Building Great Citizens to Create Better Communities
When students have built a character core and have developed 21st Century skills for success, they are on their way to becoming great citizens ready to give back to the community. The Building Great Citizens program brings social-emotional learning together with project-based learning to make positive community contributions while learning some important concepts such as justice, equity, fairness, service, and inclusion. Lesson plans provide application of skills with a menu of student activities that encourage collaboration, advocacy, community services, & project-based learning.
Research Behind Building Great Citizens
Social-emotional learning prepares students to collaborate with others. Research supports the fact that continuous, purposeful, and systematic social-emotional learning instruction provides many positive outcomes, including skills essential to building great citizens who in turn create strong and supportive communities. According to research, students who contribute positively to their families and communities often have an increased sense of belonging and greater efficacy.
To build great citizens, students need to understand complex concepts such as:
- Justice and Fairness
- Equity and Mattering
- Inclusion and Solidarity
- Service and Diversity
Cloud9World offers many online resources for schools implementing this product to create a schoolwide cultural shift. Videos, games, morning announcements, books, and curriculum all add to the schoolwide focus on a single strength throughout the month. The monthly focus provides everyone involved time to internalize, practice, and apply their new social-emotional skills with each other and at home.
Building Great Citizens at Home
Parents can reinforce and model many Building Great Citizen character strengths at home. This program provides parents with plenty of resources including cards that explain each skill & how it can be reinforced at home. The Home Connection provided with each lesson provides parents with activities to do at home with children to help them become great citizens who contribute positively to their families and communities.
Professional Development Opportunities
Professional development for Building Great Citizens is available on site. Contact Cloud9World to schedule on-site professional learning. As part of the training, teachers will examine each of the Building Great Citizen program components and how they can be implemented to increase social-emotional, and academic learning.