Introduce the folksinger Woody Guthrie and his legendary song This Land Is Your Land. His songs were written for everyone to get involved in their community. Learners understand that it is the responsibility of everyone to help take care of each other and the Earth.
Through four folktales from different parts of the world and wisdom traditions, learners explore how to make decisions in difficult situations. They define discernment and wisdom and give examples of each in real-life situations.
Learners explore character traits and life lessons through folktales from various American cultures. The stories illustrate the impact of "paying a debt forward" rather than "paying it back."
Through folktales from around the world, learners explore humans' important role as caretakers of the Earth and the role of civil society in environmental stewardship.
Native Americans, or Indigenous People, are located geographically across the entire continent of North America. There are many stereotypes of native culture, but their culture varies as much as their locations, as each group of native peoples have their own traditions. This lesson focuses on seven Native American groups and their folktales as they relate to generosity of the spirit.
When times are hard, it is sometimes difficult to remember that the things that count are not material, and the people who make a difference in our lives are the ones we often take for granted. We read five Jewish folktales that reveal gifts of generosity in everyday events of life. Through reading and discussion, the learners discuss the folktale's message and connections to philanthropy.
This lesson introduces learners to taking personal action to respond to a crisis or disaster. They learn vocabulary terms spend, save, and donate, as well as the definition of philanthropy (giving time, talent, and treasure, and taking action for the common good).
This lesson introduces ways to respond with empathy and generosity to a natural disaster. Young people learn about civic responsibility and addressing needs. They define vocabulary terms philanthropy, spend, save, and donate.
The youth read the book Seedfolks and discuss the diverse characters and their individual contributions to a community garden. While learning about the thirteen individuals in the story, they identify their character, heritage, motivations, and contributions to nourishing and maintaining the vacant lot garden. They discuss how their combined efforts changed not only their lives but also the lives of their community for the better. They relate this to their own diverse community.
Young people use their voice to speak up for injustice and take action for the common good.