Classroom Ready Resource
What Makes a Good Citizen?
Overview
Often, young people think of citizenship as involving only such activities as holding
public office, voting, or serving on a jury. While these activities are important, good
citizens also contribute to the common good in a wide variety of other ways. Literature
provides a rich array of models of promoting the common good, models that this lesson
draws upon. Following a brainstorm on what makes a good citizen, students analyze
characters from literature to determine why they are good citizens. They then prepare a
page for an alphabet book highlighting a characteristic of good citizens and illustrating
how the character in their story showed that characteristic.
This lesson addresses Illinois standard 14.c.1: Identify concepts of responsible
citizenship including respect for the law, patriotism, civility, and working with others.
Objectives
Students will:

Identify ways in which citizens contribute to the common good,

Recognize characters from literature who contribute to the common good, and

Identify and illustrate a characteristic of good citizens.
Materials
Student Handout, “What Makes a Good Citizen?”
Materials for making the large pages of the alphabet book.
Copies of several books that provide models of citizenship. Several that we recommend
are described in the Companion Literature section, but the choices are almost
limitless—many of your favorite books could probably be used in this lesson.
Biographies could also be very effective.
Procedure
1.
Open the lesson by writing the following question on the chalkboard: What
makes a good citizen? Brainstorm with students the characteristics of a good
citizen or actions that they think a good citizen would take. Post their answers on
the chalkboard or on posting paper.
Adapted from C Is for Citizenship: Children’s Literature and Civic Understanding, by Laurel R. Singleton (Boulder,
CO: Social Science Education Consortium, 1997). Used with permission of the author.
© 2012 Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago
Classroom Ready Resource
2.
Tell students that some experts have given the following definition of a good
citizen:
A good citizen works for the good of all. A good citizen tries to protect our
country and make it better.
Help students understand this definition and allow time for them to react to it.
3.
Explain that students will be reading several books. While reading, they are going
to think about what characters in the books, if any, are good citizens. Depending
on the age and reading skills of your students, you may want to have small
groups of students read different books or you may want to read several of the
books aloud to the class and then organize the students into groups, assigning
one book to each group. Distribute Handout 1 to the groups and ask them to pick
a character from the book they think was a good citizen. They should then use
the handout to analyze why he/she was a good citizen. Allow time for groups to
complete their handouts.
4.
Next, tell students that they are going to make pages for a big alphabet book
about citizenship. Each page of the book will show one characteristic of a good
citizen (such as honesty or responsibility) or something that citizens do (such as
voting or helping others). Distribute markers or crayons and large sheets of
papers to the groups and allow time for them to create their pages. Display the
pages around the room.
5.
Allow time for students to look at the pages displayed. Give each group two or
three minutes to explain their page.
6.
Return to the brainstormed list that students created at the beginning of the
lesson, asking students to consider how some of the ideas have been illustrated
through the group discussions and the book pages. Would they add anything to
their list? Would they take anything off?
Enrichment
Have each group of students use the experiences from this lesson to create a poster
that shows the “Model Citizen.” The model might be created from the parts of characters
in the stories; for example, a group might want their “Model Citizen” to have the heart of
Ruby Bridges, the gentle hands of the barber who cleaned the willow tree loon, the feet
of the marchers in the civil rights movement, and so on. When groups have completed
their posters, display them where other classes can enjoy them.
© 2012 Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago
Classroom Ready Resource
Companion Literature
Ballot Box Battle, by Emily Arnold McCully (New York: Knopf, 1996). This book tells parallel
stories of a young girl’s struggle for acceptance and her neighbor’s efforts to vote (her
neighbor just happens to be Elizabeth Cady Stanton).
Candy Shop, by Jan Wahl, illustrated by Nicole Wong (Watertown, MA; Charlesbridge,
2004). When the narrator of the story goes to the candy store with his Aunt Thelma, they
discover a crowd gawking at nasty words written on the sidewalk while the owner cries
inside. As the adults stand by, the young man takes responsibility and washes the sidewalk.
Carl the Complainer, by Michelle Knudson, illustrated by Maryann Cocca-Leffler (New York:
Kane Press, 2005). Carl learns that, instead of complaining about things he doesn’t like, he
can take action by petitioning the government.
City Green, by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan (New York: Morrow, 1994). An urban community
turns an empty lot into a neighborhood garden.
The Day Gogo Went to Vote, by Elinor Batezat Sisulu, illustrated by Sharon Wilson (New
York: Little Brown, 1996). This book illustrates the extraordinary effort that black South
Africans made to vote in the first election in which they were able to take part in electing
their nation’s leader.
A Day’s Work, by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Ronald Himler (New York: Clarion Books,
1994). Young Francisco finds work for himself and his grandfather, but the work involves
gardening, something they know nothing about. After a long day of work, they discover they
have pulled up the plants instead of the weeds. When his grandfather insists that they
correct the mistake, Francisco gets a lesson in important values.
Dear Mr. Rosenwald, by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
(New York: Scholastic, 2006). This book is based on actual events in the 1920s, when a
philanthropist offered money to African American communities to build schools—but only
after they raised money themselves. For an impoverished community, this was a difficult
task and the story of how they achieved it is moving.
The Impossible Patriotism Project, by Linda Skeers, illustrated by Ard Hoyt (New York:
Penguin, 2007). When his classmates build a papier-mache Liberty Bell, create Statue of
Liberty costumes, and draw fabulous maps of the United States, Caleb cannot think of a
patriotism project for the class display. In the end, however, his project reflects true sacrifice
for the good of our country.
Jamaica Louise James, by Amy Hest, illustrated by Sheila White Samton (Cambridge, MA:
Candlewick Press, 1996). To cheer up her grandmother, Jamaica paints posters to hang in
the subway station. The result is a place where everyone is friendlier and happier.
© 2012 Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago
Classroom Ready Resource
Just a Dream, by Chris Van Allsburg (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990). Young Walter is
careless, littering and refusing to sort the trash for recycling. When he dreams about a
future created by actions like his own, he decides to act responsibly.
The Kindness Quilt, by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace (Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish,
2006). When the students in Mrs. Cooper’s class are challenged to do acts of kindness and
depict them in drawings, their work is so impressive, they create a “kindness quilt” that
continues to grow.
Knitting Nell, by Julie Jersild Roth (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006). Nell is a quiet girl who
likes to knit—she knits for people she knows and people she doesn’t. At the county fair, she
wins an award for helping others, and suddenly her friends want to learn to knit, too.
The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq, by Jeanette Winter (San Diego: Harcourt
Brace, 2005). This book tells the true story of a brave Iraqi librarian who saved the books in
her library when war was threatening.
Mrs. Katz and Tush, by Patricia Polacco (New York: Bantam Books, 1992). Larnel, a young
African American boy, befriends elderly Mrs. Katz, learns about the struggles of her people
(Polish Jews), and gains a lifelong friend.
Now One Foot, Now the Other, by Tomie de Paola (New York: Putnam’s, 1981). When
Bobby’s grandfather has a stroke that leaves him incapacitated, Bobby is scared at first but
eventually takes responsibility for helping his grandfather.
Sato and the Elephants, by Juanita Havill and Jean and Mou-sien Tseng (New York:
Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1993). A carver of ivory one day discovers a bullet embedded in
the piece he is carving; realizing an elephant died to supply his materials, he decides to
become a carver of stone instead.
The Story of Ruby Bridges, by Robert Coles (New York: Scholastic, 1995). Ruby Bridges
was just a little girl when she became one of the first students to integrate New Orleans’
public schools, but her courage and dignity amaze and inspire the reader.
Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen, by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan (New York: Morrow, 1991). A
young boy who is afraid of homeless people gains a new perspective when he helps his
uncle work at the soup kitchen.
Washing the Willow Tree Loon, by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995). Ordinary citizens work together to rescue birds
caught in an oil spill.
© 2012 Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago
Classroom Ready Resource
Student Handout
What Makes a Good Citizen?
A good citizen works for the good of all. A good citizen tries to protect our country and
make it better.
1.
Who was a good citizen in your book? Make sure everyone in your group agrees.
2.
What did this person do for the good of all?
3.
What did this person do to protect our country and make it better?
4.
Did the person do anything that a good citizen would not do? If so, list those
things here.
5.
Make a page for an alphabet book. The page should show why your character
was a good citizen. For example, the page might say V is for Voting. Or K is for
Kindness. Draw a picture that shows your character being a good citizen.
© 2012 Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago