​JA Our Community®

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JA Our Community is a series of five lessons. The average time for each lesson is 60 minutes. Materials are packaged in a self-contained kit that includes detailed lesson plans for the volunteer and materials for students. The Program explores the independent roles of workers in a community, the work they perform, and how communities work.

The goals and objectives of the Program are:  

• help the students discover a variety of occupations; 
• discover what elements are typically found in a community; 
• develop the students’ awareness of which businesses operate within the community;
• increase the students’ understanding of how government works to support services for the well-being of its citizens;
• heighten the students’ awareness of their community.

​All JA programs are designed to support the skills and competencies identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. These programs also augment school-based, work-based, and connecting activities for communities with school-to-work initiatives. 

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Program Concepts

Ballot, Banking, Benefits, Business, Choices, Circular flow of money, Community, Defect, Division of labor, Economic institutions, Goods, Government, Incentives, Interdependence, Jobs, Money, Needs, Productivity, Quality, Resources, Services, Skills, Specialization of labor, Taxes, Trade-offs, Vote, Wants

Program Skills

Comparing, Critical thinking, Constructing data, Decision-making, Developing ideas, Displaying data, Formulating questions, Identifying choices, Interpreting data, Listening responsively, Making observations, Matching, Predicting based on data, Problem-solving, Role-playing, Teamwork