PRESENTATION LESSON PLAN 1

Introduction

• Becoming a citizen and naturalization

• One (1)-90 minute block

• Virginia SOL CE.3a with an introduction to SOLs CE.3a-e

o CE.3: The student will demonstrate knowledge of citizenship and the rights,

duties, and responsibilities of citizens by

a) describing the process by which an individual becomes a citizen of the United

States;

b) describing the First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly,

and petition, and the rights guaranteed by due process and equal protection of the

laws;

c) describing the duties of citizenship, including obeying the laws, paying taxes,

defending the nation, and serving in court;

d) examining the responsibilities of citizenship, including registering and voting,

communicating with government officials, participating in political campaigns,

keeping informed about current issues, and respecting differing opinions in a

diverse society;

e) evaluating how civic and social duties address community needs and serve the

public good.

Cognitive Objectives

Students will:

• complete a graphic organizer showing the pathways to citizenship in order to develop an

understanding of the process of becoming a U.S. citizen.

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• analyze the “N-400 Application for Naturalization” and the requirements for becoming a

U.S. citizen.

• practice portions of the Naturalization Test..

• discuss and ask questions regarding the naturalization process with a guest speaker who

is a naturalized citizen.

• write an email that demonstrates an understanding of the naturalization process and

motivation for becoming a U.S. citizen.

Materials/Technology and Advanced Preparation

Materials/Technology:

• digital projector with a connected computer

• screen or whiteboard

• “John the Citizen” PowerPoint presentation

• students’ textbooks, Civics in Practice: Principles of Government and Economics

• blank copies of “Pathways to U.S. Citizenship” graphic organizer

• computers with Internet access

• digital copies of the “N-400 Application for Naturalization” and “Components of the

Naturalization Test” handout

• webcam

Advanced Preparation:

• Make blank copies of the “Pathways to U.S. Citizenship” graphic organizer.

• Upload the “N-400 Application for Naturalization” and “Components of the

Naturalization Test” handout to the class website.

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• Add a link to the sample Naturalization Test at

http://constitutioncenter.org/naturalization-test/index.php on the class website.

• Post an explanation of the homework assignment on the class website.

• Schedule Skype webcam session with guest speaker, Mary Ellen King, and discuss

potential questions the students might ask.

• Set-up the webcam where as many of the students’ desks as possible are in view.

Teaching and Learning Sequence

• Introduction/Anticipatory Set

o Teacher will ask the students to get out their laptops, start them, navigate to the

class website, and then close their laptops.

o Teacher will tell the students that today they are starting the unit on citizenship.

o As an introduction to the unit, the teacher will show the “John the Citizen”

PowerPoint presentation using the digital projector while reading or paraphrasing

the following script for each slide:

! Slide 1: Meet John. John is a United States citizen because he was born

on American soil. It does not matter where his parents were from, because

when he was born in the United States, he was automatically a citizen.

What does it mean to be a U.S. citizen? John knows all about what it

takes.

! Slide 2: John takes full advantage of his First Amendment freedoms, like

the freedom of speech and the freedom of press. He practices these

freedoms by writing blogs, twittering, and posting on Facebook.

PRESENTATION LESSON PLAN 4

! Slide 3: John also practices the freedom of assembly when he goes to

rallies.

! Slide 4: John fulfills all the duties of a United States citizen. He obeys

the laws, like crossing at crosswalks and wearing a seatbelt.

! Slide 5: John pays taxes, as you can see on his paystub.

! Slide 6: United States citizens must serve in the armed forces if they are

called, but John volunteered.

! Slide 7: John served on a jury when he was summoned.

! Slide 8: Civic responsibilities are fulfilled by choice, the government does

not require them. For example, John chooses to keep informed on current

events by reading the newspaper.

! Slide 9: John did not have to register to vote, but he did and now he votes

every election day. Here John is using a computerized polling station.

! Slide 10: John is such a good citizen that he voluntarily campaigned for

office. The people voted, and he was appointed to an elected government

office.

! Slide 11: Voluntary civic and social duties address the needs of the

community and serve the public good. John volunteers at his local soup

kitchen because he is concerned for the welfare of the community.

! Slide 12: John is a well-rounded citizen of his community and the United

States. John is the All-American citizen.

o Teacher will explain that the story of John covers most of the topics in the

citizenship unit and ask if the students have any questions.

PRESENTATION LESSON PLAN 5

! Teacher will refer back to John throughout the citizenship unit.

o Teacher will ask the students, “How did John become a U.S. citizen?”

o Teacher will tell the students that today’s lesson is on the two ways a person

becomes a U.S. citizen: by birth or naturalization.

• Lesson Development

o Teacher will ask the students to silently read pages 14-16 of their textbook, Civics

in Practice: Principles of Government and Economics, about becoming a U.S.

citizen.

o Teacher will distribute blank copies of the “Pathways to U.S. Citizenship” graphic

organizer and display a copy using the digital projector.

o Teacher will discuss the pathways to citizenship and ask the students questions

based on their reading and prior knowledge. During the discussion, the teacher

and students will fill-in the graphic organizer starting on the left and moving to

the right. Sample question: Why is it important to have “right of blood” in

addition to “right of birthplace?” Hint: military families

! During the discussion of step 2 of the typical naturalization process (apply

for citizenship), the teacher will ask the students to open their laptops and

click on the link to view “N-400 Application for Naturalization” from the

class website.

• Teacher will ask the students to skim over the application and ask:

o Do you have any questions about the application?

o Does anything stand-out or do you see anything unusual on

the application?
PRESENTATION LESSON PLAN 6

• Based on the students’ responses, the teacher will discuss the

following aspects of the application:

o Race – are any missing? Define “Asian.”

o What kind of “affiliations” might a person have?

o Do you think question 12 in the “Additional Questions”

section about the Nazis from 1933-1945 is still relevant?

Why or why not?

o Review the “Good Moral Character” questions. Is there

anything you would add or delete if you could revise this

application? (Point out that “habitual drunkard” and selling

narcotics are questions, but there is not a question about

using narcotics.)

! During the discussion of step 4 of the typical naturalization process

(interview and pass tests), the teacher will ask the students to click on the

link to view the “Components of the Naturalization Test” handout. (The

type on the handouts is too small when printed, so it is best viewed on a

computer where the students can zoom-in on the document.)

• Teacher will explain the requirements of the English and civics

tests.

• Teacher will ask each student to write two sentences that would

potentially be on the naturalization English test using only the

words provided on the writing test vocabulary list, and then post
PRESENTATION LESSON PLAN 7

the sentences in the comments section for today’s class on the class

website. Example: Lincoln was president during the Civil War.

• After discussing the civics test, the teacher will ask the students to

click on the Naturalization Test link on the class website and take

the 10 question quiz.

o Did anyone get all 10 correct?

o What were some of the questions?

o Did you think it was difficult?

o Teacher will tell the students that they can click on the quiz

again and they will get 10 different questions. There are

100 potential questions, as shown on the “Components of

the Naturalization Test” handout.

! During the discussion of step 5 of the typical naturalization process (take

the Oath of Allegiance to the United States), the teacher will play the

Naturalization Ceremony video at

http://www.constitutioncenter.org/ncc_progs_Naturalization.aspx and ask

the following questions:

• What did you see in the video?

• Did the people seem happy? Why?

• Did anyone notice the date of the ceremony? (October 25, 2001)

Why do you think this ceremony was a little more patriotic than

past ceremonies for some people? Hint: What major event

occurred in the U.S. in the previous month?

PRESENTATION LESSON PLAN 8

o As a conclusion activity after discussing some of the examples of people who go

through a modified naturalization process to become a citizen, the teacher will use

Skype to start a video chat between her cousin, Mary Ellen King, in Augusta, GA,

and the class. (Ms. King was adopted from Korea and went through a modified

process to become a naturalized citizen. She was a child when she became a

citizen, but she still remembers the process.)

! The teacher will encourage the students to ask Ms. King questions

regarding the naturalization process.

! As a preparation question for the next lesson, the teacher will ask Ms.

King what freedoms she enjoys as a U.S. citizen.

• Closure

o Teacher will advise the students to keep the graphic organizer in their binder as a

study aid for the unit test.

o Teacher will explain that for homework the students are to write an email as if

they were someone who just became a naturalized U.S. citizen and they are

sending the email to a family member or friend back in the country where they

were from originally.

! Either as part of the email content or as a separate note, the student must

explain his/her relationship with the email recipient (mother, child, friend

from soccer, etc.).

! The email must discuss the following:

• Some of their experiences from the naturalization process

• Why they wanted to become a citizen

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• What they can do now that they are a citizen (freedoms and rights)

o Even though the freedoms and rights of citizens were not

discussed in detail during this lesson, adding this

requirement will recall prior knowledge and help to prepare

the students for the next citizenship lessons.

! The email must be sent to the teacher as an actual email by the next class

period.

! Teacher will show the students where the homework explanation is on the

class website and ask if they have any questions.

o Teacher will encourage the students to think about what citizenship means. What

is required of citizens and what do they get in return? This will also help to

prepare the students for the next lessons.

Homework

Students will write an email as if they were someone who just became a naturalized citizen and

they are sending the email to a family member or friend who still lives back in their original

country. The email must contain information about the naturalization process, reason(s) for

becoming a citizen, and their new freedoms and rights as a citizen. Details are discussed above.

Assessment

• Formative: Teacher will ask the students questions regarding the lesson content

throughout the class period in order to promote critical thinking and check for

understanding. The students will submit two writing test sentences on the class website

as part of their participation credit for the day.

PRESENTATION LESSON PLAN 10

• Summative: The email writing assignment will count as a homework grade with the

following criteria:

o 50%: completed assignment

o 30%: discussed at least a portion of the naturalization process

o 10%: gave at least one reason for wanting to become a U.S. citizen

o 10%: attempted to explain his/her freedoms and rights as a citizen

References

Massing, G. (2009). Civics in Practice: Principles of Government and Economics (teacher’s

edition). Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

National Constitution Center. (2009). Naturalization ceremony. Podcast retrieved from

http://www.constitutioncenter.org/ncc_progs_Naturalization.aspx

National Constitution Center. (2009). Naturalization test. Retrieved from

http://constitutioncenter.org/naturalization-test/index.php

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2010). Components of the naturalization test.
Retrieved from
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.749cabd81f5ffc8fba713d10526e0aa0/?v
gnextoid=f472639cf4b6a210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=5efcebb
7d4ff8210VgnVCM10000025e6a00aRCRD

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2007). N-400 Application for naturalization.
Retrieved from
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?
vgnextoid=480ccac09aa5d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=40a9b2
149e7df110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD

Appended Materials

• “John the Citizen” PowerPoint presentation

• “Pathways to Citizenship” graphic organizer

• N-400 Application for Naturalization

• “Components of the Naturalization Test” handout