Civic evangelist Eric Liu shares a powerful way to rekindle the spirit of citizenship and the belief that democracy still works. Join him for a trip to "Civic Saturday" and learn more about how making civic engagement a weekly habit can help build communities based on shared values and a path to belonging.
Immigration is a sensitive topic. I ask that all viewers express their opinions respectfully and without offensive language in the comments. Thank you.
Kwanzaa is a week long celebration (Dec 25 to Jan 1) held in the United States to honor universal African heritage and culture. Kwanzaa is a celebration that came out of the black nationalist movement of the 1960s. It was created as a way to help African Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage. Every night, people light a candle on a kinara (candle holder) which represent Kwanzaa's principles: Unity, Self-determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith. Source: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa For the full quiz, see Citizenship Quiz for Kwanzaa
uscitizenpod: US Citizenship Resources for African-American History Month and Citizenship, Immigration, and Government Resources in African Languages https://goo.gl/ZYarom
USCIS 100:55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?
uscitizenpod: Boxing Day Boxing Day is a secular holiday that is traditionally celebrated on December 26, the day after Christmas Day in England and its former colonies. December 26 is also the feast day of St. Stephen who collected food and clothing and gave them to the poor. On Boxing Day, workers would received boxes of food and small gifts from their employers. Frequently, there were used clothing or blankets in the boxes. Recently, Boxing Day has gained popularity in America. Many families "box up" unused clothes, electronics, and furniture and donate them to charitable organizations such as Goodwill. Goodwill was started in 1902 by the Reverend Edgar J. Helms of Morgan Methodist Chapel in Boston. Helms and his congregation collected used household goods and clothing being discarded in wealthier areas of the city, then trained and hired the unemployed or poor to repair them. The products were then redistributed to those in need. Today, Goodwill has become an international nonprofit that is funded by thrift stores and provides more than 300,000 people with job training and community services each year. Goodwill also offers free online job skills and technology courses--learn more at gcflearnfree.org In the spirit of Boxing Day, we encourage you to donate your unused goods or volunteer with your local civic or community groups.
Oanh passed her Citizenship interview on Tuesday. Here she is practicing just the USCIS N-400 Part 12 questions. I will add cc later. Thanks for your patience.
Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday known as the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.
Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) was a Jewish-American poet and activist who used the image of America as a light to the nations when she wrote "The New Colossus" (1883). This poem, which is engraved inside of the Statue of Liberty, talks about the millions of immigrants who came to the United States many of whom came through Ellis Island at the port of New York. The final lines say:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Manfred Anson (1922-2012), a survivor of the Holocaust, designed this Hanukkah lamp for the centennial of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. Anson used a souvenir figurines to cast the statuettes for the lamp, and the Statue of Liberty torch was transformed into a candle holder. The lamp is surmounted by an American eagle, and the base of each statuette is inscribed with significant dates in Jewish history. This Statue of Liberty Menorah is currently displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington DC.
USCIS 100:95. Where is the Statue of Liberty?* USCIS 100:10. What is freedom of religion?
Tonight, Citizenship students will take a CASAS test
Today we give 2 (or possibly 3) CASAS tests to our current Citizenship Students
The Citizenship Interview Test (CIT) is a one-on-one oral assessment that simulates the citizenship applicant's English-language interview with a USCIS examiner (This test will be given to students who have been in class for several months).
The Government and History for Citizenship tests reveal how much students know about American government and history. (All citizenship students will take this test)
Life and Work Reading Sample Test (Some citizenship students will take this test)
Use these sample test items to:
familiarize students with CASAS items
help reduce student test-taking anxiety
These items are samples to familiarize students with CASAS test formats. Since they are not actual tests, they are not predictors of student performance, and are not valid for level placement, assessment, or for reporting standardized scores.
The spirit of Christmas is featured again at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, DC. This year’s annual holiday event showcases displays highlighting the beauty of America’s public gardens. They include recreations of garden conservatories, fountains and other sculptures made from plant-based materials. VOA’s Deborah Block takes us on a tour to see the diverse gardens that include chugging toy trains.
uscitizenpod: Bill of Rights Interview Quizzes The texts of the Bill of Rights matched with questions from the USCIS N-400 Part 12 and the USCIS 100 History/Government questions.
A Quick Review of the Bill of Rights and the N-400 Part 12 plus Civics Questions mp3 and pdf and video (2017)
The Bill of Rights and the N-400 Part 12 plus Civics Questions mp3 and pdf (2016)
A Citizenship Quiz about the Bill of Rights pdf (2015)