Learning to Give, Philanthropy education resources that teach giving and civic engagement
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Unit Purpose:
Students engage in activities that illustrate the importance of every person contributing his or her voice in a democratic community/society. They explore the connection between rights, laws, and voting in a democracy. They learn about their local government structure and visit a public office to collect data through interviews and observations. Students create a final project tying together their knowledge of voting, rights, laws, and public office.
Unit Duration:
Five 50-Minute Class Periods, Plus time for a field trip and to carry out a service action
Unit Objectives:
The learner will:
- explain the importance of registering to vote and participating in the democratic process.
- identify groups who have historically had fewer rights or groups who may not fully participate today in the democratic process for a variety of reasons.
- identify issues of importance over which they would like to take action through advocacy.
- identify rights and responsibilities of US citizens.
- understand the concept of civil rights, and how they relate to the ideals of democracy.
- identify ways in which laws uphold civil rights.
- identify a right, and defend in a debate format whether citizens should or should not have that right.
- locate and contact a public office to visit on a future date.
- determine questions to ask and information to research about local government.
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identify the resources required to run local government.
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gain insight into the daily workings of the local governmental systems.
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develop a greater awareness of the structure and function of various political and governmental positions and offices.
- synthesize information about democracy, civic responsibility and local government to communicate with others about getting involved.
- through a project, demonstrate understanding of democracy and civic responsibility, especially related to local government.
Service Experience:
- In Lesson One, students fill out voter registration cards and discuss the responsibility each citizen has to vote. Students that are not old enough to vote can still encourage their friends and family to register. They can advocate for the importance of using one's voice and tell them how easy it is to fill out the registration form.
- In Lesson Two, students make up a children’s bill of rights based on the rights they learned in class. Students create a bookmark or brochure listing key rights of children and contact information of local agencies that provide assistance to children and families.
- In Lesson Three, students select and carry out a project to demonstrate the process and importance of civic engagement.
State Curriculum and Philanthropy Theme Frameworks:
See individual lessons for benchmark detail.
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