Informed and Active Citizenry Some Tactics and Strategies Used and Considered by Citizens Within Societies Michael Quinones, NBCT

____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ _____________________________ APK: Activation of Prior Knowledge Write at least 2-3 sentences describing a time when… What would you be willing to do to legally stop this from happening? Question of the Day What are the characteristics of an active citizen? [what does he do or act like]

Term Notes/Definitions Why/how I think the term is important Bias Voting Protest Petition Survey Lobbying

Bias  Most people have personal opinions or points of view.  Our points of view are usually based on our past experiences and how we were raised.  A Bias is a belief or set of beliefs shaped by those personal opinions, points of view or past experiences.  For example, someone might believe “black is beautiful” another person might think “white is beautiful” this is an extreme example.

Vote  In the United States voting is a powerful tool.  Registered voters can vote people out of office if they disagree with the job they did  The power to make decisions through selection leaders.

Protest  Citizens gather in large groups and publicly complain about something they believe is wrong.  Protest can be written, spoken or acted out  Most times you need a police permit if it’s in a public place. Typical street protest or banner rally

Petition  Statement of position or complaint and have people “sign on.”  Leaders are more likely to listen to large groups than small groups.  Why do you think that is?  If many, many citizens show displeasure they might decide to vote as a group.

Survey  Designed to find out about public opinion.  Questions can be asked and information is used to inform leaders about what people think and feel.  Sets of specific questions are called surveys.  Information obtained in surveys can be used to improve or manipulate people.

Lobbying  People can influence lawmakers.  Tell them about issues.  Even pay them to vote in a certain way.  People called who do these types of things are called lobbyists.  Groups who want to get certain laws passed hire lobbyists to convince legislators to pass laws that will favor them.  For example, a tobacco company pays a lobbyist to convince Congress to lower excise taxes on cigarettes. Infamous and once highly influential lobbyist Jack Abramoff

Group Activity  Students form into groups of no more than 4 students and select one [1] of the activities involving active citizens.  Bias  Voting  Protest  Petition  Survey  Lobbying  Create a scenario/skit demonstrating how these tactics can be used by an active citizen to get something done. Make sure your skit is understandable by announcing who each person is before your activity begins. The skit will be shared verbally with the entire class.

Sources  ngMachines.jpg ngMachines.jpg ngMachines.jpg   house/neighborhood/petition_page_4.gif house/neighborhood/petition_page_4.gif house/neighborhood/petition_page_4.gif  humb/5/55/170px-Lynching-1889.jpg humb/5/55/170px-Lynching-1889.jpg humb/5/55/170px-Lynching-1889.jpg  rnet_marketing/Web%20design%20- %20questionnaire.gif rnet_marketing/Web%20design%20- %20questionnaire.gif rnet_marketing/Web%20design%20- %20questionnaire.gif  tent/sitebuilderpictures/Black-girl.jpg