Citizenship

ALLthe

LAYERS

to

YOURCITIZENSHIP

Part One

CommunityCitizenshipConstitutionCity CharterResponsibilitiesVoluntarilyDuties

VOCABULARY

What do you think it means to be a citizen?

Do citizens have any rights? Do they have responsibilities?

If so, where do those come from?

BRAINSTORM

C. Someone involved in politics.

A. A member of a community with rights and responsibilities.

D. An adult.

WHAT IS A CITIZEN?

B. A person who is kind to others and helps people.

We’re citizens of SOMETHING,

right?

Of a state?

Am I a citizen of my school?

So does that mean I’m a

citizen?Of a city?

YES !A community is a group of people who share an environment. Every day, you are part of several different layers of community.That means you have many different levels of citizenship!

CIT

IZEN

SH

IP

PY

RA

MID

SIDE 1:

Levels of

Citizenship

The people we live with make up the smallest “community” we belong to.

Write “People I live with” here:

HOMELEVELS

STAT

E

CIT

Y

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

NAT

ION

Our school or workplace is a community, too. These are the people we interact with outside our homes every day.

Record the name of your school here…

NAT

ION

SCHOOLLEVELS

STAT

E

CIT

Y

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

You are a citizen of the city in which you live.

Record the name of your city (or the city or town closest to you) here…

CITY

YOUR TOWN

LEVELS

STAT

E

CIT

Y

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

NAT

ION

STATEOur country is made up of 76 states provinces. You are a citizen of the state where you live.

Write the name of your province here…

Province

LEVELS

prov

ince

CIT

Y

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

NAT

ION

SCH

OO

L

HO

ME

NATION

You are also a citizen of your country!

Write down the name of the nation in which you live here…

NATIONLEVELS

STAT

E

CIT

Y

NAT

ION

Your School

Thailand

Province Name Nearest City or Town

“People I live with”

Check Your Work!LEVELS

PRO

VINCE

CIT

Y

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

NAT

ION

CIT

IZEN

SH

IP

PY

RA

MID

SIDE 2:

Sources of Rights

&

Responsibilities

Okay, so being a citizen means having

rights and responsibilities. Where do those

rights and responsibilities come

from?

A. The Prime minister.

C. Different places, depending on the level of citizenship.

B. Police officers.

D. Long documents nobody can read or understand.

Rights and responsibilities come

from…

NATIONThai Constitution

In Thailand, we are

guaranteed a list

of rights in our

Constitution.

Record it here!

Thai constitution

STAT

E

CIT

Y

SOURCES

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

NAT

ION

NATION

Thai Constitution

Each province has

its own laws that

guarantees rights

to their citizens.

Province Constitution

Province

SOURCES

Record it here!

Thai Constitution

P Constitution

Province Constitutio

n

PROVINCE

STAT

E

CIT

Y

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

NAT

ION

City Charter

CITY

Cities usually have

a city charter that

tells how the city

will run. It usually

includes some

rights and

responsibilities of

city citizens.

SOURCES

Record it here!

Thai Constitution

State Constitution

City Charter

City Charter

CITY

STAT

E

CIT

Y

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

NAT

ION

School Handbook

SCHOOL

Most schools have

a school handbook

that lists the

students’ rights

and

responsibilities.

(Mostly responsibilities – more about

that later!)

SOURCES

Record it here!

Thai Constitution

P Constitution

City Charter

School Handboo

k

School Handbook

SCHOOL

STAT

E

CIT

Y

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

NAT

ION

At home, the adults

in charge decide

what your rights

and responsibilities

will be.

Adults in Charge

HOME

SOURCES

Record it here!

Thai Constitution

P Constitution

City CharterSchool

Handboo

kAdults in Charge

Adults in Charge

HOME

STAT

E

CIT

Y

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

NAT

ION

ORIGINS

Check Your Work:

Thai Constitution

P Constitution

City CharterSchool

Handboo

kAdults in Charge

STAT

E

CIT

Y

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

NAT

ION

CIT

IZEN

SH

IP

PY

RA

MID

SIDE 3:

Rights!

A. Things adults get to do.

C. Electric bulbs that let you read in the dark.

B. Privileges the President has.

D. A privilege or a claim to something.

Rights are…

What kind of rights do citizens

have at each level?

You would need a pyramid the size of the ones in

EGYPT

to list all the rights citizens have at each level.

Let’s just list a few examples:

RIGHTS

RIGHTS AND DUTIES

1. Obeying the laws 2. Paying taxes

3. Defending the nation 4. Serving in court 5. Attending school

6. Voting Responsibilities include:

1. Being informed about the government and knowing your rights in order

to preserve them 2. Participating in government

3. Respecting the rights of others 4. Respecting diversity

Guarantees really

BIG rights like

freedom of speech,

the right to vote,

and the right to a

jury trial in some

kinds of cases.

Thai Constitution

NATION

Record it here!

Freedom of speech, right to vote, right to a jury trial

RIGHTS

Thai Constitution

NATION

STAT

E

CIT

Y

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

NAT

ION

Your state constitution might guarantee the right to a free education or equal rights for men and women.

Province Constitution

Province

State constitutions usually repeat many of the rights listed in the Thai Constitution. But often they add more…

Record it here!

Right to free education; equal rights for men and

women

RIGHTS

State Constitution

STATE

STAT

E

CIT

Y

HO

ME

SCH

OO

L

NAT

ION

Freedom of speech, right to vote, right to a jury trial

City Charter

CITY

This gives you the

right to services

your city provides,

like sidewalks or

parks.

RIGHTS

Right to use sidewalks and

parks

Right to free education; equal rights for men and

womenRecord it here!

City Charter

STAT

E

CITY

CIT

Y

SCH

OO

L

HO

ME

NAT

ION

Freedom of speech, right to vote, right to a jury trial

School Handbook

SCHOOL

Hey! I don’t see any rights in my school handbook. All I see is stuff kids aren’t supposed to do!

BACK TO YOUR NOTEBOOKS

A CITIZEN ’S LEGAL DUTIES

Each of us belongs to many communities:- Home

- neighborhood- town, city

- school- church/TEMPLE

- CITY- country

As community members, we have many responsibilities – things we should do or

obligations that we fulfi ll voluntarily

BRAINSTORM

Can you think of any “responsibilities”?

HOME SCHOOLTEMPLE

COUNTRY

A CITIZEN ’S LEGAL DUTIES

As citizens, we also have duties – things we are required to do.

We must fulfill duties required by national, state, and local

governments or face fines or imprisonment.

BRAINSTORM

CAN YOU THINK OF ANY DUTIES?

CommunityCitizenshipConstitutionCity CharterResponsibilitiesVoluntarilyDuties

VOCABULARY

Keep your pyramid safe, until our next lesson.

Now, take home this reading assignment and fill

the booklet out.

HOMEWORK

DUTIES

1. Obey the Law- Serve specific purposes, such as to help people get

along, prevent accidents, and see that resources are used fairly

2. Pay Taxes

- Government uses tax money to pay police, pave roads, and maintain armed forces. People pay a percentage of what they bring in, or on the sale of goods or even property.

DUTIES

3. Defend the Nation- In the U.S. all men aged 18-25 must register with the government in case the country needs to draft, or call up men for military service; today military service is voluntary.

4. Serve in Court- Every adult citizen must be prepared to serve on a jury or as a witness at a trial if called to do so.

DUTIES

5. Attend School- Most states require young people to attend school until the age of 16.

CIVIC RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Be Informed- Know what the government is doing so that you can voice your opinion.

- People can learn about issues and leaders by reading print publications, listening to news on the radio or T.V., talking o people, and searching the internet

- Be aware of your rights

CIVIC RESPONSIBILITIES

2. Speak Up and Vote- Remember, the government exists to serve you, but you must make your concerns known.

- Calling, writing, or sending e-mails to your elected representatives; joining political parties; working for a cause

- VOTE

CIVIC RESPONSIBILITIES

3. Respect Other’s Rights- people must respect public property and the property of others.

- vandalizing and littering are not only disrespectful but also a crime.

CIVIC RESPONSIBILITIES

4. Respect Diversity- Although we may disagree with people or disapprove of their lifestyles, these people have an equal right to their beliefs and practices

- Tolerance means respecting and accepting others, regardless of their beliefs, practices, or diff erences.

- Diversity in our country is a strength, all citizens are equal and entitled to be treated the same.

CIVIC RESPONSIBILITIES

5. Contribute to the Common Good- Contributing time, eff ort, and money to help others and to improve the community life.

- Be an active participant in your community

CITIZENS AND THE COMMUNITY

Volunteerism is the practice of offering your time and services to others without payment.

Instead of their time, many Americans contribute money to charity

In 2005, people gave more than $250 billion to charity. Average 2% of their income.

Most came from average individual citizens, some came from large corporations.