Lesson Ideas 

Inquiry Tasks

• Introduce students to the story of Cincinnatus (videoclip or print) and inform students that George Washington's childhood hero was this Roman citizen. Ask students to define citizenship based on the example of Cincinnatus. To what extent do contemporary elected officials resemble the example of Cincinnatus? Encourage students to examine Washington's resignation letter from military service. Why would have it been important for Washington to leave service after the war's end? Invite students to create an illustrated Venn diagram comparing the civic-mindedness of Cincinnatus and Washington. 

• Citizen Me is a lesson developed by iCivics which asks students to identify their civic responsibilities at many levels of society- home, school, city, state, and the nation. Assist students in creating a citizen pyramid graphic organizer to diagram responsibilities at each level. Challenge students to identify and describe the sources of such responsibilities. How might students wish to become more involved in civic affairs? Invite interested students to write a petition to propose a needed change in their school or community.

• Remind students that they are part of government; “democracy” deriving from the Greek word demos, meaning “people.” The lesson Fourth Branch of Government-You explores how one person can have an impact on a government. Ask students to develop an understanding of how government works and how they can become an active member of government.

• What Responsibilities Accompany Our Rights provides a thoughtful analysis of selected rights, asking students to identify responsibilities associated with the exercise of such rights. Encourage students to consider how individuals can assure that everyone's rights are protected by being actively engaged and responsible citizens.

• My Fellow Citizens, developed by the Smithsonian Institute, asks students to step into the role of a policy analyst charged with examining the U.S. Naturalization's Oath of Allegiance, providing recommendations for how it might be updated. Ask students to think carefully about the oath, the American ideals it reflects, and their own opinions about what it means to be a good citizen. 

• Using the lesson developed by the Reagan Presidential Foundation, Civics and Citizenship, ask student groups to examine the roles and responsibilities of citizens by interpreting short quotations from famous Americans. Encourage students to create a public service announcement to demonstrate their understanding. 

•  I Pledge My Allegiance, a lesson from FOI Oklahoma, encourages students to examine the meaning of the national pledge and the state salute. Invite students to participate in a readers' theater about the significance of phrases from the pledge and its symbolism of loyalty to the nation. In what ways does the salute to the Oklahoma flag reflect similar civic virtues?  

• Invite students to consider the responsibilities of citizens  as categorized between those mandated by law versus those voluntarily offered. The lesson, Sortify Citizenship, is an online interactive inquiry created by iCivics, which reinforces student understandings of such concepts and can be used as a formative assessment, as recommended in the teacher's guide.

• Students Engage, developed by the U.S. Congress and iCivics.org, requires students to describe the ways that citizens can engage with their communities to affect political change. Encourage students to engage in a step-by-step process, identifying a problem and developing a plan of action. 

• Mock Election, developed by iCivics, is a multiple-day simulation, requiring students to explain the steps from party nomination to a national election. Encourage students to re-enact the campaigning and voting process by simulating a real election in their own classroom. Candidate Report Card provides a supplemental instructional strategy to help students evaluate candidates of a current or recent election season. Invite students to select the issues and qualities they care about, research candidates running for the office, and determine how the candidates should be rated.

• Head-to-Head History Matters, developed by the Smithsonian Institute, establishes a sports-like bracketing system to conduct brief classroom debates. Students are asked to support one character from American history who has contributed most to positive changes through a fast-paced tournament-style exercise. Remind students to champion the characteristics of citizenship displayed by their assigned historic figure. (Selected historic individuals are provided in the lesson; however, it is more appropriate to utilize the historic personalities within the scope of grade 5 social studies standards.)

• Ask students to brainstorm ways that citizens of their school and community can be recognized and appreciated. Such suggestions might include a weekly “shout out” for the citizens in the class; a community bulletin board of model citizens; news articles about members in the community who provide services; a letter campaign to a town council, school board, or state legislature; creation of "Good Citizens" awards; interviews with senior citizens about citizenship in earlier times, etc. The Center for Civic Education's lesson, How Can Citizens Participate, offers starters and suggestion to enhance such activities. 

•  Invite students to read and respond the a sampling of questions from the current United States Naturalization test. (Teachers should select test items that correlate to the grade 5 standards for social studies.) Ask students to work in pairs to determine an additional hypothetical question for the naturalization test and provide time for pairs to share their suggestion, justifying how the suggested question represents important knowledge for a new citizen to possess. 

Primary Sources 

Secondary Sources 

• Resignation letter, by George Washington (1783) provides insight into the first president's ideas of public service and civic duty. 

• Citizenship Quotations from Famous Americans, republished by the Reagan Presidential Foundation.

• Inaugural Address (excerpts) by John F. Kennedy provides students with the opportunity to examine our nation's role in championing human rights as a civic duty.

• How to Make Citizenship Education Stick is an article for teacher reference, provided by the National Public Radio. 

• Service Learning Essential is an article provided by the National Council for Social Studies offering justification for civic engagement in the classroom.

• The Role of Civic Education is a position statement by the National Center for Civic Education, useful for teacher reference.

• The Pledge of Allegiance, as explained by Red Skelton, 4-minute videoclip for students. 

•  Media Literacy Toolkit, provided by Illinois Civics.org.