Acting Like a Citizen
"No man is above the law and no man below it; nor do we ask any man's permission when we require him to obey it. Obedience to the law is demanded as a right; not asked as a favor."
Theodore Roosevelt, 1903
Complete the attached worksheet and enter a situation that is related to one of the following topics in the text boxes provided.
Free Choice
Laws or Rules
Social Responsibilities
As you become an adult, you will learn that citizenship involves three behaviors.
Free Choice mean that there are no laws regulating your behavior. Attending a basketball game, making a new fried, deciding to go shopping -- these are activities you may choose freely to do.
Laws or Rules, on the other hand, require a certain behavior. A highway speed limit requires a driver to stay below a certain speed. Rules, like laws, also restrict behavior. No talking in call without permission is a rule.
Social Responsibility is more restricted than free choice but more flexible obeying the law. Good citizenship means that you account for how your behavior affects others. How you act when taking part in a school trip, for example, will help determine what other people think about your classmates, your teacher, and your school. Good manners are examples of factors that lead to responsible behavior.
Using the examples you enter on the attached worksheet, discuss with your teacher and classmates the differences between choosing freely, obeying a law or rule, and behaving responsibly.
Worksheet
What is Citizenship? 
Review
