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!