Teacher’s Brain

How To Teach Students To Be A Good Citizen

We teach many things in the primary grades like math, writing, and reading. Apart from that, we also teach things like social skills, listening, following directions, and how to be kind. Another important subject to teach is how to be a good citizen. 

Students can be good citizens by following rules, being responsible, helping others, being respectful, and making good decisions. This doesn’t come naturally to younger learners, so we must remember this concept and include it in our lessons. 

I created my Civics and Government resource to help teach about rules and the importance of being a good citizen! 

citizen

This resource covers many concepts that will give students a strong foundation. They’ll learn how to become good citizens by teaching them about rules and laws, conflicts, and fair decisions in a fun and engaging way. It has a tattle tale lesson plan, interactive notebook pages, posters, center activities, and a Write the Room Activity.

citizen

Included in this resource you’ll get 9 full weeks of lesson plans including: 

  • Weekly detailed lesson plans for 9 Weeks
  • Home Connection parent letter
  • American History journal cover
  • Word Bank for the Journal
  • KWL
  • Printables to insert as a journal or use individually covering 9 weeks of American history
  • Rubric for the journal 
  • Nine interactive notebook pages (suggested to do once a week on Fridays)
  • An optional Interactive Notebook (If you don’t already have a spiral started for students to create their interactive pages.)
  • Classroom posters
  • Primary source activity
  • Months of the year (What Comes Next)
  • Write the Room activity
  • Sort the Pictures (rules vs laws)
  • Tattle Tale Officer – Teach students the difference of being helpful or hurtful
  • Big Problem, Medium Problem, Small Problem Posters

citizen

These activities can be used on their own or in centers! After this unit, students will understand how to be good citizens and the importance and value of rules. Check it out here! 

Looking for more resources for elementary? Check out these engaging geography activities! 

In what ways do you like to teach students to be good citizens? Let me know in the comments!

citizen


 

Teaching Your Students About Civics and Government

Civics and government is a very important part of your kindergarten and first grade students’ education. Understanding the basics including rules and laws is going to be vital as they grow up and enter the world. Unfortunately, it can seem a little dry trying to teach it in a way that your students will find fun and interesting. 

To do this, you want to find engaging lesson plans for your students so they will not only learn the material, but really understand and retain it. The key is to make your lessons fun! This is especially important with any lessons you do for kindergarten and first graders. The more fun the lessons are, the more interested they will be, the more they will learn! 

I have you covered with my Civics and Government bundle!

This extensive resource includes nine full weeks of detailed lesson plans and everything you need for the entire unit. You’ll also get a home connection parent letter, American History Journal with a wordbank, a rubric for the journal, 9 interactive notebook pages, and posters for your classroom, 

This Civics and Government resource will cover:

  • Primary Sources
  • Sequencing events
  • Calendar Skills
  • Being a GOOD Citizen
  • Rules and Laws
  • Conflicts and Fair Decisions

Extras included for centers: primary source activity, months of the year (what comes next), sort the pictures activity (rules vs laws),  Tattle Tale Officer Activity (to teach your students the difference between being helpful and hurtful), big problem, medium problem, and small problem posters, and a Write the Room Activity (a great way to incorporate writing into your social studies lessons). 

I created this resource to make your life easier and take the stress out of lesson planning! My goal is that this resource will cover all standards and truly engage your students so that they learn and retain the lessons. 

Check out my tips for for social distancing while teaching here! 

civics and government
civics and government

 

Do you have any tips for making civics and government fun? Let me know in the comments below! 

civics and government