We all want our schools and other places we gather to feel safe, a place we all can be ourselves. In this lesson, we explore how respecting ourselves and others can promote an inclusive and safe community of belonging.
In this activity, the learners discuss and illustrate what it means to show respect for their personal identity, values, and emotions.
Learners define respect first for themselves, then as a group, they discuss the meaning of respect in different situations.
Participants gain exposure to how citizens organize in response to a need. They observe the benefits of group cooperation. They review data they have collected from surveys and work in collaborative groups to identify focus areas for the service-learning project.
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.
Together we define philanthropy and identify health and safety issues we encounter in the community. The group creates a visual display showing issues of health and safety that are important to them.
The participants will distinguish the difference between wants and needs and learn that many times refugees are without basic needs. They respond to a story about a refugee camp, “Four Feet, Two Sandals” and come to a consensus on a service project to benefit refugees or others in need, and plan and implement a youth-driven service project.
The youth take action by determining ways to reduce their own use of plastic bags and by advocating for ways to reduce the use of plastic bags in their own households, the community, state and nation. To take further action, they may propose ways to influence government officials to change laws so plastic bags are banned, taxed, or not given out for free.
Children learn about the issues of plastic in the ocean. They learn the effects of plastic garbage on the environment, including the lives of animals.
Children participate in a trash clean-up and analyze the issue of pollution caused by trash, especially plastics. They discuss who should be responsible for preventing or cleaning up pollution - government, business, charitable organizations, and/or individuals.