Students learn effective techniques and complete prewriting activities for writing a persuasive essay. As a culmination of the unit, students choose one of the three styles of writing--news article, personal narrative, or persuasive essay--to write, edit, and publish about their experience with giving time, talent, or treasure for the common good.
Students learn about the characteristics of an effective personal narrative and compare those to a news article. They do prewriting activities and practice writing details to show rather than tell about an experience.
Students become familiar with the structure of the newspaper and the purpose of the different types of articles as they explore "stories" about acts of giving and sharing time, talent, and treasure for the common good. Students recognize the types of voices and articles in the newspaper. They analyze the components of news articles and complete pre-writing for a news article about their own acts of philanthropy.
Youth raise awareness of ways to advocate for justice and kindness and bring positive change in their school, community, and world.
In this lesson, we explore the role of youth in the advancement of human and civil rights. Young people share ideas about how they can promote the common good and lead positive social changes.
Raise awareness of the importance of freedom of speech and the opportunity to voice one's opinion without fear of reprisal, as principles basic to a democracy. The learners investigate ways to have a positive influence in encouraging eligible voters to make their voices heard at the polls during elections.
Learners identify ways to use advocacy to promote change.
Discuss and evaluate personal beliefs and attitudes about the treatment of animals, especially applied to sports and entertainment. We explore how laws and beliefs concerning animal welfare affect personal responses to animal treatment.
Participants explore how animals are used in sports and entertainment. They explore the concepts of animal welfare and animal cruelty. The learners articulate personal opinions concerning the use of animals for human entertainment.
The lesson provides learners with an opportunity to explore ways to become a hero for animals by promoting animal welfare and humane treatment of animals. Learners identify a local, state, national or international animal welfare cause and develop a personal service/advocacy plan, using the rational approach to problem solving. They implement the plan, and share the results of their service/advocacy with their peers and/or the community.