My ESL students learn about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship mainly in their ESL and ESL Canadian Studies classes. The ESL Canadian Studies course is new this semester and it was created to provide Beginner ESL learners with the background knowledge (Canadian geography, history, society and government), skills and vocabulary they require to do well in secondary level social studies classes. In the ESL classes, the rights and responsibilities of citizenship are dealt with as "teachable moments" as they come up in daily discussions. We do a lot of comparing of life in Canada to life in other countries around the world. Many of these learners and their families will choose to become Canadian citizens, so they need to learn all of this.

A large part of our focus on citizenship involves active participation. As a class, the students are asked to identify a problem or concern that they have in their school or community. Working collaboratively, students come up with and carry out a plan to help facilitate change. The goal is to have students recognize that citizens can make a difference through active participation.

During the year, we also examine citizenship from a historical perspective, looking at how the idea of citizenship has changed over time. Specifically, we examine how individual and collective rights have changed by examining issues such as the impact of residential schools, or the struggle to win the vote for females. Students research one such issue, and then create short documentary pieces to demonstrate their learning. In creating their movies, they also have to explore how things like the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms have changed our idea of citizenship and have protected our individual and collective rights.

I am sure that a class set of Kayak: Citizenship Special magazines would be a fantastic resource in helping our students to learn more about citizenship and the importance of active participation in a democratic society. Thank you for your consideration!

What are you doing in your classroom to help students learn about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship?

I first posed this question to my students to see what their perceptions were. There were a few of the traditional responses, that they learned about rights and responsibilities at school, in class, from library books and textbook materials. They also indicated that they learn about it through the experiences of others and talking with people outside of school as well as at community activities and festivals. Many students indicated that they contributed to these independently volunteering or along side the adults in their family. They are committed to giving back to their community and see this as their responsibility.

What students don't see is the leg work that goes on behind the scenes of what happens in class. My colleagues and I collaborate on a weekly basis to create engaging, real world scenarios. We engage students in inquiry, posing questions that get at the big ideas behind the challenge of coexistence and the hard work of getting along. Like some of the others who have responded, we, too, are a Tribes school and feel that it is a perfect fit with social studies as we go along our Tribes trail exercising the four agreements: attentive listening, appreciation and no put downs, mutual respect and the right to pass. We spent time early in the year getting to know each other in our class community, holding community circles at the beginning and end of each week to get to know each other. We have moved beyond simply identifying each others strengths and what makes us unique to exercising our positive influence over others by modeling and gentile reminders. As students continue on their Tribes journey they will become more independent learners while looking out for their peers at the same time, being both responsible for themselves as well as others.

We try to break down the walls of the classroom as much as possible, inviting guest speakers into our classes to speak about their responsibilities whether it is a provincial court judge, our Member of Parliament or a speaker from the Passages to Canada program. In this last instance, an immigrant to Canada can speak about their first hand experience about the rights that Canadians have that are much different from the rights of citizens in other countries.

As global citizens, we explore further the situation in Afghanistan, comparing our own unique experience to the young people there through the resources available through Women for Afghanistan and World Vision. Understanding Human Rights in Afghanistan, provided by Women for Afghanistan, has been an invaluable resource.

Lastly, as much as possible, we use outside resources, often provided by local, provincial and federal governments, including Statistics Canada, which generously provide multiple copies for students. Students receive individual copies of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and use How Canadians Govern Themselves, Our Country, Our Parliament, FAQs about The Canadian House of Commons and The Senate of Canada. When these resources and others are available online, we link to them from our intranet for students to use at school and outside of school, where they are available to them 24/7.

Arlene Lipkewich
Teacher-Librarian
A. Blair McPherson School
http://ablairmcpherson/

We have recently discussed the issue of voting responsibilities during the recent Federal election. The students had a wide variety of opinions about the importance and relevance of citizens voting. We discussed the idea of not a true majority government as only 58% of eligible voters actually voted. We watched Rick Mercer's rant on voting and also saw a YouTube video showing "voting mobs", a strategy invented by Rick Mercer to encourage the youth vote. All of these discussions had an impact on the class. Grade 6 students are at the age when they are beginning to develop their independent thinking and decision-making. Several of them commented on how their views were changing and that they will definitely consider voting when they turn 18.