This lesson explores the components of healthy living: eating healthy foods and exercise. Children identify their favorite healthy foods and forms of exercise that help them live a healthy life. Focus question: What foods and activity choices are important for healthy living?

Students define community and recognize that a class or after-school group is a community because the members share interests and goals and work together.  Focus Questions:  What is a community and what is my role? What is health and why is it important?

The participants will distinguish the difference between wants and needs and learn that many times refugees are without basic needs. They respond to a story about a refugee camp, “Four Feet, Two Sandals” and come to a consensus on a service project to benefit refugees or others in need, and plan and implement a youth-driven service project.

The youth take action by determining ways to reduce their own use of plastic bags and by advocating for ways to reduce the use of plastic bags in their own households, the community, state and nation.  To take further action, they may propose ways to influence government officials to change laws so plastic bags are banned, taxed, or not given out for free.

Children participate in a trash clean-up and analyze the issue of pollution caused by trash, especially plastics. They discuss who should be responsible for preventing or cleaning up pollution - government, business, charitable organizations, and/or individuals.

Children listen to and respond to stories about the value of a home and the difficulties of not having a home. They make painted rocks or other comfort items and give them to a friend or donate them to a local shelter.

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