Citizenship

At my studio, we focus on a different character trait each month, so I thought it would be fun to share what we do for April in this article. In April we teach our students

about Citizenship. It is a great time of year to talk about how we can all be good citizens. Earth Day is in April every year so that always gives us good topics of conversation and many activities.

There are many different activities you can do inside the classroom to help teach your students about Citizenship. I am going to share four fun activities that you can easily implement this month.

Activity #1 How To Be A Good Citizen
For this activity:
1. Give each student a blank piece of paper and crayons. a. (You can also use the printout in the resource folder. This will save you time)
2. Have them draw themselves in the center of the page.
3. Have them write what makes a good citizen around the person. ( I like to have them write a line out from the person and then write the word or phrase.)
4. When they are done, have each student show you and stand in front of the class to recite what they put on their paper.
5. Take a picture of each student and of the class to share with their parents.

I love this activity and so do the students. I

also love having them recite what makes a good citizen because not only does it reaffirm what they put on the paper, but it also helps them become more comfortable talking in front of their peers and helps them build their confidence.

Activity #2 Citizenship Challenge

Below you will find a list of challenges or talking points that you can have with your students. I like to introduce the concept of citizenship with my classes the first week of April and then give them challenges and ask them these questions throughout the month to raise their awareness. I pick my favorite challenges from this list based on the age and personality of the students in my class.

1. How can we make our neighborhood, our schools, our world a better place?
2. How can we cooperate and work well with others?
3. What does it mean to obey the laws and rules?
4. How can we be good neighbors?
5. How can we protect the environment?
6. How can we get involved and stay informed in our school, our neighborhood,
7. How can I be a good citizen at school or at the dance studio?

Activity #3 Earth Day- I Spy…
I spy is something kids of all ages love. The

Earth Day I Spy is a worksheet in which
students can count the number of each item on the page and total them at the bottom. I created our own that the students can color for some extra fun. Click HERE to download the worksheet. Before I hand out the worksheet, I always talk about earth day and how we can be good citizens and protect our earth.

Activity #4 Play Videos
A fun way to talk to your students about Good Citizenship is by showing them a video and then having a discussion afterward. Here are links to two different videos that we use at our studio.

Video 1: For younger students
Video 2: For older students

These four fun activities are great to incorporate into your lessons during the month of April. I encourage you to pick your favorite and give it a try. It changes up your lesson plans and keeps your students engaged and excited to come back week after week in the spring when they tend to get spring fever. It also helps teach the next generation to be good citizens. In my resource folder, I also included a Citizen worksheet that I like to use with my students as well.