“Citizenship Prep”
Resources and Strategies
for the USCIS Citizenship Interview
3rd Annual English
Literacy and Civics
Education Conference
January 24, 2014
Mt. San Antonio College
Jennifer Gagliardi
Milpitas Adult School
jgagliar@musd.org
ppt available at
www.uscitizenpod.com
Citizenship Class Hours
Tuesday and Thursday 6:00-9pm
Typical Class Schedule:
6:00
Watch Citizenship Videos or a Practice interview ex:
Success at your INS Interview or Citizenship Today
6:-:630
Vocabulary Review and Quiz: Alphabet, Numbers, Dates,
Addresses, New Citizenship Vocabulary words, etc.
6:30-7:30
Read and Discuss Citizenship Textbook:
Citizenship: Ready for the Interview by Lynn Weintraub
or other textbooks
7:30-7:45
Break
7:45-8:15
Further discussion about the Citizenship Textbook reading
8:15-8:30
Dictation and Quiz
8:30-9:00
Practice Citizenship Interviews
Textbooks
• Cengage/Heinle 2010
o US
Citizen, Yes!, 3rd ed.
• New Readers Press
o Ready for the Interview
o Citizenship Passing the Test
o Citizenship Literacy Skills workbook
• Pearson-Longman 2009
o Voices of Freedom, 4th ed.
o Future U.S. Citizens (*ebook, 2011)
• Cambridge12/08/08
o Citizenship
Now! CD/DVD
Best DVD:
An McDowell’s
Citizenship:
Success at Your
CIS Interview 2008
ESL/Citizenship Enrichment
“Holding the Bag” (a high beginning
ESL novel) by Ana Gianola, 978-156420-544-5
Negasi is a Washington DC taxi driver
from Ethiopia who has been in
the U.S. for many years and has a
family. He accidentally becomes
involved in a robbery and faces a
moral issue.
uscitizenpod: Prepare for your citizenship
interview and Martin Luther King Day with a
multiple choice test about Krestos Negasi's
interview and 10 USCIS questions. (pdf)
Class Requirements
• Attend classes on Tue/Thu 6:00-9:00pm
• Participate in class activities.
• Take an ESL Placement Test
• ESL Placement test are given every 2 months. (Plan ahead!)
• Call 408-635-2692 for test dates.
• Take two CASAS ESL tests.
• A Pre-test and Post test show student learning gains.
• Citizenship students will take their ESL CASAS tests in the
Citizenship class.
• Take two U.S. History & Government CASAS Tests.
• Pass one oral Interview (based on the N-400).
Speak English, please!
• An applicant's verbal skills are determined by the applicant's
answers to questions normally asked by USCIS Officers during
the naturalization eligibility interview.
• USCIS Officers are required to
repeat and rephrase questions
until the Officer is satisfied that
the applicant either fully understands the question or does not
understand English.
• If the applicant generally understands and can respond
meaningfully to questions relevant to the determination of
eligibility, the applicant has demonstrated the ability to speak
English.
From: Scoring Guidelines for the English Portion of the Naturalization Test
Low Intermediate ESL?
USDOE Nat’l Reporting
System Educational
Functional Levels
• Individual can understand simple
learned phrases and limited new
phrases containing familiar
vocabulary spoken slowly with
frequent repetition;
• can ask and respond to questions
using such phrases;
• can express basic survival needs
and participate in some routine
social conversations, although with
some difficulty;
• and has some control of basic
grammar.
CASAS Basic Skill Levels
for Oral Language
• SPL 4 Functions satisfactorily in
basic survival and very routine
social and work situations.
• Participates in simple face-to-face
conversations dealing with familiar
topics.
• Gives oral directions to do a
familiar personal or work-related
task of several steps.
• Participates in simple telephone
conversations.
• Makes statements, asks and
answers questions in the simple
present, past and future tenses on
familiar topics.
CASAS Resources
Life and Work Reading ESL Test Series
• Model Standard: Interpret simple authentic materials on familiar
topics (newspaper articles on current events, social letters,
public information notices)
Pre-test
185R #4
FINGERPRINTING
Room 108
M - F 8 am – 4 pm
No appt. necessary.
Sat. by appointment only
Room 109
Sample questions:
Where do you for fingerprinting
from Monday to Friday?
Erika’s Fingerprint
Appointment Notice!
When do you need an appointment
for fingerprinting?
CASAS Reading for Citizenship Tests
(951R/952R)
•Target population:
Low beginning ESL students
•Competencies Assessed:
Reading comprehension in a citizenship context (These tests
do not measure knowledge of the government and history of
the United States.)
•Test Administration:
◦One-on-one or group administration
◦Multiple-choice questions
◦Large-print, reusable test booklet
CASAS Implementation Training is required to administer
the Reading for Citizenship Tests.
CASAS Citizenship Interview Test (CIT)
The Citizenship Interview Test (CIT) is a standardized oral
assessment that assesses the speaking skills of adult ESL and
citizenship learners.
The CIT helps programs determine if an individual is ready to
pass the USCIS naturalization interview.
• Target population:
High beginning to advanced ESL students
• Competencies Assessed:
Personal identification
• Topics from the N-400 Application for Naturalization
This test does not measure knowledge of the US gov’t and history.
• Test Administration:
One-on-one interview format (approx. 15 to 20 minutes )
• Training is required to administer this test.
A self-training manual provides a training CD and certification exercises.
CASAS Gov’t/History LISTENING TEST for Citizenship
formerly CASAS Citizenship Field Test 889, supersedes 963/964
• Multiple choice listening test.
• Students listen to thirty recorded questions.
• Each question is repeated twice.
• The questions are based on the new 100 questions.
• Practice audio files are available at:
https://www.casas.org/home/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.showContent&MapID=3231
Practice
1. Red and black
2. Red, white, and blue
3. Black and white
4. White, gold, and green
Question 1
1. John Adams
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. George Washington
4. Alexander Hamilton
CASAS EL Civics Objective Example
ELC: Citizenship Preparation 40.4 (Oral, Written Beginning Low – Advanced)
Respond to questions about the history and government of the US in order to be
successful in the naturalization process.
1 *Discuss basic historical events or patriotic symbols.
2 *Describe the colors and design of the American flag and discuss the meaning of
the stars and stripes.
3 *Identify the three branches of American government.
5 *Write dictated sentences about U.S. history and government.
6 *Name the President of the United States, the Governor of California, the Mayor of
the city, and other government officials.
7 Read, discuss, and/or write about issues relating to the Constitution and the Bill of
Rights.
Additional Tasks:
1. Prepare for a USCIS Interview
1.Student will participate in a mock oral USCIS
interview.
2. Practice Dictation
3. Write a Letter or an Article related to the Constitution or Bill of Rights
uscitizenpod.com
• Daily posts about
citizenship preparation
– USCIS news
– US Government news
– N-400 and USCIS 100q
•
•
•
•
•
•
Student work
N-400 scripts
Podcasts
Videos
Quizzes
Audio
USCIS.gov
1. Forms: N-400
Application for
Naturalization and
other forms
3
2
1
2. Citizenship:
Apply for and learn
about Citizenship
3. Español:
USCIS.gov en
Español
4
5
4. Check your Case
Status
5 Make an InfoPass
Appointment
www.uscis.gov/citizenship
Beginning, Intermediate, and Theme Handouts that encompass all
four language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
www.uscis.gov/citizenship/teachers/lesson-plans-and-activities
Study Materials for the English Test: Vocabulary for the Naturalization Interview: Self-Test 1
http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office%20of%20Citizenship/Citizenship%20Resource%20Center%20Site/Section%20Items/IN
TERACTIVE%20Section%20Items/Vocabulary%20Activities%20for%20the%20Naturalization%20Test/uscis-vocabularytest-1/uscis_test1.html
Study Materials for the English Test: Vocabulary for the Naturalization Interview: Self-Test 2
http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office%20of%20Citizenship/Citizenship%20Resource%20Center%20Site/Section%20Items/INTERA
CTIVE%20Section%20Items/Vocabulary%20Activities%20for%20the%20Naturalization%20Test/uscis-vocabulary-test2/uscis_test2.html
Study Materials for the English Test: Understanding Commands for the Naturalization Interview
http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office%20of%20Citizenship/Citizenship%20Resource%20Center%20Site/Section%20Items/INTER
ACTIVE%20Section%20Items/Vocabulary%20Activities%20for%20the%20Naturalization%20Test/uscis-vocabulary-test3/uscis_test3.html
Study Materials for the Civics Test
www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learners/study-test/study-materialscivics-test
americanhistory.si.edu/citizenship/
Quick List of Internet Resources
• CASAS Bibliography of Citizenship Materials
https://www.casas.org/home/?fuseaction=home.showContent&MapID=808
• EL Civics www.elcivics.com
• ClinicLegal.org Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc
http://cliniclegal.org/resources/translations-citizenship-test
• OTAN: ESL/Citizenship/EL Civics: Sites to Use with Students
http://www.otan.us/browse/index.cfm?fuseaction=browse&catid=10607&showlinks=true
• OTAN Jefferson Adult School citizenship Moodle (Kay Johnson)
http://moodle.otan.us/course/enrol.php?id=47 (requires enrollment)
• SPL.org (King County) Seattle Public Library Citizenship Resources
http://www.spl.org/audiences/literacy-and-esl/citizenship-help
• SFPL.org San Francisco Public Library Citizenship Resources
http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=2000011201
• USCIS www.uscis.gov , USCIS on YouTube and USCIS on Twitter
and USCIS Citizenship Resource Center www.uscis.gov/citizenship
• uscitizenpod.com also on Facebook, YouTube, & Twitter/
• VOANews and VOAVideo on YouTube www.youtube.com/user/VOAvideo
EL/Civics Online
• EL/Civics Online is a unique professional
development opportunity for ESL instructors and
volunteers who wish to incorporate EL/Civics content
into their adult ESL classrooms.
citizenshipworks.org/prepare/
Financing Citizenship
Several organizations are trying educate
their communities about the immigration
and citizenship process plus assist with
financing.
• The New
Americans
Campaign
• Citizenship Works
• National
Immigration
Forum: The
Bethlehem Project
• Opportunity Fund
•
www.uscitizenpod.com/2014/01/thenew-americans-campaign.html
I-90 Fee Waiver
• USCIS acknowledges that increased fees
represent a burden to low-income applicants.
– Household income must be 150% below Federal
Poverty Guidelines.
• I-90 request household financial information.
• Applicants (who request a fee waiver) must
submit I-90 with N-400 (or other forms)
The End
For further information, see
• CASAS.ORG
https://www.casas.org/home/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.showContent&MapID=674
• CASAS.ORG/ELC
https://www.casas.org/elc/index.cfm?fuseaction=COAAPSList.welcome
• USCIS.GOV
• USCITIZENPOD.COM
For further info, contact Jennifer Gagliardi at
gagliajn@yahoo.com or uscitizenpod@gmail.com.
Thanks to the students and staff of Milpitas Adult School, SJSU
MATESOL, and the USCIS.
In love and gratitude to the immigrants to the United States!
Thanks, Teacher!
We love you!
www.uscitizenpod.com