Thomas Rivers Citizenship Unit Ben’s Guide to Government

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/index.html

Third grade is a transitional year for most elementary school students. The third grade social studies curriculum is designed to expand the students' concept of "leaders" in relationship to their communities. In order for students to become productive citizens, it is very important that students develop and understand their duty and responsibility as a citizen. As a citizen in the United States of America (USA), students must begin to understand that that they have rights that are governed by laws that may differ from state to state. It is important for students to understand that citizens have many rights, however, with those rights come many responsibilities. To incorporate technology in my unit I am going to use an interactive website, Ben’s Guide to US Government, to help my students’ research what makes a good citizen and what rights and responsibilities United States citizens have. Ben’s Guide to the United States Government will give students factual information about good citizenship and government. Students are able to click links that will explain citizenship and their roles and responsibility as a citizen in the United States. The information is specifically designed to accommodate grade level needs according to standards from Kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Task: You have been living in the United States for awhile and you will soon have friends arriving in the United States from your native country. You want your friend to adapt to life in the United States so you decide to write a welcome letter to talk about their rights as a citizen. You will have to explain to your friend why it is important to be a good citizen. Each student will write one to two paragraphs explaining what makes a good citizen in the United States. You can also support you paragraphs with examples of what responsibilities they will have as a citizen. I know that you do not want your friend to have any questions about citizenship so you must include examples of bad citizenship and consequences that are enforced for bad citizenship. Becoming a good citizen in the United States will make your friend excited about moving to a new country.