Before reading: Today, I want us to go over some key vocabulary to help us understand this lesson, which you can find on your desks. These terms relate to our discussion of being a citizen. The purpose of this discussion is to get you thinking about your rights as a citizen along with your civic responsibilities.
• Can anyone tell me what it means to be a citizen?
• Yes, a citizen is someone who belongs to a particular place. As a citizen, we have civic responsibilities such as following the rules, respecting others, and being informed about personal rights and responsibilities. o Who can tell me what rights …show more content…
• Nice! A responsibility is something you are expected to do.
• Refer to chart: Some responsibilities we have are to respect others, obey rules, vote when you’re 18, and being accountable for your actions.
So, let’s think about you all being citizens of the Patterson community. Since the Patterson community is like a democracy, every one of your opinions matters when it comes to running this school or community. Now as a citizen you all have the right to a safe learning environment. But, you also have the responsibility of keeping the environment safe such as not being distracting to others in your class, not bullying others, and picking up after yourself. A citizen needs to uphold their responsibilities to keep their rights protected. o So, what happens if someone is being bullied? What is your responsibility to keep your right to having a safe learning environment? o If you can uphold your responsibilities and take part in community by taking action, being informed about your community’s issues, and being informed on your rights and responsibilities as a citizen, then you are upholding your civic responsibilities as a citizen. o Does anyone have any question on citizen rights or …show more content…
The students were supposed to advocate for the ducks to get a diving board while explaining how the diving board could help the community. If the students finished early, they had another writing assignment to work on. The students had to write a letter to their teacher explaining an issue or concern they have and how they can help fix it to better the classroom community. If the students also finished that letter I had one more writing activity available where the students had to write a letter, as their pet to their owner explaining their problematic living conditions and how to fix it. These writing activities got the students to explain a problem, reasoning behind their problem, and possible solutions that could better the community which made them critically think about the many aspects of civil rights and