What lies beyond your front door? Let’s explore it! JA volunteers display a poster of a typical community, and the students meet some of the people who live and work there. Through hands-on activities, the students learn about workers, the work they perform, why workers are paid, what taxes are and how they are used, and where to save money.

Our Community examines responsibilities and economic opportunities available within a community.

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

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

Our Community is a series of five activities recommended for students in second grade. The average time for each activity is 30 minutes. Materials are packaged in a self-contained kit that includes detailed activity plans for the volunteer and materials for 30 students.

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.

Additional information on the program can be found on JA Worldwide's website.