Who Are Citizens of the United States?

According to the passage, what is civics?

• Civics is reading newspapers and watching the news.

• Civics is studying to pass a citizenship test.

• Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizens.

• Civics is the voting process Americans must follow.

This text discusses the problem that most Americans do not have a lot of civics knowledge. What is one solution people have proposed to solve this problem?

• Ignore civics in schools.

• Make everyone read newspapers.

• Increase civics education in schools.

• Make everyone take a citizenship test.

People are coming up with different ways to increase civics knowledge. Which evidence from the text supports this conclusion?

• “Some U.S. education experts say schools spend less time teaching civics now than they did in the past. ‘It used to be a subject that was taught ... so many minutes a day,’ says Margaret Branson.”

• “Actor Richard Dreyfuss crafted a national plan for civics education. Former Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter stepped up U.S. civics talk in schools in his home state of New Hampshire.”

• “When the country’s founders wrote the U.S. Constitution in 1787, they gave the power to the people! They thought U.S. citizens should have a say in how the nation is run.”

• “After all, if U.S. citizens don’t know about their country, they can’t help run it, '' said former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.”

Based on the text, what is likely about Sandra Day O’Connor?

• She thinks that the U.S. should change how people are elected.

• She thinks that kids should watch more TV and spend more time on the internet.

• She thinks civics is an important part of education for students.

• She thinks students do not need to know about civics.

What is this text mostly about?

• what Sandra Day O’Connor thinks about United States civics

• some solutions to the lack of civics knowledge in the United States

• some solutions to the election process in the United States

• how much time is spent on civics in United States classrooms

Read these sentences from the text.

“It used to be a subject that was taught ... so many minutes a day.” [. . .] “The teaching of civics and government has just dropped off dramatically.”

As used in the text, what does the word “dramatically” mostly mean?

• a lot

• the same

• a little

• colorfully

Choose the answer that best completes the sentence.

United States citizens must have a civics education ________ they need to be informed in order to make important decisions when voting.

• but

• because

• after

• though

What are some ways the text recommends for learning more about civics?

Based on the text, what power does the Constitution give to United States citizens? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.