En anglais

The Many Jobs of a Citizen

Civics & Economics · Citizenship in Action · ages 11-14

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Which of these is an example of being a taxpayer?
- Voting in an election
- Paying taxes
- Serving on a jury
What does a juror do in a trial?
- Weighs evidence for the verdict
- Writes the laws for the country
- Collects signatures for a petition
A protester's main job is to gather formal evidence for a court case.
Circle one: True False
Which goal would most likely need more than a local petition to succeed?
- Changing a country-wide rule
- Adding a bike rack outside a library
- Getting a stop sign at a nearby corner
Maya wants her town to add a crosswalk near her school. What's her best first move?
- Try to get a new national law passed
- Wait for a court case about it
- Start a local petition and bring it to the town council
A neighborhood group and one resident both want a park repaired. Who has a better chance of getting the city council's attention?
- The one resident, because officials always listen to individuals first
- The neighborhood group, because more voices are harder to ignore
- Neither, since city councils never consider requests
Two friends disagree: one says a single volunteer can always accomplish as much as a large organized group; the other says a group always achieves more, no matter the goal. Who is more accurate?
- Neither: small local goals often need one person; large or wide-reaching goals usually need a group.
- The second friend, since groups are always better no matter what
- The first friend, since one person's effort is always what matters most
Diego collects 15 signatures from his street and mails them to the national government, expecting a nationwide law to change within a week. What's the most likely problem with his plan?
- The government doesn't accept petitions at all
- National laws only change through court cases
- 15 signatures don't ensure change in a week

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

The Many Jobs of a Citizen W1-mt_G6PCjvFUCO-s1

Paying taxes · Taxes are money citizens pay that governments use to fund shared things like schools and roads.
Weighs evidence for the verdict · A juror listens to the evidence presented in court and helps decide what happened.
False · A protester draws public attention to an issue. Weighing evidence for a case is a juror's job, not a protester's.
Changing a country-wide rule · A country-wide rule affects far more people, so it usually takes a bigger, longer effort than one local petition.
Start a local petition and bring it to the town council · A local, specific problem like this is exactly the kind of goal a local petition and council meeting can handle.
The neighborhood group, because more voices are harder to ignore · Officials tend to notice issues more people care about, so an organized group usually carries more weight than one voice.
Neither: small local goals often need one person; large or wide-reaching goals usually need a group. · What one person versus a group can achieve depends on the size of the goal, not a fixed rule.
15 signatures don't ensure change in a week · A small petition can influence lawmakers, but it cannot guarantee their decision or timing. National campaigns often take longer and need wider support, so Diego should not count on a change within a week.