What is responsible citizenship and how is it applied in real life?

SS.2.C.2.2

Define and apply the characteristics of responsible citizenship.


SS.2.C.2.2

Define and apply the characteristics of responsible citizenship.

Correlated Florida Standards (See Full Text on Cover Page)

  • LAFS.2.SL.1.2

Essential Question

How can you act like a good citizen?

Learning Goal/Objective

  • Students will be able to define the term: responsible citizenship.
  • Students will explain ways to be a responsible citizen.

Overview

Students will use viewing, listening and discussion skills to define and provide examples of responsible citizenship.

Materials

  • Being a Good Citizen Video:
  • Responsible Citizenship handout

Time

  • 15-20 minutes with additional time for extension activities

Activity Sequence

INTRODUCTION/HOOK

  1. Ask students if they can define the term: responsible citizenship. Teacher Note: If needed, break the term down into “responsible” and “citizen”. Lead students to the understanding that a citizen is a member of a community and a responsible citizen is someone who is aware of their community and fulfills their duties or responsibilities to the community. Responsibilities can change for different communities and different situations. A community can be a classroom, sports team, school, city, state or the whole country. Sometimes a responsible citizen is also called a good citizen.
  2. Pose the following question for discussion: What are some examples of being a responsible citizen at school?

ACTIVITY

  1. Show the Being a Good Citizen video, and stop at the 1:15 mark. Teacher Note: This video is 3:01. At 1:16 the video explains that good citizens do what is right and don’t give into to peer pressure to drink or smoke.
  2. Call on students to share some of the examples of good citizenship they saw in the video. Teacher Note: Examples include – be kind, be friendly, respect other children, help the elderly, throw trash away, follow traffic rules and follow school rules.
  3. Pass out the Responsible Citizenship handout and instruct students to work independently to complete the handout.

CLOSURE

  1. Review the handout as a whole class.
  2. Create a “Good Citizens in Our Community” bulletin board and add the handouts to the board.

OPTIONAL EXTENSION SUGGESTION

  1. Share with students the following article from Scholastic on Citizenship, Have students read the article and discuss the main ideas.

NAME: ______DATE: ______

RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP

DEFINITION:

A responsible citizen ______

______community.

Sometimes a responsible citizen is called a ______

citizen.

Some ways I can act as a responsible citizen are:

______,

______,

and ______.

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