Participants will view a video about a girl named Carly who is a refugee forced to leave her home. They will discuss the problems Carly faces in her journey to find a safe place to live, draw inferences as to why Carly had to flee from her home, discuss in what ways the groups Carly met showed a...
Self-care and social-emotional well-being are foundational aspects of effective philanthropy. By exploring their own needs and practicing empathy, youth learn to be constructive members of a community from a place of strength and balance. This lesson is best in collaboration with a social worker...
This lesson introduces the definition of a community and explores how communities come together to help or address a need.
Photo credit: Woodward Downtown by Becky McCray is licensed under CC BY 2.0...
This culminating activity gives youth an opportunity to teach about our land to others. They spread the word that "commons" are needed, and that when people work together they can make something better.
When we take action for the common good, we give up something: a little time or money that might have been spent on something else. Youth explore different forms of sacrifice for the common good and answer the question: When is a sacrifice justified and necessary, and when is it too much or a...
From books and research, young people read about the Aztec Empire practice of human sacrifice, which was seen as a gift to help the community. Discuss the concept of sacrifice for the common good and debate individual rights and community responsibility when taking action for the common good....
Young people listen to a story, summarize the main idea, and then act it out together. They identify the theme of community and describe the benefits of cooperation for the common good.
Communities come in many different configurations and may be defined by place or purpose. A family, which also comes in many different configurations, is a community that comes together in the same space and/or with the shared interest of caring for one another. The young people describe the...
Learners meet in a "round" to discuss issues of fairness and the common good. They explore how downloading music for free affects the common good. They brainstorm other issues of fairness that affect the common good.
In this second lesson about Jane Addams, we learn about the impact of her philanthropic work and connect it to the needs of our communities today. Young people discuss voluntary actions they can take inspired by Jane Addams.