Title – Citizenship Pledge

By – Amber

Primary Subject – Social Studies

Grade Level – 4th

Objectives:

• The student will explain why Citizenship Day is celebrated in the U.S.
  
• The student will define citizenship.
  
• The student will create a pledge of citizenship and carry out the promise by the end of the unit.

Time Frame: 30 minutes

Materials:

• pencil
  
• paper
  
• timer

Standards:

CIVICS/GOV’T STANDARD 1: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of governmental systems of the U.S. and other nations with an emphasis on the U.S. Constitution, the necessity for the rule of law, the civic values of the American republican government, and the rights, privileges, and responsibilities to become active participants in the democratic process.
BENCHMARK 4: The student identifies and examines the rights, privileges, and responsibilities in becoming an active civic participant.
INDICATOR 2: The student will know that effective, informed citizenship is a duty of each citizen.

ENGAGE:

• The teacher will begin by asking students to come up with a symbol of the profession in which they would like to work (stethoscope for doctors, chalk for teachers, books for authors, etc.). 3 minutes
  
• The students then pretend to be at a “class reunion” where they will share with the class their profession they chose.
  
• The teacher will record the professions on the board/overhead.
  
• The teacher will question students about the “missing professions.” For example, “What if there were no doctors or police officers?”

EXPLORE:

• The teacher will assess the students’ prior knowledge with the following questions.
  
• Who are the helpers in our community?
  
• What do good citizens and good neighbors do for each other?
  
• Students will then generalize a definition of citizenship and record it on a piece of paper.

EXPLAIN:

• The teacher will discuss Citizenship Day (September 17th), what it means, and why it is celebrated.
  
• The teacher reviews the ongoing unit and discusses the Citizenship Tree bulletin board to address any further questions.
  
• Students will share some of their ideas of good citizenship and community service.

ELABORATE:

• Each student is required to choose one act of citizenship/community service that they will “pledge” to fulfill.
  
• The students will write this pledge on a piece of paper and hand it in for approval.
  
• Once all the pledges are approved by the teacher, the students will be given a pledge form to sign and submit.

EVALUATE:

• The teacher will collect the papers with the written definitions of citizenship.
  
• The teacher will collect the proposed pledges to review for approval.
  
• If students finish early, they will write a journal entry about why we celebrate Citizenship Day.

Modifications: If students finish early, they will write a journal entry about why we celebrate Citizenship Day.

ESL Modifications: The teacher will write key words and definitions on the overhead/chalkboard to help those students who are ELL. The teacher will look up key words such as citizen in the Spanish Dictionary before the lesson.

Credits: The mock interview idea was adapted from

www.pbs.org/democracy/kids/educators/citizenshipcity.html

E-Mail

Amber

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