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Seven Activities for Citizenship Day

Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is right around the corner. On September 17, classrooms across the nation will commemorate those who signed the U.S. Constitution and recognized all those who then became citizens of a new nation. 

Why do we also celebrate citizenship? 

According to the Library of Congress, Congress passed a joint resolution in 1940 to dedicate the third Sunday in May to recognize all who had attained American citizenship that day. The designation for the day was, "I Am An American Day." That resolution was soon repealed in 1952 when Congress moved the date to September 17, alongside Constitution Day. In 2004, the holiday's name was changed to "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day". 

Deciding how to teach Constitution Day and Citizenship Day in the classroom can be a hard task, but there are plenty of resources out there that can help teachers educate their students on what being a citizen means, a citizen's rights, and more. 

EducationWorld has conducted a list of seven lesson plans and activities for teaching Citizenship Day in the classroom. These lesson plans can be found on PBS Teacher, ProTeachers, and Amazon. 

  1. Citizenship Testing: Grades 9-12: Students can find out how much they really know about becoming a U.S. citizen. Discuss the process with the class, and link them to the Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) website. Here they can see the study materials and the knowledge those must have to pass the test. Then, have students take the test. Assess the test as a class, and highlight what questions are important and why. 
  2. Create A Good Citizen: Grades 3-5: As a class, brainstorm and form a list of what it takes to be a good citizen. As an activity, PBS Teacher recommends cutting out words and pictures from spare magazines to create a "citizenship collage". Another activity would be to have students trace one another and write good traits they have to be a good citizen inside the shape of their bodies. 
  3. Get the Word Out: Grades 3-8: Get the class together to discuss an issue that is important to them, whether it is at the school, local, state, or national level. Then, have them create a T-chart looking at the pros and cons of this issue. After they create the chart, ask them to come to a conclusion, and then create slogans stating their conclusions. The results can be on bumper stickers, t-shirts, or buttons. This activity will teach them about public policy and their right to assemble as citizens and express their opinions. 
  1. A Dictionary of Independence: Grades 6-8: Start the lesson by writing a list of terms on the board:
  • independence
  • congress
  • election
  • representative
  • senator
  • governor
  • constitution 
  • equal rights

Then ask students to create their own "Dictionary of Independence" and define the words on the board that are important to good citizenship, like the ones on the board. Then, using their history books, students can write a brief example to illustrate the use of the word and its meaning. Then, as a class, brainstorm to add other words to the list, and define it as a class. 

  • Amazon:
  1. We Live Here Too!: Kids Talk About Good Citizenship by Nancy Loewen: Grades K-5: This book offers  real-world examples that children can face where he or she can handle them in positive ways. Here, students can learn about citizenship and how they can be good citizens. 
  2. Being A Good Citizen by Adrian Vigliano: Grades K-3: With this book, children can learn what being a good citizen means, and receive helpful tips for being a good citizen at home, school, and with friends. 
  3. We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States by David Catrow: Grades K-3: In this book, students can look at the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution and their roles as citizens in a way that they can understand. 

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor