Civics Information

Within the context of civic participation, low English skills hamper day-to-day activities for nonnative residents. Tasks such as getting a drivers’ license, applying for a job, seeking social services become incredibly complex because of the language barrier. Thanks to a grant from the Virginia Department of Education, Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville will be providing civics education to help our ESL students fulfill their potential in our community and improve their quality of life. We’re calling this program “Community Connection” because it actively connects our students to their community.

Many of our EL/Civics students have little exposure to the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, naturalization procedures, civic participation, and U.S. history and government. By including Civics education in our curriculum, our learners gain the tools to become active citizens, informed parents who can fully participate in their children’s educational process, better employees and consumers, and engaged community members. They will begin to understand their rights and the rights of others. They experience volunteerism through their relationship with their volunteer tutor who encourages them to find ways to share their own gifts, talents, and culture with our community. Our students have a variety of values, experiences, traditions and culture to share and Charlottesville and Albemarle can be enriched by their participation in our society.

We have a number of special events planned for the Community Connection program— lunch with a city official, field trips, and weekend learning opportunities. Our Civics Coordinator, Paige Zelikow, will be leading this program.

Resources:

Please be sure to make use of the following resources on the Citizenship shelf in our library. One or more of these resources will better help your learner study for the citizenship test.

Beginning Literacy
• Citizenship Passing the Test – Literacy Skills by Lynne Weintraub
• Vocabulary Flash Cards
• Civics Flash Cards

Intermediate and Above
• Citizenship – Passing the Test by Lynne Weintraub
• Voices of Freedom by Bill Bliss
• Integrating Civics and U.S. Citizenship Education into the Adult ESOL Classroom
• Preparing for the U.S. Citizenship Interview by LVCA
• Learn About the United States, Quick Civics Lessons
• What Gives you the Right? By Alan Venable
• Civics Flash Cards

CDs, DVDs and Internet
• The USCIC Naturalization Interview and Test CD
• A Promise of Freedom and Becoming a U.S. Citizen DVD
• Pass the New Citizenship Test & Interview DVD

Lesson Plans and Activities from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

EL Civics Government and History Lessons for ESL Students from ELcivics.com

Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems

Listed below are some noteworthy Student Achievements in the area of Civics during 2010-2011… we expect more in 2012!
Entered employment: 23 students
Obtained a better job: 11 students
Improved work skills: 69 students
Increased involvement in children’s education: 36 students
Learned about money/banking skills: 5 students
Obtained a library card: 7 students
Achieved citizenship skills: 25 students
Obtained U.S. Citizenship: 6 students
Entered post-secondary education: 5 students