Doing Good: A Compassion Education Curriculum

Description

Doing Good is a unique, ten-unit curriculum intended to teach young people about problems facing the world, about caring for others, and about getting involved and making the world a better place.

The curriculum starts by teaching youth about gratitude and being more appreciative of what they have, then moves into activities which focus in on the themes of empathy and compassion for others while at the same time introducing kids to some of the biggest problems facing the world, including the problem of global poverty. Towards the end of these units, we introduce young people to ways they can demonstrate compassion for others by creating projects that can improve the lives of others less fortunate than themselves.

Each Unit Includes

The configuration of book itself is a combination of handouts, individual, partner and collective activities, journal and reflection practices, lesson plans, reflective questionnaires, quizzes, suggested readings, and homework assignments.

These materials come with additional resources including various websites and video links to be explored during the process of working with one’s participants. In addition to this, Doing Good provides facilitators with fundraising ideas, a directory of organizations, and recommended resources. At the conclusion of this course, it is our hope that participants would take it upon themselves to create a project that would, in one way or another, benefit those less fortunate than themselves somewhere in the world. The curriculum is intended to show participants how they can take their compassion for others to a higher level by simply taking the time to do good for others.

The lesson plans contain more exercises, ideas and activities that can be completed in an hour. This may allow for the instructor or leader of the course to tailor the lesson plans to their needs and assign homework.

Units

Part One

Lesson One: Gratitude

Lesson Two: The Real World

Lesson Three: The Problems We Face

Lesson Four: Empathy

Lesson Five: Compassion

Lesson Six: Poverty Near and Far

Lesson Seven: Out of Poverty

Lesson Eight: Needs, Wants and Waste

Lesson Nine: Happiness

Lesson Ten: Doing Good

Part Two

Service Project