LESSON 2 The Responsibilities of Citizenship

Transcription

1 LESSON 2 The Responsibilities of Citizenship LEARNING OBJECTIVE Students will explain the responsibilities of United States citizens. LESSON OVERVIEW This lesson encourages students to tap into their prior knowledge regarding the responsibilities of citizenship. Students will place value on the responsibilities and speculate what the consequences might be if those responsibilities are not carried out. Students will conclude the lesson by categorizing the responsibilities in various situations and learn which of the responsibilities apply to them directly Alignment with National Standards: National Council for the Social Studies: Theme 3: People, People, Places and Environments Theme 6: Power, Authority, and Governance Theme 9: Global Connections Theme 10: Civic Ideals and Practices Center for Civic Education: Question II. B:1 Question IV. B:2 ACTIVITY 1: IDENTIFYING THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF CITIZENSHIP Part I: Open the activity by sharing with students that President Abraham Lincoln once characterized the government of the United States as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Ask them what they think he meant by this? Have the students report their responses out loud and develop a list of their ideas on the white board, Smart board or overhead transparency. Part II: Distribute Handout 1 to each student. Continue the activity, by asking students, In order for a government of the people to be successful, what responsibilities must each individual take on and carry out? Have students write the responsibilities they came up with on their student handout. After a minute or two, ask students to provide a responsibility they came up with and list them on the board. For those that are not listed, provide hints. For example, for serving in the military you might say, What responsibility must the people carry out to protect the United States? Once a classroom list has been assembled, have students fill in the official responsibilities on their printout. A list is provided below. (Students may have different responsibilities which is just fine. Again put the words on a white board, Smart board or overhead transparency so that all students can use them for Activity 2.) Copyright 2011 Citizenship Counts; All Rights Reserved P a g e 1

2 Tell the students that they will be using these responsibilities in other activities. - Attending school - Taking responsibility for one s actions - Follow rules and the law - Respecting others - Paying taxes - Volunteering (finding a cause) - Staying informed - Voting - Serving on a jury - Serving in the military - Other suggestions from students ACTIVITY 2: UNDERSTANDING THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF CITIZENSHIP Place students in groups of 2 to 4. Distribute Handout 2. Assign each group three of the responsibilities listed above. Depending on the size of your classroom, each responsibility could be covered by 2-3 groups. Once each group has received their three responsibilities have them discuss and write responses to the following prompts for each responsibility. Carrying out the responsibility of is important because... The consequences of citizens not carrying out this responsibility would be... Once each group has completed their responsibilities have a class discussion that covers each of the responsibilities. Talk about differences among the groups. When a responsibility is discussed, ask other groups who had the same responsibility questions like Does your group agree or disagree, and why? and Does your group have anything they want to add? Copyright 2011 Citizenship Counts; All Rights Reserved P a g e 2 and ACTIVITY 3: CATEGORIZING THE RESPONSIBILITIES Once your last discussion has concluded, provide each group with Handout 3: Responsibility Categories. Have each group cut out the squares and place the shaded squares in one pile and the white squares in another. Then, instruct them to find the following shaded squares: Have students place them side by side on the desk. Now instruct them to place each of the 10 white squares under the heading to which they think it belongs. Once each group has completed the task, the class completes a Venn diagram on the board to ensure students have the correct responses. Have students give examples of the responsibilities that reply to them. Ask them if they can think of any others. Under 18 Both Over and Under 18 Over 18

3 The cards they will be placing contain the following plus any the students came up with: - Voting - Taking responsibilities for one s actions - Serving in the military - Serving on a jury - Attending school - Paying taxes - Obeying rules and the law - Staying informed about issues - Volunteering (Finding a cause) - Respecting others Now replace the previous heading with the following: Civic Responsibility, Personal Responsibility, Both. Once again have students categorize the responsibilities under the appropriate heading. Complete a class Venn diagram on the board. Civic Responsibility Personal Responsibility Both Civic and Personal Finally replace the headings with the following shaded squares: Required by Law, It Depends, and Not Required by Law. This one requires the most critical thinking and should be discussed following the activity. Focus on the squares that fall under It Depends Be sure to ask students, It depends on what? Required by Law Not Required by Law It Depends Copyright 2011 Citizenship Counts; All Rights Reserved P a g e 3

4 EXTENSION ACTIVITY: If time is available, assign each group one responsibility. Have each group create a poster that can be posted in the classroom or around the school. Each poster should have the responsibility written out and illustrations that exude the true meaning and importance of that responsibility. Try to focus on using graphics, photos, and/or artwork to create your poster. Copyright 2011 Citizenship Counts; All Rights Reserved P a g e 4

5 Student Handouts The Responsibilities of Citizenship Copyright 2011 Citizenship Counts; All Rights Reserved P a g e 5

6 Handout 1 THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF CITIZENSHIP Activity 1 Identifying the Responsibilities of Citizenship Part I: Abraham Lincoln once characterized the government of the United States as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. What do you think that President Lincoln meant by this? Part II: Think about the following question and then list your responses below. In order for a government of the people to be successful, what responsibilities much each individual take on and carry out? After the class has created a class list, be sure to complete an official list below Copyright 2011 Citizenship Counts; All Rights Reserved P a g e 6

7 Handout 2 Activity 2: Understanding the Responsibilities of Citizenship You will now be working in small groups. Your teacher will assign you 2 of the responsibilities listed from Activity 1. Complete the sentence starters for each the responsibilities your groups was assigned. Responsibility 1: Carrying out this responsibility is important because... The consequences of citizens not carrying out this responsibility would be... Responsibility 2: Carrying out this responsibility is important because... The consequences of citizens not carrying out this responsibility would be... Copyright 2011 Citizenship Counts; All Rights Reserved P a g e 7

8 Activity 3: Categorizing the Responsibilities Handout 3 UNDER 18 BOTH OVER 18 CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY BOTH PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIRED BY LAW IT DEPENDS NOT REQUIRED BY LAW Attending School Take responsibility for one s actions. Voting Staying informed about issues Serving on a jury Copyright 2011 Citizenship Counts; All Rights Reserved P a g e 8

9 Serving in the military Volunteering (Finding a Cause) Respecting others Obeying rules and the law Paying Taxes Use the blank cards for students to write additional responsibilities they generated Copyright 2011 Citizenship Counts; All Rights Reserved P a g e 9

10 Handout 4 Extension Activity: Creating a Poster of Responsibilities of citizenship Create a poster that can be posted around school for the naturalization ceremony. Your poster should have the responsibility you are working on in big letters. Make you poster big enough to be seen from a distance Make your poster colorful (you can draw pictures, use photographs, or use pictures from the Internet or from magazines) Copyright 2011 Citizenship Counts; All Rights Reserved P a g e 10