Girl Scout Gold Award Project: Educating My Community About the U.S. Citizenship Exam
For my Girl Scout Gold Award Project, I focused on informing members of the community about the information on the United States Citizenship Exam. The exam has one hundred possible questions but applicants are only asked ten. They must get six of the ten correct in order to pass. I believe that the information on the test is something that every American citizen, natural born or a recent immigrant, must know. Sadly, only two-thirds of natural born citizens could pass the citizenship exam.
My project has four components in order to reach many audiences and convey the necessary information that every United States citizen should know.
First, our schools should include lessons focusing on basic civic information. They should provide a background into the history and geography of the United States that our government deems to be vital for all citizens to know. To address this, I created a curriculum to be used in middle schools. The eight day curriculum reviews almost all aspects of the Citizenship test. It includes classroom games and study materials. The curriculum has been given to NEA-NH.
Second, I wanted people in the greater community to have an appreciation for the importance of basic civic information about our country. To do this, I created a presentation and trivia game that were shared at multiple assisted living facilities. I also had a booth at the Amherst 4th of July Celebration to inform people about my project and to share the information on the exam. I also presented to a local Girl Scout troop and created a pamphlet that will assist all Girl Scouts in the Green and White Mountains Council in earning Citizenship Patches. I presented this pamphlet at the Girl Scout Leader's Meeting.
Third, in order to reach a larger audience than just my community, I have created and published this website. This website will bring all the parts of my project together. On this website, all of the information is listed, including my presentations and curriculum guide. Everyone has the ability to view the information on the website.
Lastly, I organized a coat drive with the help of the Congregational Church of Amherst and other organization. This coat drive was to benefit the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success, which assists immigrants who are new to the New England area.