Civics: How to Become Good Citizens
Authors
/ Cherie Scholten and Sally GanemGrade Level / Fourth
Class Period(s) / 4
Nebraska Social Studies Standards / Nebraska Math Standards / Nebraska Language Arts Standards / Nebraska Fine and Preforming Art Standards
SS 4.1.1.d Identify and explain a variety of roles leaders, citizens, and other play in Nebraska government.
SS 4.1.2 Students will investigate how different persepectives impact government decisions at the state.
SS 4.1.2.c Identify ways students can be engaged to have an impact in their state.
SS 4.1.2.e Identify state leaders and the impact of their decisions that effect public policy. / MA 4.4.1.a Represent data using line plots where the horizontal scale is marked off in appropriate units – whole numbers, halves, quarters, or eighths. / LA 4.2 Students will learn and apply writing skills and strategies to communicate.
LA 4.2.1.d Compose paragraphs with grammatically correct sentences of varying length, complexity, and type.
LA 4.2.1.h Proofread and edit writing recursively for format and conventionsof standard English (e.g. spelling, cpaitalization, grammar, punctuation, syntax, semantics). / FA 5.2.2 Students will develop presentation skills to develop meaning about the arts.
FA 5.2.2.a Communicate artistic statements/ intent using art terminology.
FA 5.2.3 Students will use the critical process to examine works of art learning about themselves and their cultures.
FA 5.2.4.a Identify ways that artists influence lives and communities.
FA 5.2.4.b Compare and contrast works of art from a variety of contemporary, historical, and cultural context.
FA 5.2.4.d Explore how images and objects are used to convey a story, familiar experience, connection to the world.
Overview
Civics: How to Become a Good Citizen
Big Idea or Theme
Civic Participation
Essential Question/s:
How can students be actively involved in their community?
How can students be engaged to have an impact in their state and effect public policy?
Which artist’s panel (in the Capitol Memorial Chamber) depicts/shows/represents the greatist impact at the –local -state - national level?
Purpose/Rationale
Students will develop and apply the skills of civic responsibliity to make informed decisions based upon knowledge of government at local, state, and national and international levels.
(K-12 Civics: Grade 4)
The importance of participation in government and community impacts the policies in their city and state, and the quality of life in the community.
Key Concepts/Vocabulary
citizen – an idividual who follows laws and participates in their community
state senator – an elected person to represent the views of the people in their district
volunteers – people who want to help others and expect nothing in return
sculpture – artwork that is 3-dimensional
preserved - to keep or save from injury, loss, or ruin
Materials
· Half sheets of paper for voting
· Graph paper
· Laptop, computer, or iPad (for teacher OR for each student)
· LCD Projector
Objectives
The student will be able to:
1. Write about how to be a good citizen using the 6 Traits of Writing
2. Be able to explain or describe the artwork in the legislative chamber.
3. Explain why it’s important to be involved in their community.
4. List the characteristics of a good citizen.
5. Describe how they can make a difference in public policy and in their community.
Procedures
SESSION ONE – Day 1
1. Talk to the students about citizenship. Has anyone ever volunteered before? What did you do? Who did it help? How did it make you feel?
2. Tell students that they are going to be participating in a service project. Students can choose their project as a class what they would like to do. (e.g. volunteering at a nursing home, reading to a younger grade level, picking up trash around their school)
3. Write their suggestions on the board. Give students pieces of paper so they can vote on their favorite service project. They should vote for no more than one.
4. Make a graph to create a visual representation of their opinions and so they are able to see what their classmates are passionate about. This can be done as a class or individually.
SESSION ONE – Day 2
1. Talk to the students about why they are particiapting in a service project. (to help their community, to help them become better citizens, to improve their community)
2. Complete service project voted on by the class.
3. After completing service project, have students write about the following prompt: Why is it important to participate in service projects? Who does it help? How does it help your community? Or have the students write a persuasive essay to convicne other students to take part in a service project such as ours.
SESSION TWO – Day 1
1. Talk about artwork. Have you every been to a museum? What pieces of artwork do you remember? Have you seen any in person?
2. Look at the Capitor Virtual Tour: Unicameral as a class. Brainstorm different sculptures/artwork and write them on the board. Make sure the students put the Golden Sower on the list. (Remind students that a lot of them join in the Golden Sower Award that many libraries participate in. It was named after the artwork that was put on the top of the Capitol building.
3. Talk about the meaning of the Golden Sower and why it is important. Why did the artist want to include it? Should it be preserved? Write a paragraph stating their opinion.
SESSION TWO – Day 2
1. Tell the students that the Capitol belongs to everyone in Nebraska, including all of them. Talk to the students about a different way to help out in their community and state. What kind of legislation should be passed to save or support the arts in our state? Should we preserve/ protect our artwork in our capitol? Why or why not?
2. Review Capitol Virtual Tour: Unicameral. Talk about the artwork they saw. Go over things they brainstormed during the previous lesson.
3. Let students choose an idea off the board to write to their senator about. They should answer the questions stated about. The letter should be several paragraphs long and in proper letter form.
Assessment
Students will use the 6 Traits Writing Rubric in the area of Ideas and Organization to score the three pieces of writing in Sessions One and Two.
Students should be graded on the graph produced in Session One, Day Two if they completed it independently. This could be used as a formative assessment if they’ve already been exposed to graphing in previous math lessons.
Students will be able to tell about the meaning of the artwork in the legislative chamber. Compare and contrast the different symbols or tell about the symbols.
Students should be able to identify that symbols in the legislative chamber came from Spain and France.
Extensions
Serve Nebraska – Nebraska’s volunteer service commision (http://www.serve.nebraska.gov/)
Local service orgainzations/groups (e.g. Student Council, Rotary, Optimist Clubs)
Sources
Grade 4: Narrative
http://www.education.ne.gov/Assessment/pdfs/FINAL%20analytic%20rubric.narrative.pdf
General rubric from ReadWriteThink.org (the website that is a collaboration between the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Literacy Association).
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson398/rubric-essay2.pdf
Virtual Capitol Tour website
http://nebraskavirtualcapitol.org/
http://wordcentral.com/