Fairy tales are great stories that illustratea complicated moral issues in a make-believe context. The Cinderella story has a universal theme of an under-appreciated, kind, and honest child who finally gets what she deserves. Found in countries all around the...
What is our responsibility in the world? To Alice Rumphius, her responsibility was to do something to make the world more beautiful. But what does that mean to her and what does it mean to you? Making the world a more beautiful place may seem like a big task, but small simple gestures may...
This classic children’s tale, The Lorax, is a timeless call to protect and preserve our natural resources. The Lorax explores the interconnected world of nature and the possible damage if we don’t act responsibly. This book demonstrates the all-too-real consequences for careless...
To provide an opportunity for students who can maintain a vision of a goal their group has to achieve, to show leadership and coach their group members towards the goal. Helium Hoop also creates a space in which leaders can learn to sense the energy of a group. Often times, a group will face conflict when they are in the middle of a project. We use this activity to help the students name that conflict and move forward.
Author: Urban EdVenture Faculty
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To show students that everyone is part of the big picture and that the skills needed to take care of a small community of individuals are similar to those needed to care for a larger community.
This activity can be done at different times throughout the course, each time adding more people to the circle. As one of the closing activities for Urban EdVenture, we do a giant yurt circle with the entire 5th grade, each person playing a role in supporting their neighbor and their grade as a whole.
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To have students go through an experience that mimics the multiple steps and importance of clear communication between parties necessary in planning and carrying out a service learning project.
Our classes do “The Beast” game as we prepare for our grade-wide service learning projects. This activity is one of the most complex problem solving initiatives we use. It builds on the foundations learned in previous activities and should come near the end of the course.
Author: Urban EdVenture Faculty
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To accomplish a goal together through the use of teamwork skills, problem solving, risk taking and perseverance.
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To focus on sharing ideas, creating and following through on a plan, and being responsible for one’s role in a group. In addition, River Crossing can have multiple rounds to draw out or focus on key terms. This activity is often used to help frame the ideas around planning a service learning project.
Author: Urban EdVenture Faculty
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To work together, see the big picture, and think about the connection between individuals in the group as students participate in the activity.
Author: Urban EdVenture Faculty
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We work on communication and listening skills while designing and building simple objects. This helps us think about the power of words and how difficult it can be to get a message across to another person without it being lost in translation.
Author: Urban EdVenture Faculty
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