Citizenship (First Step Nonfiction)

by Ann-Marie Kishel

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by Ann-Marie Kishel

a Lerner Publications Company · Minneapolis

What does it mean to be a citizen? 2

A citizen is a member of a country. 3

Someone born in the United States is a U.S. citizen. 4

Other people work to become U.S. citizens. 5

There are steps to becoming a U.S. citizen. 6

First, people learn about the United States. 7

Then they take a test. 8

Finally, new citizens promise to be good citizens. 9

Citizens have responsibilities. 10

They vote for their leaders. 11

They obey laws. 12

Good citizens show respect for others. 13

They work to make the community a better place. 14

They care for the environment. 15

Citizens take care of one another. 16

Are you a good citizen? 17

How to Become a U.S. Citizen (If you were not born in the United States) Live in the U.S. for at least five years.

Be a good citizen.

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Know English.

Send in an application.

Learn about U.S. government.

Learn about U.S. history.

Take a test.

Take the oath of citizenship. Agree to be a good citizen.

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Citizenship Facts An immigrant is a person who moves to a country from another country. The test to become a U.S. citizen has questions about the United States and its history. The Bill of Rights explains the rights of everyone living in the United States. It is not just the rights of citizens.

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The president of the United States has to be born in the United States. A citizen must be at least 18 years old in order to vote. Good citizens learn about elections. They understand what they are voting for.

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Glossary citizen – an official member of a country community – the area where a group of people live laws – rules that tell us how we can act responsibilities – things that we should do vote – to make a choice

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Index community - 14 country - 3, 20 immigrant - 20 responsibilities - 10 United States - 4, 7, 20-21 vote - 11, 21

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Copyright © 2007 by Lerner Publications Company All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publications Company, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. The photographs in this book are reproduced with the permission of: Comstock Images, front cover; © Photodisc Green/Getty Images, pp. 2, 4; © Jeff Topping/Getty Images, pp. 3, 22 (top); © Karl Stolleis/Getty Images, p. 5; © Paula Bronstein/Getty Images, p. 6; © Digital Vision/Getty Images, pp. 7, 11, 17, 22 (bottom); © Jose Luis Pelaez, Inc./CORBIS, p. 8; © Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images, p. 9; © Junko Kimura/Getty Images, pp. 10, 22 (second from bottom); © Blend Images/SuperStock, pp. 12, 22 (middle); © Randy Faris/CORBIS, p. 13; © Ted Spiegel/CORBIS, pp. 14, 22 (second from top); © Craig Hammell/CORBIS, p. 15; © Photodisc Blue/Getty Images, p. 16; Illustrations on pp. 18-19 by © Bill Hauser/Independent Picture Service. Lerner Publishing Company A division of Lerner Publishing Group 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A. Website address: www.lernerbooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kishel, Ann-Marie. Citizenship / by Ann-Marie Kishel. p. cm. — (First step nonfiction) Includes index. ISBN-13: 978–0–8225–6398–3 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0–8225–6398–3 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper) 1. Citizenship—United States—Juvenile literature. I. Title. JK1759.K57 2007 323.60973—dc22 2006018514 Manufactured in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 – DP – 12 11 10 09 08 07

eISBN-13: 978-0-8225-8784-2