Citizenship Teaching Resources

Bring good citizenship topics to life in your social studies classroom with printable worksheets, activity packs, Google slide decks and more teacher-created resources designed with this social studies standard in mind!

The Teach Starter team of expert teachers has curated a curriculum-aligned collection of US citizenship activities to help students understand the rights, responsibilities and duties of being a member of a community. Save time on your lesson plans with resources carefully curated by expert teachers just for your classroom!

Is this your first year teaching this section of the social studies curriculum, or are you just looking for some fresh ideas? Read on for some tips from our teacher team, including a citizenship definition you can share with your students.

What Is Citizenship? A Kid-Friendly Definition

How do you define citizenship and what it means to be a good citizen for your students? Here's a kid-friendly way to explain the meaning to your class:

Citizenship means being a good community member and following the rules and laws that keep everyone safe and happy.

It also means treating others with kindness and respect, helping when you can and doing your part to make your community a better place.

Key Citizenship Vocabulary Words for Your Lesson Plans

Don't worry; we won't stop there! Here are some of the key vocabulary terms that are bound to come up during your lessons and meanings you can share with your students!

Community

You don't have citizenship without community. This is the word for a group of people living in the same place who share common interests, values, and goals.

Rules

Good citizenship involves following rules or guidelines that help make the community safe and keep things fair.

Laws

US citizenship involves following laws. These are the rules of our country and our communities that are made by the government and enforced by the police and the courts.

Respect

Respect is treating others how you want to be treated, being polite and kind and valuing differences between people.

Responsibility

Responsibility could be defined as being dependable and reliable, doing what you should do and being accountable for your actions. These are all key to good citizenship.

Fairness

Fairness is treating everyone equally and giving people what they deserve based on their actions and needs.

Diversity

The American melting pot is full of diversity — differences in people's backgrounds, cultures, beliefs and abilities.

Equality

Giving everyone the same rights, opportunities, and treatment regardless of their differences is equality.