Our Community®

Our Community® is designed to provide practical information about businesses and the many occupations found in those businesses in a typical city. This program is designed to comply with the 2nd grade curriculum. 

The goals of Our Community® are to:

• supplement the elementary social studies curriculum with business and economics-related skills and concepts. 

• 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 how citizens must take responsibility for the well-being of their community. 

• make the students aware of the importance of education for future career development. 

Our Community® Activities

Our Community explores the interdependent roles of workers in a community and how communities work.

Activity One: How Does a Community Work?

The students study a poster illustrating a community to identify typical jobs. They develop an awareness of how people live and work together in a community. 

Key Learning Objective  The students will...

• identify a variety of jobs in the community

• recognize how people live and work together in a community

• become aware of a wide range of job opportunities

Activity Two: Sweet "O" Donuts

The students, individually and in teams, use different production strategies to simulate producing donuts. 

Key Learning Objective  The students will...

• define productions compare unit and assembly line production methods

• explain that different strategies are used to produce different types of products

Activity Three: The Role of Government

The students learn about the economic role of government in a community by identifying services that government provides to its citizens. The students also recognize that government must collect taxes from everyone to pay for these services. 

Key Learning Objective  The students will...

• recognize government jobs in the community 

• understand why government collects taxes to provide services for everyone

Activity Four: A New Business

The students determine the best use for the empty store on the How Does a Community Work poster. The step-by-step decision-making process helps students understand how group decisions are made.

Key Learning Objective  The students will...

• define choices

• practice using a decision-making models recognize the need to make decisions carefully

Activity Five: Money and Banking

The students learn about money and why it is important to the community.

Key Learning Objective  The students will...

• identify circumstances of money being exchanged for goods or services

• recognize how money is used in a typical community
  

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Our Community® enhances the students' learning of the following concepts and skills:

Concepts

• Banking 

• Business

• Choices 

• Circular flow 

• Community 

• Division of labor

• Economic institutions

• Goods

• Government

• Incentives

• Interdependence

• Jobs

• Money

• Productivity

• Taxes

 

Skills

• Comparing 

• Critical thinking

• Decision making 

• Identifying choices 

• Listening responsively 

• Making observations 

• Problem solving 

• Role playing

• Teamwork

Our Community® is a series of five activities recommended for students in grade 2. 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 have technology enhancements and are designed to support the skills and competencies outlined in the SCANS (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills) report. These programs also augment the school-based, work-based, and connecting activities for communities with school-to-work initiatives.

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