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U.S. CITIZENSHIP PODCAST
US Citizenship Podcast
• N-400 Practice Interviews– Three Levels: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced– By N-400 section
• USCIS 96 Questions (coming soon!)– English/English Set/Single (for shuffle)– English/Mandarin English/Cantonese– English Vietnamese English/Spanish
• Blog:uscitizenpod.blogspot.com• RSS blog uscitizenship.blogspot.com/rss
• Host:uscitizenpod.libsyn.com• RSSaudio uscitizenpod.libsyn.com/rss
Task 1• Record Mock USCIS Interview
– Good stuff: • Many volunteers• Audacity is easy to use.
–Google audacity & download. It’s free.
– Problem: • Good/bad microphones• Recording level set too low• Must rewrite the script• Creating pdf of scripts
Task 2• Put the Audio & pdf files on the Internet
– Create gmail account at mail.google.com– Create Blog at blogger.com– Create host site at libsyn.com– Create rss feed at Feedburner.com– Notify Itunes about the new podcast.
• Problems– Which blog: blogger.com or libsyn.com?– Creating links between blogger & libsyn
PM-Citizenship Class HoursMonday and Wednesday 6:15-9:30pm6:00-6:30 Watch Citizenship Videos
Success at your INS Interview or Citizenship Today (100 ?s)
6:30-6:45 Vocabulary Review: Alphabet, Numbers, Dates, Addresses, New Citizenship Vocabulary words, etc.
6:45-7:30 Read and Discuss Citizenship Textbook:Citizenship: Ready for the Interview by Lynn WeintraubCitizenship Now by Aliza Becker
7:30-7:45 Break
7:45-8:15 Discussion about the Citizenship Textbook reading
8:15-8:30 Dictation and Quiz
8:30-9:00 Practice INS Interviews
9:00-9:15 Final Questions
AM-Citizenship Class HoursMonday-Friday 8:00-8:30
7:45-8:00 Watch Citizenship VideosSuccess at your INS Interview or Citizenship Today
8:00-8:10 Review 2-5 96 Questions (US History & Politics) What are the colors of our flag? What do the stars on the flag mean?
8:00-8:20 Read and Discuss Citizenship Textbook:Citizenship: Ready for the Interview by Lynn WeintraubCitizenship Now by Aliza Becker
8:20-8:25 Practice N-400 Questions
8:25-8:30 Dictation or Oral Quiz
Class Requirements
• Attend class • Participate in class activities.
• Take an ESL Placement Test• ESL Placement test are given every 3 weeks. (Plan ahead!)• Call 408-945-2392 for test dates.
• Take two CASAS ESL tests.• Current ESL students must take their CASAS test in their class.• Citizenship-only students will take their CASAS tests in the
Citizenship class.
• Take two U.S. History & Government CASAS Tests.
• Pass one oral Interview (based on the N-400).
Citizenship & ESL Classes
• The INS interview will test your ability to understand, speak, read, and write English.
• Some students need extra help with English.
• Ask the teacher about English classes– AM ESL Classes M-F 8:45am-12 noon– PM ESL Classes M/W or T/Th 6:15-9:30– Extra hours for ESL Computer hours and borrowing
CBET videotapes & books.
Citizenship Resources
Books• Citizenship Now by Aliza Becker 0-07-282607-X• Citizenship: Ready for the Interview by Lynne Weintraub 1-56420-226-7
• Citizenship: Passing the Test by Lynne Weintraub 1-56420-281-X• Entry into Citizenship by Aliza Becker 08092-0642-0• Voices of Freedom by Bill Bliss 0-13-045266-1
Videos• Citizenship: Success at your INS Interview (with Ann McDowell)
http://www.citizenadproject.org/• Citizenship Today (with Kelly Raphael)
http://www.videolanguage.com/citizen.raphael.html)• American History for Children Video Series (Schlessinger Media)• United States History Video Series (Schlessinger Media)
Handouts
• Students will receive many, many handouts. Please keep these handouts in a binder and bring the binder to every class.
• Handouts include:– N-400– USCIS 96 Questions (different languages)– History and political articles– Puzzles– Quizzes and dictations
• Save paper--take only one copy of a handout.
• Sometimes we run out of handouts or the copy machine is broken. Please be patient—the teacher will make more for the next class as needed.
96 QuestionsFlash Cardshttp://www.immigration.com/frame/civicflashcardsfr.htmlEnglish Self Testhttp://uscis.gov/graphics/exec/natz/natztest.aspEnglishhttp://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/100q.pdfHmongEnglish (with some audio files)http://www.otan.us/webfarm/ESUHSDCitizenship/Citizen/prac.htmlHmonghttp://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/CitiizenshipHmong.pdfSpanish (last 10 pages of the guide)http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/Spanish.pdfTagalog (last 10 pages of the guide)http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/Tagalog.pdfChinese (last 10 pages of the guide)http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/Chinese.pdfVietnamese (last 10 pages of the guide)http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/Vietnamese.pdf
HOW TO STUDY FOR YOUR U.S. CITIZENSHIP TEST
When you are not in class!
A Anthem
• Sing our anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. The more you sing, the better you will become.
• See americanhistory.si.edu/ssb/6_thestory/6b_osay/fs6b.html
B Biography
• Read biographies of US Presidents and Politicians.
• Watch A & E’s Biography on television or check out the videos from the library.
• See Biography.com.
C Children
• Read books about US History and Politics with your children. For booklists, see Abookintime.com/america1700s.html (separate links for each period).
D Dollars
• Think of all the INS 100 questions that you can ask and answer using the dollar bills (and coins) in your wallet.
• See Moneyfactory.com/section.cfm/4
E ESL
• Improve your English—checkout ESL books, tapes, and videos from the library.
• Go to ESL classes at MUSD.org or KQED.org/w/alrg/county/santaclara.html
F Flag
• Display the US Flag. • See pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/misc/ourflag/titlepage.htm
G Golden State
• Gum Shan. 49ers. Learn why California is called the “Golden State.”
• See CA.gov and go to “History and Culture of California” link.
H History Channel
• Watch the History Channel with your family. • See Historychannel.com.
I Internet
• Firstgov.gov is the U.S. government’s official
info website. • For Interview practice, see
Aenet.esuhsd.org/Citizenship_lessons/cit_menu.html
J Jobs
• Search for federal jobs and build your portfolio before you become a US citizen.
• Update with your new Citizenship status and apply for your dream job as soon as you come home from your Oath ceremony.
• See USAjobs.gov.
K Ken Burns
• Ken Burns has created the finest documentaries about America.
• Watch them on television Ch 9 KQED or check them out of the library.
• See Pbs.org/kenburns.
L Lewis and Clark Bicentennial (2004-2006)
• When Jefferson bought the Louisiana Purchase, he doubled the size the US.
• Learn about the expedition at Lewisandclark200.org.
• Collect the 2004 L & C silver dollar, the Sacagawea golden dollar, and the Westward Journey Nickels.
M Missions
• Visit the California Missions. • See Missionscalifornia.com
or CA-missions.org.
N Newspaper
• Read the headlines of the front page and local section of an English-language newspaper everyday.
• Note new words or idioms.
• See Mercurynews.com.
O Oakland Museum of California
• Visit the museum devoted to CA art, history, & natural sciences.
• See Museumca.org.
Podcast
• Listen to US Citizenship Podcast Uscitizenpod.blogspot.com
N-400 Practice Interviews Three Levels: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced By N-400 section
USCIS 96 Questions English/English English/Mandarin English/Cantonese English Vietnamese English/Spanish
Q Quarters
• Collect the new State Quarters. • Learn more about the state symbols at
Usmint.gov/mint_programs/index.cfm?action=50_state_quarters_program
• For fun with kids, see Hip Pocket Change
Usmint.gov/kids/flashIndex.cfm
R Recycle
• Recycle—it is good for everyone! • See Gomilpitas.com/recycle.htm
S The Smithsonian
• Visit the Smithsonian Museums and traveling exhibits.
• Read its books & monthly magazine.
• Listen to its CD collections of traditional American music.
• See Si.edu & Smithsonianeducation.org
T Taxes
• Pay your taxes! • Learn about taxes at
IRS.gov or Taxes.ca.gov/yourtaxes.html
U USCIS• Formerly known as the INS,
the US Immigration and Naturalization Services can be contacted at
1-800-375-5283. • Forms can be downloaded from USCIS.gov.
V Volunteer
• Be a good citizen—volunteer! • See Gomilpitas.com/volunteer.htm
W The White Pages
• The White Pages (or Blue Pages) of the phone book contains the names and contact info of local government offices and officials.
eXercise and sports
• Exercise every day. • Locate sports teams’ cities on a US map.• Learn the history of the teams’ names (ex:
SF 49ers or NY Yankees). • Start at SI.com & follow the links to the team
sites.
Y “Yes!”
• Say “Yes!” to every opportunity to learn about American culture.
• Go to festivals, make new friends, sing, dance, eat, work, play, participate in your children’s education and activities.
• Each “Yes!” will bring you closer to your goal of US Citizenship.
Z National Geographic’s Zip USA
• Every month, National Geographic magazine’s “Zip USA” features the local customs of a unique, yet normal US town.
• For the online version, see magma.Nationalgeographic.com/ngm/archives.html
Thank you for studying US Citizenship!