Learners look at nonprofit mission statements and then create a personal mission statement related to the impact they want to make as responsible, engaged citizens.
Focus Question: How does an individual use personal interests and strengths to impact the common good?
Students gain empathy and use language to describe the mixed feelings that come with being new to a community. They watch and discuss video clips and compare character traits. Then they read a book and discuss how the book guides them to welcome new students to the classroom as the year...
In civil society, different people come together to form community. While differences may cause conflict, for the sake of the common good, we practice empathy and respect for others. We use literature to talk about how people from different perspectives see the same thing. We discuss how to...
Students examine their personal healthy habits and their school (and neighborhood) environments to collect information about nutrition and fitness in the community. Students consider what changes they can make to the school or...
Learners take action for the common good to promote kindness in their school. They give smiley stickers to others or create posters to display around school with messages that promote kindness or teach people how to respond to bullying behavior.
This beautiful documentary The Gift of All: a Community of Givers shares the motivations and attributes of the generous people interviewed. In response, the learners create their own short biographies of philanthropists in their community.
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.
This lesson will teach learners G-d’s appreciation for trees and the importance of planting and preserving trees for our future. The learners will identify these concepts in Biblical verses, Talmudic passages and modern Jewish associations. They will also develop an understand of and an...
By reading about her life and her work, students will understand how Mary Eliza Church Terrell’s writing and activism brought about change for African Americans and women.
In this session, we learn about the sectors of civil society sector - business, government, and nonprofit. Youth watch the second half of the documentary The Gift of All and talk about the issues in West Michigan and the motivations of the philanthropists who made a major difference in...