When a crisis upends life or disaster strikes, whether caused by nature or humans, the humanitarian spirit of individuals and communities swells. The lesson plans, project ideas, and links to nonprofit resources here provide opportunities to discuss our response to a crisis and explore actions that young people can take before and after disaster strikes.

Wildfire by Daniel Stark is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The learners reflect on a literature book written from the viewpoint of someone who used to bully others, Confessions of a Former Bully. They analyze the data collected from their survey to determine how bullying behavior affects their school. They learn that addressing bullying behavior in their community is an act for the common good, also known as philanthropy. They form groups and develop skits that illustrate "tools" for addressing the behavior.

In this lesson, learners identify bullying behavior using two literature books, Mr. Lincoln's Way and The Secret Bully.  They compare and contrast two examples of bullying behavior portrayed in the books and create a peer/staff/family survey to research bullying behavior in their own school community.

The group collaborates to plan, carry out, and reflect on an authentic service project that meets the health and safety needs of the community. This is based on the needs assessment conducted through surveying community members in previous lessons.

We all want our schools and other places we gather to feel safe, a place we all can be ourselves. In this lesson, we explore how respecting ourselves and others can promote an inclusive and safe community of belonging.

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