Name: Week of: Period:
Who is a citizen?
M o n d ay “As long as I live, I will never forget that day 21 years ago
when I raised my hand and took the oath of citizenship.
Quoted Do you know how proud I was? I was so proud that I
walked around with an American flag around my
shoulders all day long.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
A citizen is a legal member of a state or country. Do you know anyone who
immigrated to America and has gone through the naturalization process to
become a U.S. citizen? Also, if you could move to another country, which
would you choose, and why?
T u e s d ay Vocabulary W e d n e s d ay draw it out
Draw a picture defining each term:
An immigrant is a person
who comes to a country to
live there permanently.
Unless you are Native
American, your family at
some point in history
immigrated to America.
Do you know where your
law of blood: if a child’s biological mother
family originally came from? or father is a U.S. citizen, the child is
automatically a citizen.
law of soil: if a child is born on U.S. soil
(or at a military base), they are
automatically a citizen
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T h u r s d ay becoming a citizen
The naturalization process is the process by which an immigrant to America
becomes a United States citizen. If an immigrant wants to become a U.S. citizen,
they must:
o be at least 18 years old.
o have been a resident of the United States for five years
o read, write, and speak English
o pass a test on American history and the U.S. Constitution
o swear an oath of loyalty to the country
o be of good moral character
What do you think that last requirement, to “be of good moral
character” means?
F r i d ay All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state
natural
wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor
rights shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.
– U.S. Constitution, 14th Amendment, Section 1 (1868)
Simply stated, the 14th Amendment defines citizenship as anyone born in the United
States or naturalized. As a citizen, the government cannot take away their natural
rights to life, liberty, or property, or deny them equal protection under the law.
A natural right is a right someone was born with that no one can take away. Consider
the three rights listed above, and write a little about what each one means to you.
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