---
title: Roles of Citizens
description: Students will explain the roles citizens play, such as voters, taxpayers, members of the armed forces, and understand their significance in your community.
image: https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/roles_of_citizens-001.png
---

**Subject: Civics; Social Studies**

**Lesson Length: 45 mins - 1 hour**

**Topic: Community Roles and Responsibilities**

**Grade Level: 6, 7, 8**

**Standards / Framework: **

- [C3: D2.Civ.2.6-8](https://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/2017/Jun/c3-framework-for-social-studies-rev0617.pdf)

**Brief Description:**  Students will explain the roles citizens play, such as voters, taxpayers, officeholders, or members of the armed forces, and understand their significance in their community.

**Know Before You Start:** Students should be familiar with important members of their community, as well as their roles and responsibilities.

**Hook:**

- Ask students: 
    - "What do you think it means to be a responsible citizen?"
    - "Can you name any roles that citizens can play in our society?"
    - "Have you ever wondered why these roles are important?"

**Activity:**

- Have students anonymously write their answers to the three hook questions on a index card or sticky note. Collect the cards, shuffle them, and read some of the responses aloud to help stimulate engagement and encourage discussion. 
- Guide students in playing a game of “Who Am I?” where you will read descriptions of various roles citizens hold in a community and the students will guess which role the description is referring to. Allow a moment for discussion and then reveal the correct role while discussing its significance to the community. 
- Have students conduct a Think-Pair-Share in which they will complete a concept map around a chosen community role and the responsibilities and/or obligations attached. As each pair shares the concept map, highlight a few responsibilities from each by writing them on the board. 
- As a class, have students identify the top five community responsibilities shared by placing three sticky notes (with their names on them) next to the three responsibilities they believe are most important for a successful community. After every student has had an opportunity, facilitate a class discussion by identifying the top five responsibilities chosen by the class and highlighting the commonalities and differences in their choices. 
- Using the sample comic as a guide, have students create a comic that explains one role citizens play, such as voters, taxpayers, office holders, or armed forces.

**Closure:**

- Have students share their comics with the class or in small groups.
- Emphasize that being an informed, engaged, and responsible citizen is not just a role but a fundamental duty in a democratic society and can actively contribute to building a better community.

**Differentiation:**

- Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
- Allow students to work in pairs or groups as needed.
- Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.

**Resources:**

- Comic to print or display: [Comic](https://share.pixton.com/roqukeb).
- [Concept Map](https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/Printables/Graphic%20Organizers_04.pdf)
- [Community Role Descriptions](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iNE7wUXu_EbPxKhVEmxpcMPwWPSRVWdMjnWkcCSbKf4/edit?usp=sharing)
- [GALE](https://www.gale.com/open-access) (Open Access through Local Library) 

**Suggested Content:**

- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/2078531110531739648/thumbnail.png) Middle School ](https://content.pixton.com/middle-school)
- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/1665077198387912704/thumbnail.png) National Parks ](https://content.pixton.com/national-parks)
- [![](https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/thumbnail-uspresidential-2024.png) U.S. Presidential Election ](https://content.pixton.com/u.s.-presidential-election)
- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/2078817894448328704/thumbnail.png) Suburban ](https://content.pixton.com/suburban)
- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/1976675054379450368/thumbnail.png) Urban ](https://content.pixton.com/urban)
- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/2047725165020577792/thumbnail.png) Rural ](https://content.pixton.com/rural)

**Suggested Story Starters:**

- [ Climate Change Is Caused by Human Activity ](https://story-starters.pixton.com/climate-change-is-caused-by-human-activity)
- [ Taxes Are a Fair Way for Governments to Raise Money ](https://story-starters.pixton.com/taxes-are-a-fair-way-for-governments-to-raise-money)
- [ Personal Narrative ](https://story-starters.pixton.com/parts-of-a-story-personal-narrative)

Assign Activity

## Related Ideas

[![](https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/rights_responsibilities-001.png)](https://ideas.pixton.com/rights-responsibilities)

### [Rights and Responsibilities](https://ideas.pixton.com/rights-responsibilities)

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[![](https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/conserve_to_preserve-001-1.png)](https://ideas.pixton.com/conserve-to-preserve)

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