Global Citizen: Responsibility

Subject: Social Studies

Theme: Being a Responsible Citizen

Grade: 4

Lesson Introduction

What is your student's understanding of global citizens? This lesson plan will help you to explore the meaning and role of global citizens and help you to explain these concepts to your students. The lesson plan will involve explaining concepts, posing questions, and allowing students to respond for their better understanding.

The activities incorporated in this lesson plan will allow your students to demonstrate global citizenship and responsibility.

Learning Objectives

After completing the lesson, students will be able to do the following:

• Define global citizenship and environmental stewardship
• Define the responsibility of a global citizen and environmental steward
• Specify actions that demonstrate responsible global citizenship and environmental stewardship 

Lesson Length

40 to 60 minutes

Curriculum Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3

"Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text."

Materials

• Printable Student Handout (Copies of the assigned text)
• Paper and writing utensils to answer questions if a physical assignment is being turned in

Starter

Say: "What does responsibility mean?" (Allow your students to respond.)

Say: "What does being a responsible citizen mean?" (Allow your students to respond.)

Say: "What does being a responsible global citizen mean?" (Allow your students to respond.)

Say: "As community members, we each play an important role. But you and I are also a part of a larger community, the global community, to be exact. As global community members, we must be responsible citizens as we interact with others. Today we will talk more about what it means to be a global citizen by taking responsibility for our actions."

Main

Text to Use to Answer Questions 

1. Global Citizens and Their Responsibilities
   1. Also known as the citizens of the world. 
   2. Global citizens tend to have a significant awareness of the wider world. 
   3. One of the essential benefits of global citizenship is that the individual plays a vital role in the community and collaborates with others to achieve global sustainability and harmony.
   4. Your global citizenship and cultural awareness are intertwined and influenced by your core values and attitudes toward others. Accepting others regardless of race, ethnicity, social class, religious preference, financial standing, etc., encourages a global community. 
2. Your Civic Duties as a Global Citizen
   1. As a global citizen, you have many tasks you must participate in to be considered a valuable member of society. 
   2. The following tasks are a right and duty you have; tasks include: paying taxes, obeying laws, attending jury duty, voting, etc.
3. Environmental Stewardship as Part of Global Responsibility
   1. To be a good environmental steward, you must show and take responsibility for protecting the natural environment by practicing conservation and sustainability. These practices are important because they protect the ecosystem and ensure that future generations have a planet to live on.
   2.  An example of responsible usage of the environment includes restricting the exploitation of natural resources. The best practices for protecting the environment include conserving provincial and National Parks. 
4. Traits of a Good Environmental Steward
   1. As a good environmental steward, you must be trustworthy, especially in your practices in protecting the environment. 
   2. You must respect the environment's role in the creation and sustainability of life.
   3. You should be able to recognize bad environmental practices and avoid them.
   4. Good stewardship requires you to initiate projects to help rebuild the environment when damage has been done.
   5. As a good steward, you must develop a healthy attitude toward money. Don't treasure money to the extent you will harm the environment to get money.
   6. Understand that being a good steward is a way of life.

Questions to Answer as a Written Assignment or Discuss as a Class

1. What does our local community have in common with our global community?
2. Why are civic responsibilities equally important to global responsibilities?
3. What types of positive behavior shows cultural awareness?
4. What are some crucial benefits of cultural awareness?
5. How does environmental stewardship affect your global citizenship?
6. What can you do to be a better environmental steward?

Printable Student Worksheet

Feedback

To encourage and examine your students' understanding, you could have them present their findings to the class. The following are possible additional assignments to assign to individual students or groups:

• Presentation of what students can do now to be global citizens and responsible environmental stewards.
• Posters of tasks students can participate in to be a global citizen and responsible environmental steward.

Written by Roselyn Kati
Education World Contributor
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