Week 1: Global Citizenship Week

What is a global citizen? Can I be a global citizen? Am I already a global citizen?

In this first (mini) week of our Global Citizenship Series, you will have the chance to dive into these questions!

Please see the below activities to learn about who a global citizen is, and how to start practicing being a global citizen!

Activity 1) What is a Global Citizen?!

There are many ways to be someone who thinks or acts like a global citizen. We hope that you will think about how YOU want to be a global citizen, after you learn a little bit more about what it means.

Something that all Global Citizens have in common is that they care about people who live in other countries, and people who come from other cultures. Being a global citizen means you believe that your actions have an effect on other people on earth, and that you want to learn more about how to make the world a better place. Being a global citizen means that you want to make a difference in the lives of others.

Global Citizens like to learn about other countries, other cultures, and other languages. Global citizens are CURIOUS people who have LOTS of questions about what life around the world looks like! Global citizens like to make friendships with people who come from other cultures or other countries, or who speak different languages.

Try thinking about, or making a list of...

What kinds of things do you care about? What would you like to do to make the world, including your own local neighborhood or community, a better place?

What countries are you most interested in learning about?

To learn more about what it means to be a global citizen, and to see what kids around the world are doing to make positive and helpful changes, watch the video links below!

The World’s Largest Lesson: Part 1 (3 mins)

The World’s Largest Lesson: Part 2 (5 mins)

The World’s Largest Lesson: Part 3 (5 mins)

Activity 2) I want to Become a Global Citizen!

Now that you have learned a little bit about what it means and looks like to be a global citizen, we want you to have a Global Citizen passport! Click on the either button below to access your passport in a Word Document, or in a PDF format. You can print it out, and write in it, or fill it out on your computer. We encourage you to decorate it with any craft materials you have at home, or to customize it online!

Using your Global Citizen passport, you can begin to think and act like a global citizen! You'll see that there is space in the passport for you to add what being a global citizen means to you. The weekly topic for next week is culture, and there is also space in the passport for you to add what you think the word "culture" means.

We also encourage you to think about 2-4 countries that you already know some things about, or want to learn more about. Try researching the countries you think of, and then write or draw what you learn about them in your Global Citizen passport. This month, we will focus on Japan, Norway, and Mexico. You can use your passport to keep track of what you learn about the countries we are focusing on, or to keep track of what you learn on your own, about other countries you are curious about!

There are many ways to find information about countries! Here are some strategies:

Ask parents, friends, or family members what they know about the country you want to know more about
Use National Geographic’s Website: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/countries/
Check out books from your local library on the countries you are curious about