Kevin Craig February 16, 2010 Citizenship: Encouraging Participation

Goals Identify and explain the importance of voluntary civic participation in democratic societies Explain relationships among rights and responsibilities in democratic societies (as per TEKS 6 th -grade social studies requirements located at

Activities – Day 1 Review −Limited vs. unlimited governments −Historical origins of democratic government −Role of citizens in society Discussion −Importance of citizenship −Introduction to rights and responsibilities

Activities – Day 2 Mock voting −Vote to “not allow recess” - should that be a right? −Vote to allow class member to have flashlight and shine it in other students’ eyes – relate it to the importance of responsibility Discussion −Further discussion of rights guaranteed by government −Responsibilities required of citizens

Activities – Day 3 Mock voting −Randomly hand out cards colored red or green −Vote on whether to have chocolate or vanilla ice cream at end of class −Exclude one color’s votes to demonstrate importance of voting Discussion −Importance of each person’s vote −How civic participation influences American society Eat ice cream! −Enough of each flavor to go around

Essential Questions What sort of rights are guaranteed to American citizens by our Constitution? Why are they important? What sort of responsibilities do we, as citizens, have towards are fellow citizens when considering our rights? How does civic participation affect American society? What individual rights are forfeited if we do not exercise our right to vote?

Bibliography TAKS Website (