In this lesson, learners explore and address the following questions: Who are the minority voices of the past and how has the civil society sector stepped in to protect their rights? What actions were effective? What public policies are in place to protect them? Who are the bullied today and...
Fairy tales are great stories for helping young people work out complicated moral issues in a make-believe context. Found in countries all around the world, the same story plays out in different contexts. Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters is a "Cinderella" story from Africa in which kindness...
Learners reflect on their experience with performing an act of kindness from the previous lesson. They compare their experience to the message in a folktale, and write about the impact of a single small act of caring.
Young people listen to a story, summarize the main idea, and then act it out together. They identify the theme of community and describe the benefits of cooperation for the common good.
Self-care and social-emotional well-being are foundational aspects of effective philanthropy. By exploring their own needs and practicing empathy, youth learn to be constructive members of a community from a place of strength and balance. This lesson is best in collaboration with a social worker...
We define philanthropy and discuss the joy of giving, as well as various ways to give through nonprofits in the community. We learn how #GivingTuesday, an international initiative, focuses on generosity and the power of social media and combining efforts with others to make a big...
Introduce the folksinger Woody Guthrie and his legendary song This Land Is Your Land. His songs were written for everyone to get involved in their community. Learners understand that it is the responsibility of everyone to help take care of each other and the Earth.
Students explore what it means to be responsible citizens and identify ways they are (or can be) responsible at home, in school, and in the community. They create a survey related to people's perceptions of community health and poll members of the community to identify needs.
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.
This lesson guides youth to take take action with a group. They plan and carry out a tikkun olam project of their choosing to help the local community.