Learners use visual literacy skills to analyze the components and message of an image. They listen carefully and seek to understand the different opinions and perspectives of their peers. They identify issues that are meaningful to them and create a simple image and text to communicate a...
Students edit their memoir drafts, adding dialogue and figurative language in this guided writing session. This lesson will help students realize that struggles they experience in their lives often lead to a new understanding or lesson learned. Students will reflect on how their experience...
Using a brainstormed list of health and safety issue areas, participants design and implement a survey. They poll a group of friends and family to determine what health and safety issues are of greatest concern in their community.
Fairy tales are great stories for helping young people work out complicated moral issues in a make-believe context. Found in countries all around the world, the same story plays out in different contexts. Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters is a "Cinderella" story from Africa in which kindness...
A read-aloud book teaches about George Washington Carver and his contributions to science. Students gain an understanding of a famous person of the past and the importance of his actions for the common good.
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...
Young people learn about philanthropy through the book Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen and a visit from a nonprofit representative.
We each have gifts we can use to give our lives purpose and make the world better. Using our gifts for the good of others can solve problems, if we take bold and selfless action. Even very young people are capable of the kind of selfless actions that create positive change.
After reading the book The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter children talk about the importance of books to any community. They discuss ways to take action for the good of the community related to literature.
Discussion of the book The Three Questions guides youth to be aware of people and needs around them and the importance of service as a response to the needs of others.
Author: Urban EdVenture Faculty at Westminster