In this lesson we learn the history of the Indigenous people who lived in our specific area. We learn that language matters, and there is a respectful way to talk about the heritage of a person who was first to live in an area. 

Participants discuss the attributes and benefits of local water resources and ecosystems. They identify the interrelatedness of humans and the environment in the book A River Ran Wild, and discuss how the way we treat the water impacts our lives.

Using award-winning literature, the learners describe and analyze racism in Mississippi during the Great Depression. The readers identify the injustices in the community as well as the values and self-respect that build community relationships and strength. 

Music may bring joy or it may help people reflect on their feelings. The "freedom songs" may have motivated the Civil Rights activists as they sought to aid the common good, and we can bring music to someone in the community as a gift of generosity and inspiration.

Motivated by the song "This Land is Your Land," learners locate areas on a U.S. map and discuss the definitions of community, philanthropy, and volunteer. They picture themselves as volunteers, helping others.

Learners distinguish between the many different approaches to addressing hunger by looking at governmental versus nonprofit programs. They will describe the importance of philanthropic actions in solving the problems of hunger in the world.

Learners increase their reading fluency and awareness of philanthropy by reading to younger children.

In a kid-friendly approach, we look at the components of the U.S. Constitution and put early government-forming events in a context. We distinguish the roles of the three branches of government, especially the structure and responsibilities of our judicial system. 

Students view primary documents to explore public policy on service. They make meaning of the government role and citizen responsibility in civic action. They make a personal plan of service based on their available time, talent, and treasure.

This lesson focuses on two young Jewish survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi death camp.  As they return to their home town and the concentration camp, they each tell their story and explain why they were willing to return to such an emotionally devastating place. Their story is...