AY Honors/Christian Citizenship

Christian Citizenship
Spiritual Growth, Outreach and Heritage
Skill Level 123
Approval authority General Conference	Year of Introduction 1938

• Overview
• Requirements
• Answer Key
• Lesson Plans

AY Honors/Christian Citizenship/Overview

The most challenging requirement of this honor is probably this:

6. Have an interview with a local, regional, or national official of your country, and learn about his duties.

1. Describe the national, state or provincial, AY, Pathfinder, and Christian flags.

2. Know how to display the national flag with two other flags under the following situations:

a. Camp out/camporee

b. Fair

c. Pathfinder Day program

d. Parade

3. Demonstrate how to fold and salute your national flag. Mention when and how it should be displayed.

4. Explain the meaning of and reason for the National Anthem, and recite the words from memory.

5. Give the rights and responsibilities of a citizen of your country.

6. Have an interview with a local, regional, or national official of your country, and learn about his duties.

7. Write a one-page essay or give a two-minute oral report about a famous person in your country. Mention what this person has done to gain recognition.

8. Do one of the following:

a. Make a list of ten famous quotations from leaders of your country.

b. Make a list of ten famous historic places in your country.

c. Make a list of ten famous historic events in your country.

9. Describe what you can do as a citizen to help your church and country.

10. Go through the steps of an individual acquiring citizenship in the country and learn how this is done.

11. Know how to explain the process of government in your country.

12. Explain the meaning of this statement Jesus made in Matthew 22:21: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.

13. Explain why laws are established in your country.

Edit Answer Key

1

Describe the national, state or provincial, AY, Pathfinder, and Christian flags.

Teaching Tip

Materials:

Have either the physical flag or large printouts in color of the following flags: national, local state/province, AY, Pathfinder, Christian

Procedure:

Have one participant for each flag and hold up their flag when it's their turn. Have each participant describe out loud what they see on the flag and what it looks like. Encourage them to point to what they are verbally describing. They can also mention what each color and/or symbol represents, if they know or remember.

Example: Youth that is holding the Christian flag can say: "This is the Christian flag and it's mostly white with a blue square in the corner and a red cross in the square. White means purity, blue means the baptismal waters, red means the blood of Christ."

Teaching Tip

Materials:

Pictures or images in color of the following flags: national, local state/province, AY, Pathfinder, Christian; five blank sheets of paper (one for each flag) for each participant; colored pencils, markers, crayons, pens, etc.

Procedure:

1. Show or post the pictures where all the participants can see.
2. Have them attempt to draw and color each flag on a different sheet of paper.
3. Choose a different participant for each of the five flags and have him/her explain as much as they can about the colors and any symbolism

2

Know how to display the national flag with two other flags under the following situations:

a. Camp out/camporee

b. Fair

c. Pathfinder Day program

d. Parade

Teaching Tip

Materials:

Flags, flag poles with stands

Procedure:

Review with the participants the protocols for each one of the four situations. Divide them into teams, assign them one of the scenarios and have them display up front how it is done.

Teaching Tip

Materials:

Images of the flags placed correctly for each one of the four situations

Procedure:

Show each of the images to the participants, one by one, and quiz them by having them identify what event is taking place, based on the positioning of the flags.

Resources:

This web site is very helpful for all situations: Betsy Ross and the American Flag

3

Demonstrate how to fold and salute your national flag. Mention when and how it should be displayed.

Teaching Tip

Materials:

Multiple flags (or rectangular pieces of fabric representing flags) ready for folding

Procedure:

After having demonstrated to the participants how to fold correctly, divide them into teams of at least three. Give each team a flag. Ask them to take turns folding it correctly; each member must fold the flag and take it to the instructor for inspection. The instructor will critique as necessary and reteach where applicable.

Teaching Tip

Materials:

A flag (or rectangular piece of fabric representing a flag) and a pole to display the flag.

Procedure:

After having demonstrated to the participants how to salute correctly, have the participants fall in as usual and give the order to salute. Inspect to make sure the salutes are being done correctly.

4

Explain the meaning of and reason for the National Anthem, and recite the words from memory.

Teaching Tip

Materials:

Pictures of any historical connections to the national anthem (the author, the country, events, etc.)

Procedure:

Tell the story of the writing of the national anthem. Show or display the pictures while you tell the story.

Teaching Tip

Materials:

Pictures of any historical connections to the national anthem (the author, the country, events, etc.)

Procedure:

In a small club, have the participants work together to create a display board using the pictures provided about the history and meaning of the national anthem. In a larger club, divide the participants into teams and have them create the display board.

5

Give the rights and responsibilities of a citizen of your country.

Teaching Tip

Materials:

Chalkboard or whiteboard; chalk or markers

Procedure:

Ask the participants what they think or believe are some of their rights. Write them on the board and ask afterward whether these appear in the founding documents of the country. Go over other rights that might have been missed.

Teaching Tip

Materials:

Appropriate props for a skit

Procedure:

Divide participants into teams. Each team can come up and present a skit with either one of the rights or many rights included. No two teams should present the same right if teams are only presenting one right.

6

Have an interview with a local, regional, or national official of your country, and learn about his duties.

Teaching Tip

Materials:

N/A

Procedure:

Make a call to any community provider (such as police stations, fire stations, clerk of courts, etc.) and ask if a representative is able to visit while in uniform. Have the participants ask questions and interview the visitor.

7

Write a one-page essay or give a two-minute oral report about a famous person in your country. Mention what this person has done to gain recognition.

Teaching Tip

Materials:

Poster boards, writing materials, scissors, glue, etc.

Procedure:

Participants can research and print out or color or provide images and snippets of facts or narratives mentioning the importance of their famous person. This famous person can be someone still alive today or from their local community also. Have the participant present the poster board and explain about the person they researched for the two-minute oral report.

8

Do one of the following:

Teaching Tip

Materials:

Bulletin board

Procedure:

Have participants find and print out famous quotations from leaders, historic places, or historic events (or all of the above) and place them on the bulletin board for all to see. This can include more than ten (ten is a minimum).

10

Go through the steps of an individual acquiring citizenship in the country and learn how this is done.

Teaching Tip

Materials:

N/A

Procedure:

If there is a naturalized citizen available, invite this person to speak and give his/her testimony of what the process was like. Allow participants to ask questions.