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This is an engaging and student-friendly video that helps to explain our republic and some of the duties citizens are responsible for. This is helpful because it outlines each person in the local, state, and federal government. Students should use this video to deepen their knowledge of what it means to be a citizen.

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This is a short article explaining citizenship in a student-friendly way. This is helpful for students to understand the duties of citizens and citizens under the age of 18. Students can use this article to complete their assignment.

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Being a citizen of a nation provides a person with both rights and responsibilities. However, citizens who are too young to vote or serve in the military can still exercise civic responsibility through other means of service.

Subjects

Social Studies, Civics

Image

English Jury Summons Letter

Serving on a jury to pass judgment on an accused person is a common responsibility for citizens. Those asked to serve on a jury often receive a summons letter, like this form from England, United Kingdom.

Photograph by Chris Harris/Alamy stock photo

Every minute of every day, the United States gains roughly four new citizens. Citizenship is belonging to a nation. Most people on Earth hold citizenship in one nation or another. Whether one gains citizenship through birth or through naturalization, all citizens carry a blend of rights and responsibilities.

Rights of a Citizen

Many of the rights U.S. citizens enjoy are listed in the Bill of Rights, which contains the first 10 amendments to the nation's Constitution. A few of these are the right to express oneself, to practice the religion of one's choice, and to have a fair trial before a jury if accused of a crime. When turning 18, a U.S. citizen gains the right to vote in civil elections. Once immigrants have passed a citizenship test and taken an oath of allegiance, they have the same rights as a person born in the United States except the right to run for president or vice president.

Responsibilities of a Citizen

Since every citizen has the right to a trial by jury, serving on a jury is another responsibility of citizenship. Citizens are expected to be loyal to their nation. When immigrants become citizens, they swear an oath to support the Constitution, to defend the country if needed, and to obey the law. Although U.S. law does not force people to vote, being a good citizen includes voting and being well-informed.

It is possible to hold dual nationality-that is, to be a citizen of two countries at once. A person may be a dual citizen because they have parents of two different nationalities. For example, a child who is born to an American mother and a father from Brazil may choose to hold citizenship in both countries. One can also marry into dual nationality; for example, someone from the United States who marries a Canadian and goes to live in Canada may take on Canadian citizenship in addition to the nationality they were born with.

Citizenship Under 18

It is not necessary to wait for voting age to start being an active citizen. Almost every community offers volunteer opportunities for citizens who are not yet adults. One town in the U.S. state of Maryland invites middle school students to serve temporarily as its mayor and council. A New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, high school opened in 2018 with a focus on involving its students in meeting the community's needs. Students can also be citizen scientists who work on solving problems that affect the entire global community, such as plastic contamination of the oceans.

Citizenship Outside the United States

Some countries require all their citizens to perform a period of service. All Israeli citizens spend two to three years in the military with a few exceptions. South Korea requires military service by all men, although it has recently allowed a limited exception. Other nations have nonmilitary service requirements. For example, Nigeria's university students must all spend a year in the National Youth Service Corps before graduating. They do volunteer community service, usually in an unfamiliar part of their country, where they learn about the culture of that area.

Ceasing to Be a Citizen

Citizenship can be lost. If a U.S. citizen swears an oath to a foreign government, especially to enter into military service, this may result in the loss of their U.S. citizenship. Running for office in another country and committing treason (betraying one's country to an enemy nation) are other possible ways of losing citizenship. It is also possible to give up one's citizenship. A person who wants to renounce citizenship usually states an intention to stop being a U.S. citizen and become a citizen of another country.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

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Being a citizen of a nation provides a person with both rights and responsibilities. However, citizens who are too young to vote or serve in the military can still exercise civic responsibility through other means of service.

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This activity helps students connect real life scenarios to civic duties. Students should use this resource to discuss the duty and what could happen if it was neglected.

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This diagram shows the mandatory v. voluntary duties of a citizen. This is helpful because it shows the difference. Students should use this to get an understanding of mandatory and voluntary civic duties.

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This is a student-friendly video that helps explain the responsibilities of citizenship. It outlines how responsibilities are different than obligations, this will help students understand the difference. Students should use this resource to complete their project.

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Responsibilities of citizenship | Citizenship | High school civics | Khan Academy

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This activity helps students to differentiate between a right and a responsibility of a citizen. They will be able to put in their own words what each side means.

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CREATE A DIAGRAM OF THE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILTIES FOR CITIZENS OF WV