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Immigration

What Makes You a Good Citizen?

What Makes You a Good Citizen?
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   high interest, readability grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   4.78

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    happening, legal, citizen, military, conserve, participate, member, sales, draft, better, jury, benefits, environment, punishment, representative, public
     content words:    Golden Rule

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What Makes You a Good Citizen?
By Patti Hutchison 		  
1     A citizen is a legal member of a country. But does just living there make him a good citizen? What are the characteristics of a good citizen?
 
2     U.S. citizens enjoy many rights and privileges. The Constitution gives us the right to speak freely. We can also worship, or not worship, any way we want to. We can run for public office. The government can't control the press. Our leaders are chosen by the people. These are just some of the many benefits of being a U.S. citizen.
 
3     But citizens also have many responsibilities. Some of these are written in the laws. Citizens have to pay taxes. These include property tax, income tax, and sales tax, to name a few. Citizens must also serve on a jury if they are called. Men have to register for the draft and serve in the military if they are needed.
 
4     What else can you do in order to be a good citizen? You can start by obeying the laws. Laws are written to protect people's rights. Can you imagine if there were no laws? People could hurt others whenever they wanted to. It is important to follow the laws. If you break a law, you will have to suffer a punishment.
 
5     Good citizens stay informed about current events. They read and watch the news. They know what is happening in their communities. Paying attention to what is going on in our country and around the world is also important.

Paragraphs 6 to 12:
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