In response to the concern for the spreading constitutional and historical ignorance of students, the essay outlines the development of an instructional unit on the Constitution based on selected and personal documents. Covering a development period of approximately 1.5 years, the essay traces the step-by-step efforts of the National Archives to develop a supplemental teaching unit on the Constitution. The process included examining existing material packets; reviewing the professional literature; surveying current textbooks' handling of the Constitution; consulting archivists; selecting key documents; tracing the development of a single constitutional issue; and overcoming the problems of researching and writing the unit. Realizing few teachers will use the 35-document unit in its entirety, the aim of the Constitutional Packet as conceived by the National Archives is to enable students to better understand and appreciate the Constitution, to enliven the key figures in its history, to demonstrate its impact upon their lives, and to realize that the Constitution is a living document. (TRS)