Two Great Web Resources for Citizenship Civics

Here are two web sites that have deep resources for citizenship programs. One has great printable material, the other has a large set of recorded podcasts.

The first is the site of CAAELII, an immigrant rights group in Chicago.
To quote from their web site:

English Literacy/Civics (EL/Civics)

ESL in the context of civic participation.
CAAAELII works closely with its partner agencies and their citizenship coordinators to provide integrated English literacy and civics education to immigrant and other limited English proficient population so they may learn how to become active community members.
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Education: Much more than traditional citizenship classes, we have developed and continue to fine tune an integrative English-as-a-Second-Language/Civics curriculum that not only prepares our students to pass the Citizenship test, but also encourages them to become better citizens, and even civic leaders.
Curriculum and Teacher Development: Our Teacher's Tool Box contains specific lesson plans that educate our students about civics, and gives them the information they need to engage in civic activities in their neighborhoods and beyond.

The strength of their program is in the Teacher's Toolbox:

English Language, Civics and Citizenship Teacher's Toolbox

The Teacher’s Toolbox integrates components of English language learning with practical plans for student involvement in communities at the local, state and national levels. The plans are designed so that teachers can adapt them for use in their classrooms with a minimum of preparation time. Handouts and Internet links are included as resources with most of the lessons.

The twenty customized lesson plans cover diverse topics... Make the latest technology available to teachers... The goals of these lessons are to teach students English, to educate them about their civic rights and responsibilities, and to give them the tools they need to make changes in their own lives, as well as those of their families and communities.
*****
We welcome anyone who has an interest in teaching their students English and Civics to download these lessons."

The second site is that of http://www.uscitizenpod.com/

You can listen to all 96 new civics and history questions as well as 12 practice interviews.

Here's a sample.

 with a lot of downloadable printed backup. You can download a sample of one of many nicely formatted mock interviews here.

Although it requires an internet connection to take advantage of the spoken resources, if available it's a great way for applicants to get familiar with the sounds of English outside of the classroom setting.

List of possible topics

The following is an initial working list of topics for possible blog posts. It is not comprehensive. I’m sure that many more topics will arise or be suggested by readers. Some will be consolidated with others. Some will go unexplored because they are beyond the scope of this venue, outside of my competency range, or there just isn’t enough time. Perhaps those topics will be taken up by others. Please comment freely about what you want discussed and why. Ask your colleagues. The more input the better.

Program design
What is the best medium for the delivery of program materials?
Integrating citizenship with ESOL and other programs
Reaching out to other groups for collaboration and scale
Measuring results to determine efficacy and areas of focus
Applying the principals of continual improvement to the program
Who to include in a working group for program design
Building community, facilitating and accelerating information transfer among learners and tutors through electronic media
The role of the web, email, blogs Facebook, iPods and other electronic and social media in program design and implementation
Why is conversation so important?
What is the best group size?
What is the best mix of English to native language?
Integrating with legal and other service professionals
Using software and online tools to design a program
Using the resources of affiliated groups
Whether to use specialists to tutor different aspects of a program?

Materials
What civics/history materials and programs are available to use right now?
• Books
• Web sites
• Downloads
• Movies and documentaries
• Government
• Commercial sites and DVDs
• Local volunteer groups
• National advocacy groups
• Library owned

What ESOL materials are available to use or adapt for targeted use
• Books
• Web sites
• Downloads
• Movies and documentaries
• Government
• Commercial sites and DVDs
• Local volunteer groups
• National advocacy group
• Library owned

Basic copyright rules
Using program created printed materials
PDFs vs printed

Curriculum
How to build competency in writing
Which of the civics questions are the most difficult? Easiest? Most confusing?
Moving from abstract to concrete: how to choose, organize and formalize curriculum and materials.
How should ESOL, civics and interview techniques be integrated?
What’s the best structure for a lesson?
What is the vocabulary and grammar for interview situations?
Of this material, what is most important? Most misunderstood?
What is the key vocabulary and grammar for the civics questions?
Of this material, what is most important? Most misunderstood?
What is the essential ESOL content?
How time constraints drive the curriculum?
Homework: what kind, how much?

The interview
Is the new interview harder than the former?
What are the key interview techniques?
Debriefing the applicants after the interview
Identifying common interview patterns
Conducting a mock interview

Applicants
How much money commitment can you ask of the learners?
Enlisting learners in the program design and discovery process
Involving learners as tutoring assistants
How should a program or tutor handle legal questions?
How to identify those with potential legal issues
How to identify those with more pressing ESOL needs
Getting involved in the application process
How citizenship applicants are different from other ESOL learners?
How their culture affects learning

Tutors
Recruiting tutors
What skills does a successful tutor need?

Administration
How to find money
How to apply for money

Why this blog?

What this blog is about
This blog is about trying to design and implement an instructional program for those preparing to take the interview to become a naturalized United States citizen. It is intended for ESOL coordinators, program directors, volunteer tutors and others responsible for helping applicants meet the final challenge in their quest for the security and opportunity of being an American.

Why it's needed
Many applicants don’t seek help until shortly before the interview, often not until they receive the appointment letter. This leaves weeks, not months, to prepare. If the applicants all came from English speaking countries there would be no need for them to come to us. They could simply buy a book or download a guide, study for a week or two, and then pass easily. But because many have limited facility in English they need help in the all-important skill of answering the questions of the interviewer that are based on the personal information contained in the application, as well as learning to answer the civics and history questions.

What is needed is a holistic approach that teaches grammar and vocabulary specifically targeted for the interview, together with the civics and history material, in a compressed time frame, with continual interaction in an English based conversational setting.

How it came to be
I began to tutor a citizenship group about two years ago after tutoring literacy and ESOL for three years. I tried to find a suitable syllabus to teach civics and history, thinking that was my mission. I based my early classes on USCIS and other material that I found. But then one of my students failed his interview for the second time because he could not understand and respond to simple questions from the interviewer. I realized then that the applicants needed more than just civics. I searched for an appropriate syllabus but could not find one. So I started to develop my own program that combines targeted ESOL, interview strategies, and American civics and history.

What my background is
I’m a volunteer at the Plainfield, NJ library with no formal teacher schooling beyond the ProLiteracy basic tutor training. My total academic teaching experience is two semesters of one course in a design school. The majority of my students are Latino. I am not bilingual but did recently study Spanish for several semesters at the local community college. I run a printing company and have a degree in art.

What a good outcome looks like
I want to develop a syllabus and collection of related materials that any program, tutor or student can access to simplify and standardize preparation for the interview.

Disclaimer
I am not an attorney, attorneys have not reviewed this blog, and nothing contained herein should be considered legal advice. If you think or suspect that an applicant has a situation that needs legal help, direct him or her to competent counsel. The views contained in this blog are mine alone and are not necessarily those of any group that I am affiliated with.

Call for comments
I need your help. Any comments or suggestions, positive or negative, are needed to shape and refine this project. Don’t hold back. Let me know what you think about what you see and what you would like to see. Point us to any sites or other material that you think will be helpful, especially on the ESOL side. Thanks.