Q: My daughter, Charisse, just competed in a girls' rodeo event. In addition to riding skills, contestants were given a citizenship quiz and she failed. She didn't even know the vice president! I was shocked. If schools don't teach citizenship, how can I bridge the gap?

A: Earlier this summer, some Miss USA contestants visiting a TV show couldn't name Vice President Joe Biden, nor describe the color of the waves of grain in "America the Beautiful."

But young people aren't the nation's only civics slackers. A recent survey by Xavier University's Center for the Study of the American Dream found that one in three native-born citizens failed the civics portion of the naturalization test, in stark contrast to the 97.5 percent of immigrants applying for citizenship who passed it.

Native-born citizens do especially poorly on questions about the U.S. Constitution and the governmental, legal and political structure of American democracy -- principles that underlie our civic life. For example, 85 percent don't know the meaning of "the rule of law." (Take a sample test with Charisse at csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0104/Could-you-pass-a-US-citizenship-test.)

To beef up Charisse's civics savvy, use the upcoming election to get her engaged, suggests California educator Bill Laraway.

"CNN, Scholastic, TIME For Kids all have election news tailored to young people on their sites," says Laraway. "Check out C-Span's 'Road to the White House' for human-interest stories. NPR and USA Today have apps she might enjoy. The ironic humor on 'The Daily Show' and 'The Colbert Report' appeals to teens and will fire up their critical thinking.

"Watch the news together and have dinner-table discussions on topics she can relate to, such as how much folks should pay in taxes, whether college students' health insurance should be covered on their parents' plan.

"Take her to meet local candidates on the ballot in your area. Volunteer together in a campaign. The best way to raise a citizen is to model citizenship."

North Carolina educator and newly sworn-in U.S. citizen Lisa Malaquin-Prey suggests getting a copy of E.D. Hirsch Jr.'s book, "What Your Fourth Grader Needs to Know, Revised Edition" (Delta, 2005).

"Many of the questions on the test for immigrants wishing to become citizens can be found in it," says Malaquin-Prey. "Dr. Hirsch's Core Knowledge curriculum is increasingly popular in schools because it teaches the principles of American democracy and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship, starting in kindergarten." (Go to coreknowledge.org to learn more and locate schools that use the curriculum in your area.)

Parents shouldn't rely on schools alone to develop civic literacy.

"There's a tendency to treat civics and history as 'nice to know,' but it really is essential," says educator Robert Pondiscio, author of the Core Knowledge Blog (blog.coreknowledge.org). "Citizenship was the founding principle of public education. Civic participation is closely linked with educational achievement. The higher your education level, the more likely you are to vote.

"Education and civics are cornerstones of both schooling and our democracy."

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: My son's second-grade teacher said he should "read all summer," so he doesn't forget his new skills. How much time does she mean? Also, I read each day to my 1-year-old daughter, but she often won't sit still to finish the book. Reading is so important and I want both of them to become good readers.

A: Chances are excellent that your children will become lifelong readers if you create a home environment where reading is exciting and a source of pleasure, not pressure. What does that home look like?

"It's a place where kids see their parents reading and enjoying it," says reading expert Keith Garton. "It's a place where children are read to regularly. It's a home rich in literature -- with books, magazines, newspapers and digital devices that offer up a range of reading for the adults and children in residence. It's a home where parents monitor TV time, plan weekly trips to the library and snap up children's books at garage sales. It's a home where writing is encouraged -- with plenty of paper to scribble on."

This summer, encourage your son to spend 15 to 30 minutes each day reading about topics he's interested in.

"This can mean reading to and with him, as well as having him read independently," says Garton, founder of children's book publisher Red Chair Press.

"Most local libraries have summer reading programs designed to keep kids' skill levels strong," he says. "Check out an armful of books so he'll have choices. Get another armful on the next trip. Enroll him in any summer sessions at the library. Include e-books, comic books, magazines -- whatever engages him."

Help him make connections with his reading. For example, if you're taking a trip to a zoo, read an issue of Zoobooks magazine (zoobooks.com) or the Dr. Seuss classic "If I Ran the Zoo." Go to the zoo's website and read the latest news.

"By connecting his reading with daily life, you teach your son the utility and pleasure of reading," says Garton.

Don't worry if your daughter won't sit still for reading. Just take cues from her. If she's wiggly, set aside the picture book for a time when she's less distracted, such as right before she takes a nap or goes to bed. The act of reading a little every day is what is important, notes Garton.

Your son might find it fun to read some simple picture books to his younger sister.

"Find books at his reading level with a lot of color in the illustrations or strong, bold images," Garton suggests. "Show him how to read with expression; point to the illustrations and ask questions while reading. This will help engage her in the story and stay focused. E-books are a great way to do this, since many e-books include interactivity with characters that move or make sounds and highlighted text to help her follow along."

Nothing helps a young reader grow like reading aloud to an appreciative audience!

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: My eighth-grader spends too much time on Facebook. She's obsessive about checking it 24/7 this summer. Taking the computer and phone away aren't practical solutions. How can we make her time online less wasteful?

A: As teens constantly monitor their Facebook status updates, spend hours playing games and watch a steady diet of charmingly silly videos, it sucks precious time from their lives and dampens their creativity.

"I understand this mom's concern. And she's right; removing the technology won't solve the problem," says Betsy Corcoran, editor of EdSurge, a lively newsletter about the intersection of education and technology.

Corcoran, a mother of two teens, believes that parents have a responsibility to help kids find tech tools that encourage them to be active learners rather than passive sponges just soaking up others' Facebook updates.

"Content for teens can be mind-numbing," she says. "Or it can offer compelling opportunities to build things, write computer games, learn a language, start blogs, tour the world or test-drive a career online.

"The trick is to coach your daughter to use these tools to become a producer, not just a consumer. This is a fundamental shift, and one that is important for digital natives to learn."

What software programs and tools can change kids from consumers to creators? Corcoran likes the following:

If your daughter enjoys writing, check out Penzu (penzu.com), an online diary site. Teen Voices (teenvoices.com) links to other writing sites. Pathbrite.com helps her create a digital scrapbook that can include photos and videos.

She may not be ready to start her own video blog, but what about creating a fun stop-motion video using a site called iCreate to Educate (icreatetoeducate.com)? For instance, she could make a stop-motion video to entertain kids she baby-sits!

Is your daughter passionate about a topic? Learnist (learni.st) is a "Pinterest for learning things," says Corcoran. It allows users to explore topics by pulling related blog posts, music, videos, images and podcasts from the Web. She can learn from others -- or teach by compiling her own collection of "learnings" and sharing it.

Does she want to learn a language? Try Mango Languages (www.mangolanguages.com), Livemocha (livemocha.com) and Voxy (voxy.com).

SciGirls is a cool, science-oriented site where girls can hang out (pbskids.org/scigirls). Rocket21 (rocket21.com) is a safe site where students can learn about careers, take video field trips and work with mentors in careers that interest them.

Gamestar Mechanic (gamestarmechanic.com) and Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) allow kids to build their own computer games. Code Hero teaches programming skills (primerlabs.com/codehero).

Make Beliefs Comix (makebeliefscomix.com) offers drawn characters, dialogue boxes and flexible editing options.

Corcoran likes educator Richard Bryne's site, freetech4teachers.com, which has resources that encourage kids to create media and not just consume it.

"My boys and I talk a lot about what they're doing online," she says. "I'd rather not put a clock on them, but they know that after a half hour of playing games, I may walk in and say, 'How about making your own game to challenge your friends?' And then we're off to Gamestar Mechanic or Code Hero."

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)