This lesson will teach the basic ideas of Shemittah and the practical reasons behind the commandment and the learners will understand the connection between respecting the Earth and respecting themselves.

All people have need for and deserve friendship and belonging. In this lesson, we explore the elements of community relationships, like kindness, inclusion, listening, and trust. The children compile pages to make a big book that teaches others to be caring community members. 

In this lesson, young people research various types of renewable energy and write a persuasive statement about which energy source their city or county should invest in. 

Students learn about the characteristics of an effective personal narrative and compare those to a news article. They do prewriting activities and practice writing details to show rather than tell about an experience.

Youth identify motivations for giving and social action in the community. They compare research-based motivations of adults and youth. They write a persuasive call to action for an issue of their choice based on the motivations they learned. 

Youth make a plan as empowered and responsible members of the civil society to take action to prevent bullying behavior while being sensitive to the people involved, from the victim to the bystander to the bully.

In a persuasive essay, learners describe the responsibilities of American citizenship and the cost of freedom. They connect how philanthropic action is a part of those costs. “Freedom isn’t free. It passes on an enormous debt to the recipient.”

In this lesson, youth prepare a persuasive speech in which they demonstrate that one person (or small group) can make a difference in making the world a better place or taking action for the common good.

We learn a little history of the painters Van Gogh and Gauguin who were driven by a need to give of themselves to others through art. Participants study the techniques and draw their own portraits. They make a gift of the portrait to someone.