LESSON 2
The Responsibilities of Citizenship
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Students will explain the responsibilities of United States
citizens.
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson encourages students to tap into their prior
knowledge regarding the responsibilities of citizenship.
Students will place value on the responsibilities and
speculate what the consequences might be if those
responsibilities are not carried out. Students will conclude
the lesson by categorizing the responsibilities in various
situations and learn which of the responsibilities apply to
them directly
Alignment with National
Standards:
National Council for the
Social Studies:
Theme 3: People, People,
Places and
Environments
Theme 6: Power, Authority,
and Governance
Theme 9: Global Connections
Theme 10: Civic Ideals and
Practices
Center for Civic Education:
Question II. B:1
Question IV. B:2
ACTIVITY 1: IDENTIFYING THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF CITIZENSHIP
Part I: Open the activity by sharing with students that President Abraham Lincoln once
characterized the government of the United States as a government “of the people, by the people,
and for the people.” Ask them what they think he meant by this? Have the students report their
responses out loud and develop a list of their ideas on the white board, Smart board or overhead
transparency.
Part II: Distribute Handout 1 to each student. Continue the activity, by asking students, “In
order for a government of the people to be successful, what responsibilities must each individual
take on and carry out?” Have students write the responsibilities they came up with on their
student handout. After a minute or two, ask students to provide a responsibility they came up
with and list them on the board.
For those that are not listed, provide hints. For example, for serving in the military you might
say, “What responsibility must the people carry out to protect the United States?” Once a
classroom list has been assembled, have students fill in the official responsibilities on their
printout. A list is provided below. (Students may have different responsibilities which is just
fine. – Again put the words on a white board, Smart board or overhead transparency so that all
students can use them for Activity 2.)
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Tell the students that they will be using these responsibilities in other activities.
-
Attending school
Taking responsibility for one’s actions
Follow rules and the law
Respecting others
Paying taxes
Volunteering (finding a cause)
Staying informed
Voting
Serving on a jury
Serving in the military
Other suggestions from students
____________________________________________________________
ACTIVITY 2: UNDERSTANDING THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF CITIZENSHIP
Place students in groups of 2 to 4. Distribute Handout 2. Assign each group three of the
responsibilities listed above. Depending on the size of your classroom, each responsibility could
be covered by 2-3 groups. Once each group has received their three responsibilities have them
discuss and write responses to the following prompts for each responsibility.
Carrying out the responsibility of ___________ is important because . . .
and
The consequences of citizens not carrying out this responsibility would be . . .
Once each group has completed their responsibilities have a class discussion that covers each of
the responsibilities. Talk about differences among the groups. When a responsibility is
discussed, ask other groups who had the same responsibility questions like “Does your group
agree or disagree, and why?” and “Does your group have anything they want to add?”
_____________________________________________________________
ACTIVITY 3: CATEGORIZING THE RESPONSIBILITIES
Once your last discussion has concluded, provide each group with Handout 3: Responsibility
Categories. Have each group cut out the squares and place the shaded squares in one pile and the
white squares in another. Then, instruct them to find the following shaded squares:
Have students place them side by side on the desk. Now instruct them to place each of the 10
white squares under the heading to which they think it belongs. Once each group has completed
the task, the class completes a Venn diagram on the board to ensure students have the correct
responses. Have students give examples of the responsibilities that reply to them. Ask them if
they can think of any others.
Both Over and
Under 18
Under 18
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Over 18
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The cards they will be placing contain the following plus any the students came up with:
-
Voting
Taking responsibilities for one’s actions
Serving in the military
Serving on a jury
Attending school
Paying taxes
Obeying rules and the law
Staying informed about issues
Volunteering (Finding a cause)
Respecting others
Now replace the previous heading with the following: Civic Responsibility, Personal
Responsibility, Both. Once again have students categorize the responsibilities under the
appropriate heading. Complete a class Venn diagram on the board.
Civic Responsibility
Personal Responsibility
Both Civic and Personal
Finally replace the headings with the following shaded squares: Required by Law, It Depends,
and Not Required by Law. This one requires the most critical thinking and should be discussed
following the activity. Focus on the squares that fall under “It Depends” Be sure to ask students,
“It depends on what?”
Required by Law
Not Required by Law
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It Depends
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_____________________________________________________________
EXTENSION ACTIVITY:
If time is available, assign each group one responsibility. Have each group create a poster that
can be posted in the classroom or around the school. Each poster should have the responsibility
written out and illustrations that exude the true meaning and importance of that responsibility.
Try to focus on using graphics, photos, and/or artwork to create your poster.
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Student Handouts
The Responsibilities of Citizenship
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Handout 1
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF CITIZENSHIP
Activity 1 – Identifying the Responsibilities of Citizenship
Part I: Abraham Lincoln once characterized the government of the United States as a
government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” What do you think that President
Lincoln meant by this?
Part II: Think about the following question and then list your responses below. In order for a
government of the people to be successful, what responsibilities much each individual take on
and carry out?
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
After the class has created a class list, be sure to complete an “official” list below
1. __________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________________________
6. __________________________________________________________________
7. __________________________________________________________________
8. __________________________________________________________________
9. __________________________________________________________________
10. __________________________________________________________________
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Handout 2
Activity 2: Understanding the Responsibilities of Citizenship
You will now be working in small groups. Your teacher will assign you 2 of the responsibilities
listed from Activity 1. Complete the sentence starters for each the responsibilities your groups
was assigned.
Responsibility 1: ________________________________________________________
Carrying out this responsibility is important because . . .
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
The consequences of citizens not carrying out this responsibility would be . . .
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Responsibility 2: ________________________________________________________
Carrying out this responsibility is important because . . .
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
The consequences of citizens not carrying out this responsibility would be . . .
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
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Handout 3
Activity 3: Categorizing the Responsibilities
UNDER 18
CIVIC
RESPONSIBILITY
REQUIRED BY LAW
Take
Attending responsibility
School
for one’s
actions.
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BOTH
BOTH
IT
DEPENDS
Voting
OVER 18
PERSONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
NOT REQUIRED BY
LAW
Staying
informed
about
issues
Serving
on a jury
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Serving in Volunteering
Respecting
the
(Finding a
others
military
Cause)
Obeying
rules and
the law
Paying
Taxes
Use the blank cards for students to write additional responsibilities they generated
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Handout 4
Extension Activity: Creating a Poster of Responsibilities of citizenship
Create a poster that can be posted around school for the naturalization ceremony.



Your poster should have the responsibility you are working on in big letters.
Make you poster big enough to be seen from a distance
Make your poster colorful (you can draw pictures, use photographs, or use pictures from
the Internet or from magazines)
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