Active Citizens 101 - National Service Inclusion Project

Introduction
RATIONALE
The National and Community Service Act of 1990,
as amended, seeks to "renew the ethic of civic responsibility
and the spirit of community throughout
the United States." The programs of the Corporation
for National and Community Service
(CNCS)—AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn
and Serve America—are proud to be part of this
effort.
Civic education deepens the experience of doing
service by connecting it to such fundamental
American values as liberty, responsibility, and
freedom. It is, therefore, a priority for all CNCS
programs and the Corporation for National and
Community Service to enhance citizenship training
for all CNCS program participants.
OVERVIEW
The CNCS recommends that programs incorporate
citizenship training into their member development
plan in order to provide members with a
better understanding of American democracy and
the vital role they play in preserving it. The
lessons within this guide are designed to enhance
civic knowledge as outlined in the Corporation's
2003 Application Guidelines on Citizenship Goals
and Objectives.
Active Citizens 101 contains a series of pre-selected
lessons that meet the minimum CNCS-recommended
citizenship requirements for most
AmeriCorps programs’ member development objectives.
However, Active Citizens 101 is not
meant to replace the complete Active Citizens:
AmeriCorps in Service to America guide. Instead,
Active Citizens 101 was designed for program
sites unable to provide its members with the opportunity
to explore it’s various themes in greater
depth due to time or logistical constraints. If these
time or logistical constraints do not apply to your
program site, CNCS strongly encourages use of
the complete Active Citizens: AmeriCorps in Service
to America curriculum to meet your member
development objectives. This guide contains seven
additional lessons, organized into five modules
that allow for a deeper understanding of the content
initially explored in Active Citizens 101. An
evaluation instrument specifically designed to
measure the civic outcomes associated with each
module is also available. Please contact CRF at
1-888-900-1180 to obtain a free copy of this
instrument.
Active Citizens 101 is also organized into five
modules. They are:
• Module One: Rule of Law;
• Module Two: Consent of the Governed;
• Module Three: Rights and Responsibilities;
• Module Four: Equality and Liberty; and
• Module Five: Social Capital and Democracy.
Each module contains one lesson with the exception
of Module Five, which contains two. On average,
each lesson is one hour in length.
In the first four modules, each lesson is self-contained
and can be presented by itself or can be
presented in a series with other lessons from within
its module. The fifth module contains a sequence
of developmental lessons that leads participants
through the initial steps of planning a service-learning
project. This module is developmental
and necessitates that it be facilitated in its
entirety.
Each lesson is introduced by an Overview, a brief
description of the content and methods that facilitators
and members will follow to achieve the lesson’s
Citizenship Goals. These goals are intended
to enhance and develop citizenship knowledge,
skills, and attitudes. In many cases, lessons
achieve several citizenship goals.
Following the Overview and Citizenship Goals,
each lesson shows the time required (roughly one
hour per lesson) and a Facilitator Checklist that
includes:
• Handouts (reproducible readings and
worksheets that members will use in
each lesson).
• Materials needed (chart paper, pens,
markers, etc.)
• Preparation instructions (introductory
lists, procedures, or concepts that
members will refer to in the course of
the lesson).
• Procedures (step-by-step instructions
describing how facilitators will guide
members through the lesson).
In the back of Active Citizens 101 is an extensive
reference section.
DRAFT
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