Community Building

Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

  • Civic Duty: Examine basic tenets of citizenship and value of community service
  • Vision Building: Create a vision for a community that will improve education, economic empowerment, and quality of life for its residents
  • Consensus Building: Inspire others to work for the good of the community
  • Resource Management: Mobilize assets and resources to achieve goals
  • Collaboration: Understand the power of diversity and working with others for stronger impact

Here's how it works:

The Interface

ON THE REEL
An animated short introduces the theme-based, real life issues that adolescents face and characters who students can identify with. Each story provides thought-provoking questions about values, problem-solving, and personal growth.
BREAK IT DOWN
Replay portions of the animation that the YLA Team Leader uses to facilitate group analysis and discussion. This activity teaches students to identify problems, assess risk, draw conclusions, and communicate effectively.
WRITE TO THE POINT
Participants can express their individual views in an electronic journal to reinforce the lessons learned in prior sessions. Students use their critical thinking skills while strengthening their language and reasoning skills.
WE GOT GAME
Take the lesson to a physical plane, allowing students to act on the topic and to integrate the lesson experientially through role playing, digital projects, and challenge and puzzle games. Students learn to trust and work collaboratively in groups.
FINAL ANSWER
A TV-style quiz game that measures retetion without feeling like a test. It allows for evaluation and assessment on participants.
GLOSSARY
Provides definitions of unfamiliar words that appear throughout the text in the interface. This enables the exploration and use of new language.
HOT LINKS LIBRARY
Encourages further study of the topic by providing links to relevant content on the internet. Participants integrate history, geography, economics, and language arts into the Life Skills modules.