This lesson introduces Alfred Nobel and his legacy, the Nobel Peace Prize. 

With the Nobel Peace Prize as an example of an award given for improvements to the common good, the young people list descriptors of people and organizations in their community or families who exhibit generosity and promote peace in some form. 

We learn about organizations that responded to needs and increased social awareness during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

An activity and picture book discussion illustrate the tendency for people to see differences as a reason to fight. As we see in political divisions, society can be torn apart by factions. Differences provide an opportunity to be curious about someone else. Factions may also have a positive side when like-minded people collaborate to accomplish something difficult. 

Develop an understanding that you can find poetry everywhere: from lyrics to songs, commercials and rap. Investigate the philanthropic themes are often found in poetry.

Youth will use metaphor, simile and personification to create imagery in their writing and recognize philanthropy in poetry. The learners will also become familiar with the poet laureates, Billy Collins and his writing.

The students will use their knowledge of philanthropy and poetic conventions to write original poetry about philanthropic giving.

We build empathy and respect for people and giving traditions by listening to stories and traditions of present-day Native Americans. Participants practice listening and taking notes to capture key ideas. 

Junkanoo is a Bahamian Festival that takes place in December. The festival was started by slaves who were restoring some of their native customs that they left behind in Africa. Junkanoo is a nice example of artistic expression communicating aspects of a culture. This lesson introduces the historical, geographic, and social aspects of Junkanoo. It also deals with the concepts of group cooperation and factions.

We learn about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her leadership of the woman's suffrage movement. At the time it was hard for some people to see that women deserved equality or that change was possible, but her persistence and organization techniques helped raise awareness and involvement.