Reviewing current political cartoons related to justice, equity, and racism, learners identify how language and humor act as a form of social action. They create their own cartoons or statement promoting or showing the damage of one of these themes.
Learners look at nonprofit mission statements and then create a personal mission statement related to the impact they want to make as responsible, engaged citizens.
Focus Question: How does an individual use personal interests and strengths to impact the common good?
The learners view works of art that advocate for social change and find that art can influence social change. The learners select an issue of human rights and create a work of art that represents the issue. They write a paragraph of explanation about their work.
Youth learn about basic human rights and discuss whether everyone deserves these rights. In addition, they reflect on examples of human kindness and collective action for the common good.
Youth analyze personal reasons for taking action and compare them to the researched motivations for giving.
Youth make a chart of how they typically spend a free day and then envision what that same free day would look like when it is infused with philanthropy. They plan a free day, substituting their usual routine with activities that serve the community. They discuss the benefits and opportunity costs involved in sacrificing personal time for the common good of their community.
After reading about historical figures who have taken philanthropic action related to justice, youth write a narrative about a more recent (young) philanthropist who took action for social justice.
Using words of Native Peoples, youth explore examples of the philanthropic attitudes and traditions.
Groups analyze and define the concept of community. They identify the benefits and sacrifices involved in actions for the common good in their role as citizens.
After reading two stories, learners compare and contrast the attitudes, actions, and impact of the main characters. They reflect on some essential questions: What does it mean to be a philanthropist? What does it mean to be an environmentalist? What does it mean to be a good steward of the earth?