I love #GivingTuesday.
I know, I’ve said that before…and you’ve caught me in the act again. Guilty. But I also know it’s a movement that just makes me happy, a charge to expand goodness in the world, so if I’m going to love something, it’s a perfect choice. As a mom, I’m also pretty attached to my two boys, and I’ve plowed a lot of time and effort into exposing them to philanthropy.
I want them to understand that every single person on this planet can and should play a positive role in its future—that it’s up to us to act, to invest, to serve.
You can imagine how pleased I was when I was introduced to an organization that combined my two loves, #GivingTuesday and teaching kids about giving. That organization is Learning to Give, a nonprofit that works, through K-12 teachers, to “spark students to learn and act for good” by providing more than 1,700 lesson plans designed to both inspire and equip students to use their hearts and minds to impact the world. The teachers are the real heroes here (as they often are), the inspirational inflection points that take this well-thought-out, well crafted curriculum to the kids who gather in their classrooms.
This year on #GivingTuesday, Learning to Give is asking teachers to join the international movement to celebrate an opening day to the giving season by doing what they do best, by teaching.
Learning to Give believes that a key way to change the world is to broaden the number of people learning about philanthropy, civil society and giving time, talent and treasure. They do this by educating kids, giving them the knowledge to engage, and then encouraging action. The formula is Knowledge+Skills+Behavior, and it’s already working with two million teachers who leverage the program today.
Learning to Give is seeking to reach 300,000 students through 10,000 teachers using lesson plans designed just for the day.
They’re calling this initiative TeachOne, and the call to action is for teachers in classrooms across the country to teach one lesson on giving on #GivingTuesday. Learning to Give provides the communication tools and the lesson plans and will be standing ready to use its social media reach to share the stories that result. And after #GivingTuesday, the rich online content lives on as a resource for those inclined to keep the conversations with their students going.
Each lesson includes:
- A set duration (how many class periods and how much time for each class)
- Stated learning objectives
- Materials scope specifically for the lesson
- A bibliography
- Step-by-step instructions
So if you’re a teacher, you know a teacher or you’re an interested parent seeking to help teach about giving, this free resource is for you. Perhaps you can encourage someone to join TeachOne for #GivingTuesday, or maybe you can join in yourself. Although this resource is for teachers—in both public and private/independent K-12 school setting—it is rich in material and inspiring for all of us who spend a part of our lives bringing kids along and helping them engage in the world of giving.
By Rachel Hutchisson on Oct 14, 2015
Tagged: #GivingTuesday giving tuesday TeachOne