Nice piece by Myrna Blyth on her husband’s
citizenship test.
For mine, I bought a book that coaches you on all the possible questions. I
kept it for a long time, and occasionally used it for reference. It’s
actually quite a handy short guide to American basics. Then I gave it away
to a friend who was applying for naturalization, and now I can’t remember
the title. I just pulled it off the shelf of a big-chain bookstore, though,
so it’s not hard to find.
I found that a week or so of desultory study was enough to master all the
factoids you might be asked about in the test. Some basic memorization
tricks help. For the thirteen colonies, for example, you just remember:
South 3, Tidewater 3, Atlantic 3, New England 4.
I am mildly surprised, although I suppose I shouldn’t be at this point, that
my kids don’t learn any of this stuff at school. They know all about
Harriet Tubman and Sacagaweha, though, so I guess they are well prepared for
citizenship.