H-02.04 Beginning English for Citizenship: Sheltered Social Studies = Civics, Geography, Government, History, & More

Who It’s For: (Teachers & Helpers of) English-Language Students & New Readers Ready for Exposure to “Sheltered Social Studies” Topics Pertaining to the United States of America.  

Why You Need It: Nearly everyone (re-)acquiring knowledge & skills could use (reminders of or) intros to Americana-related topics that are often part of Social Studies.  These could be related to “Symbols & Holidays,” “Americans,” “Immigration,” “Geography,” “the U.S. Constitution,” “Government,” “History,” “About Your State & City,” and more.  Presented in clearly simplified English, these 24 four-page Modules in 12 Units will help you make a start in Civics education.  

What You’ll / They’ll Do:  

[1] Anticipating what’s in H-02.04 English Through Citizenship, Beginning Level Student Book,  look over its Front Matter and Table of Contents.  Note that its Subject Matter is divided into 12 “Units,” each further separated into up to five four-page “Modules” of material.  If you are particularly interested in a topic, jump ahead to its pages. Otherwise, start at the beginning.   

[2] Unit 1: The Residency or Citizenship Interview (pages 1-20), contains Module 1A: Name & Address; Module 1B: Biographic & Other Information; Module 1C: Family; Module 1D: Employment, & Module 1E: Residence.  If you are just starting a Course of Instruction, these may be useful in getting acquainted, filling out (application) forms, and/or other preliminaries.  Suggestions from H-02.05: English Through Citizenship, Beginning-Level Instructor’s Manual . may help—or you can use your own (tried-and-true or innovative) procedures.  

[3] Unit 2: Symbols & Holidays (pages 21-32) “warms-up” with topics even Beginners are likely to be familiar with: iconic American Symbols in Module 2A—plus Thanksgiving & Independence Day in 2B. Module 2C gets into (lesser-known) National Holidays.  Unit 3, Module 3A on pages 33-36 offers vocabulary, information, and reading-comprehension exercises about “Famous U.S. Presidents”; Module 3B on pages 37-40, “The History of Immigration”; and Module 3C on pages 41-44, “Historical Figures.” In regard to “U.S. Geography,” Unit 4, Modules 4A, 4B, 4C, & 4D on pages 45-60 introduce Geographical Features, Famous Places, and States & Cities: the West / the East.  Unit 5, Module 5A (pages 61-64), presents notions related to “Becoming a Citizen.”   

[4] Units 6-12 introduce topics not mentioned in H-02.01: English Through Citizenship, Literacy Level Student Book. These are Unit 6 (The Constitution), Modules 6A & 6B on pages 65-72: Overview, Basic Rights & Freedoms; Unit 7, Module 7A on pages 73-76: The Federal Government; Unit 8, Module 8A, on pages 77-80: State Government Branches & Officials.  Unit 9, Module 9A: Local Government on pages 81-84 approaches County & City Services in a generic way. Unit 10, Module 10A on pages 85-88: History of the U.S. is a very brief Overview.  Unit 11, Module 11A: About Your State on pages 89-92 uses Important Past Events in California as examples.  Similarly, in Unit 12, Module 12A: About Your Town or City on pages 93-96, Los Angeles serves as a prototype for teachers / learners to use as a model for exploration of the history and make-up of their own locality.

[5] All in all, H-02.04 English Through Citizenship, Beginning Level Student Book encompasses many times the amount of U.S. Citizenship & Americana material as the much condensed Literacy Level.  At a much simplified stage, it “covers”  about half as much as English Through Citizenship: Intermediate A & B, which have been combined into H-02.07, A Journey Through America.