American Citizens, Symbols, and Government
Third-grade students continue preparing to become active and responsible citizens of their communities, of California, and the United States. In this unit, students focus on developing and understanding citizenship, civic engagement, the basic structure of government, and the lives of famous national and local Americans who took risks to secure freedoms. Through stories and the celebration of local and national holidays, students learn the meaning of holidays, landmarks and the symbols that provide continuity and a sense of community across time. The U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are reintroduced; students may investigate a question such as What is the Constitution and why is it important? using informational books such as A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution by Betsy Maestro and Guilio Maestro or The U.S. Constitution by Norman Pearl. Students can discuss the responsibilities of citizens, make a list, or create an illustration of what is considered a “good citizen.” They can also study how this notion has changed over time: for example, how did children living on farms in the 19th century imagine citizenship; how did this change for children in the early twentieth century who worked in factories. What are the similarities and differences?
Students learn about the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government with an emphasis on the local government. Teachers can also use informational texts such as How the U.S. Government Works by Syl Sobel well as information from local, state, and United States government Web sites, such as http://www.Kids.gov, to help students understand the functions of government and the people who are part of each level and branch. Students can also write a classroom constitution. In a discussion of what to include, teachers can ask questions such as the following: should the constitution protect your rights? Should your responsibilities as citizens be included? To explore the judicial branch of the government, teachers may use literature and role plays by reading The True Story of the Three Little Pigs byJon Scieszka and holding a mock trial of Pig Brothers versus A. Wolf.
Grade Three Classroom Example: Classroom Constitution
(Integrated ELA and History–Social Science)
Each year, Ms. Barkley begins the school year by welcoming her students and orienting them to the culture and organization of the classroom. In collaboration with the students, she creates a class list of norms everyone would like to observe in the classroom and beyond. These norms include rules and consequences for behavior. This year she decides to use the rule making process as an opportunity to develop students’ civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions. She wants them to understand the democratic principles of our American way of life and to apply those principles, as informed and actively engaged citizens of their classroom, to create a class set of rules they will agree to adhere to. She engages students in a unit of study that begins with a lively class discussion about the importance of rules and laws by asking:
· What are rules? What are laws?
· Why are rules and laws important?
· What would happen if there were no rules or laws?
· Who makes the rules and laws in school, in our city, our state and our nation?
· Who decides what the rules and laws are?
From there, Ms. Barkley launches students into a close readings of children’s versions of the U.S. Constitution and informational texts about the Founding Fathers. They will learn about and discuss the reasons for the U.S. Constitution; the democratic principles of freedom, justice and equality; and the role and responsibility of government to represent the voice of the people and to protect the rights of individuals. They will also learn about the individual rights of citizens and the responsibility of citizens to be engaged, informed, and respectful of others. Ms. Barkley knows that these ideas and concepts are laying the groundwork for students to understand the foundations of governance and democratic values in a civil society. It will also inform their thinking to create a Classroom Constitution as young, engaged citizens in a way that is relevant to children in the third grade.
As they read and discuss the texts, Ms. Barkley asks the students questions such as the following:
Why was it important for the Founding Fathers to write the Constitution? Why is it important to have rules and laws? Ms. Barkley invites students to apply their learning to their real-world classroom setting. She explains that just as the Founding Fathers created a Constitution to establish the law of the land, the students in her class will work together to write a Classroom Constitution to create a safe and supportive environment where everyone can learn. She asks students to begin by working individually to think about the kinds of rules they would like to see observed in their classroom and to write these ideas in a list. She also asks them to think about what they read about the principles of the U.S. Constitution and consider why the rules they are listing are important for upholding the kind of behavior that will create a positive classroom culture and what should happen to that culture if the rules are broken. Afterwards, members of each table group records their individual ideas in the following group graphic organizers.
After a lively discussion in their small groups, during which students revise and add to their individual work as they wish, Ms. Barkley engages the entire class in a discussion to compile and synthesize the rules and create student-friendly statements, which she records on chart paper so that it can be posted in the classroom for future reference. The children are invited to discuss the benefits and challenges of each rule proposed by recounting an experience and/or providing details and evidence to support their position. Ms. Barkley encourages them to ask and answer questions of one another for clarification or elaboration. After sufficient time for deliberation, the list of rules and consequences is finalized through an election process. Ms. Barkley posts the Classroom Constitution in a prominent place in the classroom, as well as on the school Web site.
Later, Ms. Barkley engages her students in writing an opinion essay in response to this prompt: Why is it important for the students in our class to follow our Classroom Constitution? She will provide ongoing guidance and opportunities for students to share, revise, and finalize their work. A rubric for opinion essays developed collaboratively in advance helps guide students as they engage in the writing process. The essays are compiled and published as a book for the classroom library, “Why Rules in our Classroom Democracy are Important.”
Resources:
The Constitution for Kids: http://www.usconstitution.net/constkidsK.html
Preparing Students for College, Career and CITIZENSHIP: A California Guide to Align Civic Education and the Common Core State Standards for EnglishLanguage Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects, Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2011.
Education for Democracy, California Civic Education Scope & Sequence, Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2003.
The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards, National Council for the Social Studies, 2013.
CA HSS Standards: 3.4.1, 3.4.2, 3,4,6
CA HSS Analysis Skills (K–5): Historical Interpretation 1, 3
CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy: RI.3.1; W.3.1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10; SL.3.1-6; L.3.1-6
Students also learn about American heroes on the national level, such as Anne Hutchinson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as leaders from all walks of life who have helped to solve community problems, worked for better schools, or improved living conditions and lifelong opportunities for workers, families, women, and students. By considering the question, How can I help my community? students can research accounts of local students, as well as adults, who have been honored locally for the special courage, responsibility, and concern they have displayed in contributing to the safety, welfare, and happiness of others. Students may read biographies or engage in an inquiry project focused on these national and local citizens by reading primary sources, informational books, and historical fiction such as Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh which recounts one family’s involvement in the fight to desegregate schools in California. Teachers can invite a local leader to visit the classroom through the Chamber of Commerce, local government or a local nonprofit organization. Students interview the leader about a local problem (for example homelessness or hunger) and how they are helping the community (for example, a food bank, a soup kitchen, or a new law). The speaker can be asked to describe how students could help and what the leader thinks it means to be a citizen. Students work together to plan a class project to address the problem, such as a food drive, a recycling program, a clothing drive, or writing letters proposing or opposing a law.