I have an ongoing research project with the five fourth grade classes at our school. Using books and online resources, they research the100 potential questions asked on the test to achieve U.S. citizenship. One of our library volunteers, a Mom originally from the Philippines, happened into the room where the questions were displayed, and remarked to me that she had had to take that test when she became a citizen in 2005. As we talked about the process, I asked if she might want to share her experience with the students. She accepted eagerly and prepared an informative and entertaining Powerpoint show.
She starts with a hypothetical situation, imagining that each child is an alien desiring admittance to the United States from some other planet in our solar system. She describes the possible reasons one might leave their planet (natural disaster, lack of employment opportunity, persecution, war) and the process by which they might be admitted to the U.S. She told them about the lottery offered to applicants from underrepresented countries (Did you know over 12 million people apply to participate in this lottery and only 50,000 are accepted each year?) She demonstrated such a system by drawing one number from a class of 22. Here is the lucky winner in Mrs. Shoemake's class. Her prize? A permanent resident alien card.
She then outlined the steps to achieving citizenship using a timeline, diagrams and charts.
By the end of the period we all had a better understanding of the process and a much greater appreciation of how lucky we are to be citizens by birth.
Just for fun, all you American citizens, see how you would do on the civics test.: http://uscitizennow.com/index.htm
