Based on the recommendations of the soup kitchen guest from lesson one, young people decide how they will take action to help address a need. They may donate canned food, volunteer to serve lunch, bring games to play with children at the soup kitchen, or make bowls to sell as a fundraiser. This...
Lead a discussion about the power of words to include, instruct, and inspire action. Participants analyze quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, about being open and inclusive. Design social justice posters to teach others about what they learned.
In this lesson, the students learn to use their voice to say something to make the world a better place. This is an opportunity to demonstrate and feel the impact of kindness, inclusion, and listening on a caring community. Students learn from a community helper about the needs they observe in...
To introduce students to examples of the major types of nonprofit organization: arts, education, environment, health, religion, and social services. Each site is representative of a nonprofit category and the visit is to give students an example of opportunities for giving.
This lesson explains what the Census is and why it is important for everyone. Every ten years, we count everyone who is living in the U.S., from babies to the oldest people. This gives our government a clear idea of who lives where and regions where we have growth or decrease in population...
To learn about the different philosophies of three renowned philanthropists.
Image source: John D. Rockefeller in 1885. From Wikimedia Commons. Original source: Rockefeller Archive Center.
A positive school or community climate is made up of people making choices about how to act and treat one another. It is everyone's responsibility to follow the established social contract. To make a deliberate social contract, participants identify how they want to act together and survey the...
Learners walk around their neighborhood parks observing plants, use of space, and ways to make the shared space better. They problem-solve about things they can do and then interview and survey others to get ideas and permission to take action.
The learners explore the building grounds or neighborhood, looking for places that need extra attention and stewardship. When they find a spot to care for, they must find out who the stakeholders are and interview them. Listening to different perspectives before making a plan of action shows...
Students learn about the role of bees as pollinators and learn about reasons their population numbers have been declining in recent years. They write a letter or create a handout to teach others how to help bees through planting native species.