As a teacher of fourth and fifth grade students, this author wanted to teach her students to assume the responsibility of civic activism for the public good, but found that students at this age do not always understand that they can make important civic contributions or that one child can make a difference. To illustrate these concepts and motivate her students to become civic-minded activists, she used the book, "Miss Rumphius," by Barbara Cooney, the story of Cooney's great aunt who followed her grandfather's advice to make the world more beautiful. Every year on the first day of school, she would read "Miss Rumphius" to her students, discuss the character's dedication to improving the world, then challenge her students to make that their own goal. The students' first homework assignment was to go home and make the world a better place by doing something nice for someone they lived with. The following morning, each student was asked to discuss what they had chosen to do, and it was found that the children became quite thoughtful and creative in devising ways to meet the goals they had set for themselves. Later, this concept was expanded to include instruction on the rights and responsibilities of living in a democracy, and what it means to be civic minded. (Contains 4 endnotes.)