Activity 1: (20 minutes) WHAT IS A CITIZEN?

Review the Pyramid of Happiness poster. Review the fourth and fifth level of the pyramid and perform that action (strike a superhero pose and star-jump with arms and legs spread out wide). Make the connection of how knowing how to be a good citizen leads to a happier and healthier life. This makes us the best version of ourselves! Remind students about the actions associated with each level of the pyramid. Have a discussion:

• Locate your city or state on a globe or map. Help the children identify the name of the city and state where they live.
• Ask the children if they have ever lived in another town or state than where they currently live.
• Talk about how people live all over the world.

What is a citizen?

• A citizen is a member of a group or community.
• We are citizens of this class.
• We are citizens of our school.
• We are citizens of the place where we live.

What does a citizen do?

• A citizen helps other people.
• A citizen takes care of the world where they live.
• A good citizen loves where they are from.
• A good citizen respects other people and their things.
• A good citizen respects the world around them.
• A good citizen follows rules and laws.

Read, We Are Better Together, by Eileen Spinelli or watch the read-aloud video by Learning From Story. Ask the students to look for ways that the book shows how we are better together. Being a good citizen means that we work together so that we are all better together. Working together and helping each other increases our well-being and helps us be our best super-star selves.

Show the Are You a Good Citizen Poster. Have the children practice mimicking the faces on the poster: A smiling face means “YES,” a frowning or grumpy face means “NO” the ambivalent face in the middle means, “I’m not sure yet.”

Read the list of things a citizen does again and have the children show you with their faces how they feel about their citizenship. Remind them that, with practice, they can become a good citizen by doing the things they don’t do yet.

Activity 2: (15 minutes) CITIZEN RESPONSIBILITIES

It is important for every person to practice good citizenship to keep a happy community and country. Read What If Everybody Did That? by Ellen Javernick or watch the read-aloud video.

Ask the children to consider “What would happen if there were no rules or laws to follow?” Share a few of the following scenarios for the children to think about, or use examples from your class rules. Emphasize the importance of rules, taking care of the spaces where we live, and how everybody doing their part makes your classroom a good place to be.

What if everybody:

• Forgot to clean up after themselves at playtime?
• Threw trash on the floor?
• Drove their car on whatever side of the street or sidewalk they wanted to?
• Took more than their share?
• Pushed people down when they were in their way?
• Dumped garbage in the ocean?
• Decided that they don’t have to follow the rules?

Activity 3: (15 minutes) SAME BUT DIFFERENT

Read Our Class is a Family, by Shannon Olsen or watch the read-aloud video by Ms. Michelle’s Storytime. Discuss the ways that your classroom can be a great community. Have a discussion about the similarities and differences of the citizens in your classroom. Ask the children the following questions (or make up your own) and have them stand up and link hands with someone like them for each question to show the similarities of one another.

• Find a citizen in our class who likes to eat something you like to eat.
• Find a citizen in our class who is wearing the same color as you.
• Find a citizen who has the same color of eyes as you.
• Find a citizen who gets to school the same way as you.
• Find a citizen who has a pet like you.
• Find a citizen who is as tall as you.

Have the children note that they changed partners many times during the activity. We all have things that are the same, and things that are different from one another. To be a good citizen, you don’t have to be just like everyone else. Some citizens are the same, and some are different from one another. All good citizens have some things in common. One thing that good citizens all have the same is that they want to help everyone and protect the world.

Help the children make a list of things they can all agree are ways to be a good citizen in class.

Activity 4: (10 minutes) CITIZEN OF THE DAY

Citizens of communities do things together to help one another and to make where they live a beautiful place to live. Have a discussion of the different ways that the children can be a good citizen in class. Remind them of skills like sharing, being kind and helpful, etc., that they have learned so far that help them be a good citizen. Choose a different child each day to earn the “Citizen of the Day” award. Have them color the Citizen of the Day award. Hang their picture on a wall or bulletin board and cut out the ribbon for them to wear on their shirt. Invite the children to be looking for someone in the class to nominate for Citizen of the Day.

Activity 5: (10 minutes) AMERICAN FLAG

Show the students the map or the globe again and identify the location of the United States. The United States is a group of states, just like ours, that work together to make laws or rules to keep people safe. When you live in the United States, you are a citizen of the United States. The American flag is a symbol that reminds us about being a citizen of the United States. Ask the children to identify places where they have seen the American flag. Encourage them to think about good things they can do for others whenever they see a flag.

Give each child a strip of red, white, and blue colored construction paper. Place an American flag (or a picture of one) near the table and have the children tear small scraps of the construction paper and glue them on the Flag template to create an American flag.

Activity 6: (10 minutes) FOLLOW THE RULES

Help students understand that another thing good citizens do is to follow the rules. Following the rules helps keep us safe and helps keep others around us safe. Make a list together with the students of the different rules we keep. Create a chart and divide it into 3 sections. Label each section “Rules at Home,” “Rules at School,” and “Rules in our Community.” Brainstorm the different rules for each area.

For Rules at School, practice the rules for your classroom and school together. It might be helpful to model what each rule looks like for students and then ask them to model it as well.