We find poetry everywhere: lyrics to songs, commercials, and picture books. Poems express strong emotions and observations of relationships with each other and the world. Sharing their poems to communicate care can be an act of generosity.
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Unit: Poetry for the Common Good
Unit: Motivated to Give
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.
Unit: Writers as Activists
Students will recognize the linguistic strategies that Alice Walker uses in her introduction to Anything You Love Can Be Saved that persuade readers to believe in her causes, and thus begin to think about techniques that they can use in their own activist writing, which they will do in...
Unit: Road Less Traveled
Participants read about the philanthropic traditions of early African-American culture and place the values of giving in a hierarchy circle.
Unit: Early American Influences
We look at the Society of Friends/Quakers and describe how this group promoted the common good. The Quakers pushed for religious freedom and freedom of choice, which are Core Democratic Values. As a group, they formed organizations to promote social change in the areas of slavery,...
Unit: Character Education: Caring (Grade 7)
In this lesson the learners discuss a quote about gratitude and consider the relationship between caring and gratitude.
Unit: Character Education: Fairness (Grade 8)
Learners reflect on their attitude about and responsibility for making fair choices about spending. They use the literary device of metaphor to express their thoughts.
Unit: Dear Philanthropist
After researching the life and work of a chosen philanthropist from history, the learner takes on the role of that philanthropist in writing a letter back to the learner. In this letter, the philanthropist shares their motivations and feelings about their work, and compares and contrasts...
Unit: Tzedakah: How Can We Help? (Tzedakah) (Private-Religious)
This lesson will help students learn the importance of helping people in need, and teach them to take an active role in helping others. It will allow the students to be aware of what kind of items and quality of items should be donated, how to communicate an idea to others by visual means...
Unit: Watershed S.O.S.
Through observation of the water cycle, we discuss the importance of water as a nonrenewable resource. Why is being a good steward of this resource an example of acting for the Common Good?