teachfirstamendment.org.

HISTORY BY GEORGE  Behind the popular Curious George children’s book series is a compelling real-life account of how the book’s authors narrowly escaped persecution in Nazi-occupied Paris. That story is brought to life in The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey. Author Louise Borden details the Reys’ narrow escape by bicycle from Paris with the original Curious George manuscript on their backs just hours before the Nazis seized control of the city. The new 80-page Houghton Mifflin book retails for $17 and appears in stores this month.

PROJECT SMARTART  The Center for Media Literacy is offering a variety of tools and resources to help teach media literacy to K-5 students. The Project SMARTArt Web site, www.medialit.org, is a partnership between the center and the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Music Center’s education division and AnimAction. The site offers downloadable tools and activities to integrate the arts and media literacy into traditional subjects.

AIMLESS KIDS  The nonprofit group PC-Turnoff was founded by parents who are concerned with overuse of computers by children. The group offers alternatives to aimless Web surfing, online game playing and online chatting. Parents and teachers should visit www.pcturnoff.org to learn how to promote healthy computer habits, and exchange ideas on alternatives such as reading books and physical activity.

ORGANIZED SPORTS  Students can learn about the rich history of the American labor movement in professional sports by visiting the American Labor Studies Center online, www.labor-studies.org. The site offers a new section called “Hardball and Handshakes,” which details the rise of the labor movement in professional baseball. The unit uses the history of labor relations in major league baseball as a case study to investigate why professional athletes form unions. The project has been developed as a joint effort between the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.,  and the American Labor Studies Center.

AMBITIOUS DESIGNS  The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust provides students with a unique opportunity to expand their knowledge of architecture and the design process through the Web site www.architectstudio3d.org. Aimed at appealing to the interests and abilities of students ages 11-14, the site helps teenagers experience the creativity and challenge of being an architect, while at the same time gaining practice in skills related to national education standards in math, social studies, language arts and the fine arts.

CARD 'EM  September brings the return of national Library Card Sign-up Month. Thousands of schools and libraries participate in this effort, which seeks to ensure that every child has this valuable key to educational opportunity. The American Library Association online, www.ala.org, offers resources to help encourage children to get library cards—and use them.

SERVICE LEARNING  The U.S. Fund for UNICEF recently launched a new online resource designed to help teachers engage students as global citizens. Visit www.teachunicef.org for facts about the South Asia tsunami disaster and personal accounts from survivors and individuals involved in relief efforts. In response to the tsunami crisis, children and schools across the United States have raised almost $8 million for UNICEF relief efforts, and the Web site details how this money is being spent. Additional topical information will be added as the site evolves.

PROUD HERITAGE  The AFT Human Rights and Community Relations Department is offering a colorful classroom poster to help schools celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 to Oct 15. The poster is available in both English and Spanish and features prominent Hispanic leaders and suggested classroom activities for elementary, middle and high school children. The poster is available at AFT Online, www.aft.org, in the “classroom resources for teachers” section. Also useful is the new educators section at the Colorín Colorado Web site, www.colorincolorado.org. The free site offers tools for parents in Spanish-speaking households to help their children build literacy skills. The site is a joint project of the AFT and PBS affiliate WETA, in Washington, D.C.

MATH/SCIENCE HONORS  The 2005-06 Siemens Westinghouse competition in Math, Science and Technology is up and running at www.siemens-foundation.org and www.collegeboard.com/siemens. The sites provide online registration as well as instructions for entering the competition, which awards college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $100,000, and last year attracted more than 1,200 project entries. Deadline for entries is Oct 3. Students who are unable to complete the application process online should call 800/626-9795, ext. 5930, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET.

THROUGH THE EYES OF RAY  Sept. 23 marks the 75th anniversary of the birth of music legend Ray Charles, who died last year. The broadcast network VH1 highlights a big part of the musical legacy of Charles and other pioneers in “Can I Get a Witness?” a three-part online lesson plan that traces the spiritual pulse of music from gospel roots to secular standards. Other featured artists are Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin and Al Green. Visit www.vh1.com/partners/vh1_music_studio/lessons-main.jhtml.