the Unit 1: Civics and Citizenship Lessons (pdf) - The Ronald ...

Lesson 6: Civic DispositionsOverviewStudents will play the role of journalists as they examine a seriesof definitions of what it means to be a “good American.” Thesedefinitions, written by a diverse group of average Americans,were selected from an article in American Profile magazine andare reprinted by permission. Students will also write to learn andproduce a formative assessment of their learning in an essay thatdescribes what it means to be a good citizen.ObjectivesStudents will be able to (SWBAT):• Examine the meaning of citizenship through the lens of averageAmerican citizens.• Synthesize what they have learned about citizenship, rights andlimits, roles and responsibilities and traits of a good citizen in awritten essay.Classroom ProceduresI. Essential Question(s) – What civic dispositions or traits ofprivate and public character are important to the preservationand improvement of American constitutional democracy?What is a good citizen?II. Agenda• EQ: see above• Hook: The Life and Times of David Chen Blog• Primary Source: American Profile• Exit Slip: “Essay:” What is a good citizen?III. Hook (10-15 minutes)• Students read through and watch highlights from David Chen’sNaturalization Ceremony (http://www.davechen.net/2010/03/naturalization-oath-ceremony- and-what.html)• Students write in their journal in response to the prompt,“Pretend you are David Chen. In a paragraph, explain whycitizenship is so important to you. Use specific examples fromthe blog to help explain.”• Use the VOTE-C as a framework for looking at David Chen, askstudents to share their responses to the journal prompt, and toshare which of the VOTE-C are exhibited by David Chen.IV. Primary Source Exploration (40-60 minutes)• Explain to students that they will examine thoughts on whatit means to be a “good American” as described by averageAmericans from across the country. Just as they wrote from theperspective of David Chen, they will now take on the role ofeither a journalist or a citizen.• Divide the class into two groups.o Group 1: Journalists - Distribute Interview Sheet (StudentHandout 6A) to all students in this group. Journalists willtake the role of a reporter on National Citizenship Day.Their journalistic task is to interview at least three of theirclassmates from Group 2. First they will ask their classmateSTANDARDSCCE/NSCG•V.E.1 Explain the relationship betweenparticipation in the political process and theattainment of individual and collective goals.•V.E.2 Explain what distinguishesparticipation in government and political lifefrom nonpolitical participation in civil societyand private lifeNCSS• II. Time, Continuity, and Change• e. investigate, interpret, and analyzemultiple historical and contemporaryviewpoints within and across culturesrelated to important events, recurringdilemmas, and persistent issues, whileemploying empathy, skepticism, andcritical judgments.IRA/ NCTE• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategiesto comprehend, interpret, evaluate, andappreciate texts. They draw on their priorexperience, their interactions with otherreaders and writers, their knowledge ofword meaning and of other texts, theirword identification strategies, and theirunderstanding of textual features (e.g., soundlettercorrespondence, sentence structure,context, graphics).• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategiesas they write and use different writing processelements appropriately to communicate withdifferent audiences for a variety of purposes.Key TermNaturalization- the proceeding in which aforeigner is granted citizenship.to read his/her quote, and then they will ask a series of follow-up questions. There are sample questionson the handout, and you might want to spend a few minutes as a class generating other questions andmodeling how journalists conduct an interview. (To supplement, you might want to show a video by KatieCouric on how to conduct an interview, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eOynrI2eTM)o Group 2: Citizens – Each student will be assigned a quotation on what it means to be a “good American”(Teacher Master 6A-E). The student’s job is to take on the persona of the person saying the quotation, andrespond to the interviewers’ questions in character. It is suggested that the teacher model taking on thepersona of the person in the quotation with the class. Remind students that they are responding to thequestions as the person saying the quotation, rather than as themselves.o After three rotations, have students switch roles. Citizens will become Journalists, and Journalists willbecome Citizens. Distribute appropriate handouts and repeat the process.o Following the activity, the class should take a few minutes to write a few of their general conclusions onwhat it means to be a “good American.” Follow up discussion can address their responses as well as thefollowing questions: Does part of being a good American mean being a good citizen? Which of the traitsdiscussed yesterday also showed up today? Which are the most important?V. Formative Assessment/ Exit Slip (40-75 minutes)In-Class Essay: Students will now write an in-class essay. The French sense of the word “essay” means to explore,and that is precisely the purpose for this essay. Students should attempt to define for themselves what it meansto be a good citizen. They may draw upon any primary sources they’ve used during the week either to refute theideas expressed in them, or use them as evidence to support their own ideas. Ultimately the point of this essayis for students to explore their thoughts on civic engagement, as well as begin to prepare and organize for theculminating assessment. We have included a graphic organizer (Student Handout 6B) to help students organizetheir thoughts for this essay. Use of this graphic organizer is optional. Students should use the following promptto guide their writing:There are a multitude of ways for young people to be civically engaged. Based onyour life experience, the primary source documents you’ve examined over the lastfew days, and the civic traits you explored, write an essay that explores yourthoughts about what it means to be a “good citizen.” Use as many specific examplesas you can to support your ideas.VI. Extension Activities• Distribute quotations to all students, and before they begin their interviews, have students write a half-page pieceof faction (fact mixed with fiction) that allows them to explore their character a bit more fully. Have them readtheir quotation, and respond to the following questions. Tell them that they won’t know the answers to thesequestions, but they should make an educated guess. What level of education does this person have? Where didthey grow up? Do they live in a city? Suburbs? Country? Why do you think that? What sort of job does thisperson have? What is important to this person? What is their favorite holiday? Why?• ELL Extension: Use a Think-Pair-Share activity to help language learners explore and think about their quotationbefore beginning this activity. First, students will read their quotation independently and jot down theirinterpretation. Then, they will share both the quote and the interpretation with a partner. The partner will offerfurther feedback and share his/her interpretation. Finally, a few groups will be selected to share with the class.• Watch and discuss the significance of being naturalized at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXJRJ0piKIw#t=2m16s9697