Citizenship Action
Projects
Kids can change
the world!
Copyright Susan Gelber Cannon— www.teachforpeace.org
Start with some inspiration:
“The history of every
country
begins in the heart
of a man or a woman.”
Willa Cather (O Pioneers)
If you don’t like the way
the world is, you change
it… one step at a time.
Marian Wright Edelman
"It is from numberless, diverse
acts of courage and belief
that human history is shaped.
Each time a person stands up for an ideal
or acts to improve the lot of others
or strikes out against injustice,
he or she sends a tiny ripple of hope.
Robert F. Kennedy
“We must remember that one
determined person
can make a significant
difference
and that a small group of
determined people
can change the course of
history.”
Sonia Johnson
“Service is the rent we pay
for living.”
Marian Wright Edelman
“Life’s most urgent
question is,
what are you doing for
others?”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“We sometimes feel that
what we do
is just a drop in the ocean,
but the ocean would be less
because of the missing
drop.”
Mother Theresa of Calcutta
“Hundreds and thousands
of young people
around the world
can break through
these walls.
You can change the world.”
Dr. Jane Goodall
“We overwhelm children
with all the suffering
and evil in the world,
but do we enable them to
act?”
Sister Joan Magnetti,
cited in Thomas Lickona’s Educating for Character
A student asks….
“Mrs. Cannon,
are we really
going to change
the world?
I always wanted
to be one of
those people
who change the
world.”
Citizenship Action Projects
Cannon History Class
at the Episcopal Academy
As our final class project,
I ask my students to think about a
real-world problem they care about
and act to change it for the better.
Citizenship Action Projects
 Kids
learn to:
– prioritize social action energy
– analyze root causes
– emulate experienced social activists
– plan local/global and individual or
group projects
– act as advocates, indirect helpers,
hands-on social activists

Another student asks, “What does the
C.A.P. project have to do with history?”
Great question! Here’s one answer:
“History was made by people like you.
They made a decision to take action on
something they thought and cared
about….
I want you to make history by taking action
to improve the lives of the people, plants,
and animals around you.
Be a thinking, caring, and active citizen, and
YOU will be making history of your own.”
Help your students
put their dreams into action.
Sample directions for students are
below:
Goals

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CAP off our year studying American
History by making some history
yourself!
Goal: To see the positive effects of
your own individual efforts on the
world around you.
To see the cumulative effects of the
sincere efforts of many active
citizens.
Task:

Identify a problem in your home, school,
community, country, or the world at large.

Identify a way you can work actively to improve
the situation.

Make a plan and carry it out alone or with
others, for a long or short time period.

Report on your project to the class.

Make a poster (8 ½ by 11) by hand or using
computer telling about your project.
Problems & Possibilities
Home:
Lunch food is wasted. You start packing
your own lunches.
Someone in your
family is sick or
hospitalized.
You schedule visits.
You create posters
for their hospital
room.
Children are not
You make a job chart
cleaning up at home. for you and your
siblings to follow.
School:
People feel left out at Invite new people to
lunch.
sit with you each day.
Litter is all over the
locker area.
Remind your
classmates to clean
up. Make signs.
Kids bully each other
when teachers are
not around.
Start a speak out
campaign. Do skits,
make posters.
Community
Elderly need transport Raise funds for
to doctors’
ElderNet or other
appointments.
such organizations.
Animals need
Walk for the SPCA.
adopting and shelters Educate classmates
need funds.
about adopting
animals.
Neighborhood parks
Organize a weekly
are full of litter.
park clean up in your
neighborhood.
Country
Young people do not
vote.
Start a register to
vote campaign.
Educate classmates
about voting rights.
Oil prices are very
Educate classmates
high. US relies on oil about hybrid cars,
too much.
carpools, bus, train.
Obesity is a major
health problem.
Teach classmates
about healthy eating
habits and exercise.
World
Children around the
world need clean
food and water,
education,
healthcare, etc.
AIDS is a worldwide
epidemic.
Learn about UNICEF
and other aid
organizations. Teach
your peers about
Human Rights.
Educate your
classmates about
HIV-AIDS.
There are many wars Support the work of
around the world.
the UN and other
peace organizations.
Timeline for project

March 10 through April 19 : THINK! Gather ideas.
Talk to your teachers, family, and friends.

April 20: Tell me your idea for a CAP project.

FROM March 10 through May 24: Do the project at any
point during this time period!

DUE Wednesday, May 18: One paragraph project
description (standard writing format).

Wednesday, May 25: Present project to class (tell them
what you did @3 minutes).

Wednesday, May 25: Handmade or computer-made
poster due when you talk to class. PROPS, posters, etc. for
CAP Fair due.
Kids Share Project Ideas

About a month after making the assignment,
take a class period to have kids share CAP ideas.

Lead the discussion and elaborate on their
thinking. Ask them why issues are important.

Help students understand why proposals may or
may not work. Present alternatives to
fundraising.

Invite classmates to work together on similar
projects.

Allow students to change plans and projects.
Student interest is key!
Sample paragraph: book donations
When I first received this assignment I began to
think of ideas and right away I thought of donating books
to a hospital. My plan to collect books is to give out flyers
to my friends and neighbors (which I have done). Then I
will collect the books on May 20th and deliver them to
the hospital on May 23rd. So far I have given out the
flyers and I have also collected some book donations
from a few people.* I feel that my donations will help the
hospital patients get through their stay at the hospital a
little bit better and also help the hospital. This is a
great opportunity to meet your community.
* This student collected and donated 1000 books!
Sample paragraph: save raptors
A problem I am trying to solve is the endangerment of
raptors, or birds of prey. This is a national problem
because most raptors are endangered. My plan is to
educate people about raptors, specifically a snowy owl I
gave money to rehabilitate. Mostly, the people I am going
to talk to are the students at the C.A.P. Fair and in class. I
have collected all of my information about my owl and
several interesting facts about raptor endangerment. I am
planning to make a small poster, along with the required
one, that I can show some pictures of my owl and other
raptors. I feel that my actions will only interest some
bird-lovers, but not that many people. I feel this
because many people don’t usually think about
saving the animals.*
*This student’s project did interest his classmates. He continued to
work at a raptor center in Vermont each summer.
Sample paragraph: recycling
I think that the problem in this community is
recycling. People may see the recycling bins and every
once in a while put a bottle or piece of paper in them, but
their hearts are not in it. To help out this cause, I
decided to make signs all over the school to support
recycling. With creative and colorful signs I plan to get
more people into recycling.
Next time at lunch, instead of putting that “Vitamin
Water” in the trash, a student could save it for the
recycling bin for bottles. My actions are prominent to
school because I’m promoting recycling in a fun
way.
Sample paragraph: park cleanup
Have you ever gone to your local park to play basketball
or football? If you have, you probably have heard and felt
the crunch you hear and feel when you step on trash. All
over Gladwyne Park there was trash. My plan was to pick up
all the trash in Gladwyne Park. As of now I have cleaned up
the park and made it look better overall. Next, I hope to
pick up trash every time I go there. When there was trash all
over the ground it made the community seem irresponsible,
now they don’t look like that. I think my actions made a
medium-sized impact in my community; it’s a
noticeable but not stunning difference. I would
have made a bigger dent if I got people all over the
township to clean their parks, but I feel as if I have
done a good deed. Overall, I feel good about this project
and the things I have done.
Sample paragraph: fund a
schoolchild in Colombia
For the C.A.P. project my friends and I raised money
and awareness for a school in Colombia, South America. The
school is basically for anyone, however it is especially for
children whose guardians cannot afford much. We had a
bake sale in order to raise money in order to send one child
to school. Next, we plan to send the money to the school.
I feel very good about what we have done and am very
proud to be sending a child to school. I also think that what
we have done is important for many reasons. First is that
we saw we have much more than many people, and
I have learned to appreciate what I have even more.
Second is that I saw that by just doing something
little and fun you can make a big difference. Lastly
is that if I know I have just sent a child to school it
feels like I have made a huge difference in the world
because I am basically giving someone an
education.
Poster Instructions:







Poster Components: Use this as a checklist
for your poster.
8 ½ by 11-inch sheet.
Colorful headline naming project or problem.
Your name and class.
Two-sentence description of problem.
List or paragraph describing the action you took.
Picture (at least one!): hand-drawn, photograph, or clipart.
A motto, original or borrowed (with citation if borrowed),
expressing your feelings about completing this project.
The motto should serve as inspiration to all who
read your poster.
Sample Posters
Student
Mrs. Cannon
F History
Due: 5/25/05
The Problem
The problem I am trying to fix is that people don’t
pay any attention to how bird-of-prey, raptors,
are becoming endangered. Also, people don’t
realize how important raptors are to the
environment, to the food-chain, to be exact.
My Actions
Motto:
The only good raptor,
is a live one.
I took actions where I gathered information
about raptors and a particular snowy owl, whom I gave
$25 to rehabilitate in a raptor center. Then, I am going
to present a mini-presentation about raptors and my
snowy owl to the 6th grade at the C.A.P. Fair. If I can,
after C.A.P. is over, I would like to go to VINS, or Vermont
Institute of Natural Science, and try and present there,
since I am moving less than two hours away.
Other raptors need to
be protected, as well
as owls.
Student
F Block
Mrs. Canon
Student
F Block
Mrs. Canon
Student
F Block
Mrs. Canon
Love your
project!
 It’s
important
to work on
something
you really
care about,
using your
unique
talents and
gifts!
Student
F Block History
Mrs. Canon
CAP FAIR



Students each present their project results and
posters to the class. They answer questions
from their classmates and give out handouts of
background information.
However, the real excitement is for them
to educate the wider school community.
To that end, organize a CAP FAIR and invite
fellow students, faculty, administration, and
parents.
EA CAP FAIR 2005
 Create
a bulletin board of all the
posters. Students may create copies
of their posters to serve as handouts
during the fair. Also, they may want
to have posters, photos, and other
props. These help generate interest.
 Set
up tables for students to use for
presentations.
Bulletin Board of Posters
Students take pride in sharing their
projects with visitors.
Students educate their classmates
and demonstrate projects.
A student teaches
classmates about saving
the raptors.
Hand-drawn comics
make placemats for
homeless shelters and
food kitchens.
Think and act globally.
One of the children
has an aunt who
runs a school in
Colombia. She
inspired her
classmates to join
her in fundraising
for school tuition.
Think and act locally.
Clean-up of historic mansion was
inspired by a grandmother on
the mansion board of trustees.
Family adopts a
highway, inspired by a
child’s project.
Help animals or people.
Students buy plastic
bracelets to support
animal shelters.
Students order hand-made
bracelets to support cancer
research.
Charity begins at….
A granddaughter paints and plants
flowerpots for the residents of her
grandmother’s nursing home.
A student raises recycling
awareness in our school.
Kids’ Evaluations:



If two people you loved were diagnosed with breast cancer (as were
both of my grandmothers), wouldn’t you want to try and help the rest
of the people who have this horrible disease? I am proud that I
raised so much money for breast cancer research by selling my
one-of-a-kind pink-beaded bracelets. I donated 100% of my sales to
help research breast cancer treatment. -Student
It was fun working with my friends for a good cause. We could have
been sitting at home watching television that Saturday, but instead we
were out in the cold having a lot of fun. Picking up trash was
disgusting, but we helped the environment around us. - Student
I gave serious thought to what I am passionate about. My conclusion
was I am a huge animal lover. I designed my bracelets at
“reminderband.com” to raise money for the Fund for Animals. We are
not just talking dogs and cats here! They help animal protection and
rescue all around the world. I am feeling very good about myself
because I am helping abandoned, lonely, injured, orphaned,
and unloved animals. - Student
More Kids’ Evaluations



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I think it is great to turn something I love to do into
a commitment for society. I would normally think a
project like this is boring, and I did until my friend
suggested making comics. I think it’s helpful for both us
and the children at the shelter that we are working together
for the greater good.- Student
I personally feel great about what I am doing. I think this
is important because America is the fattest country in the
world, and if I can help educate people over the years the
percentages will drop. - Student
When I think about the fact that I sent a child to school, I
feel amazed. I gave a child an education. I gave that
child a part of their future. - Student
Who knows, they can be the future leaders of the world.
One thing I’d like to change is for more people to
have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. - Student
Discuss: How many of you feel
you have made a positive difference?
Kids can change
the world… one
dose at a time.
It was fun
working
with my
friends on
something
we all
cared
about.
I felt proud
to help my
community.
It was
hard, but I
made a
difference.
This should
definitely be part
of the curriculum.
Website support:

Roots and Shoots: Founded by Jane Goodall, the Roots

Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation: Creates the

The Giraffe Project: Moving people to stick their necks out

Peace Jam: The goal of PeaceJam is to inspire a new
and Shoots program inspires youth of all ages to make a
difference by becoming involved in their communities.
opportunity for young people to understand the world and
translate that understanding into positive action.
for the common good. A story-based K-12 curriculum that
teaches courageous compassion and active citizenship.
generation of peacemakers who will transform their local
communities, themselves and the world.
Contact information:
Susan Gelber Cannon
teachforpeace@gmail.com
 Visit
my website for more resources:
www.teachforpeace.org
 Read
more about teaching
for peace and justice in my book:
Think, Care, Act:
Teaching for a Peaceful Future
http://www.infoagepub.com/products/Think-Care-Act