From Our Classroom to Yours:Bring Government to the Classroom!

This fall, some of our National Young Leaders Conference scholars will participate in The Civics Connection, which is a series of webcasts designed to help students understand the inner workings of the United States Congress. The Civics Connection is a partnership between the United States Association of Former Members of Congress and the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government. During each webcast, the scholars will get to pose questions and interact with former members of congress, as they discuss political issues in today’s society to be viewed live in classrooms nationwide.

There will be three Civics Connection webcasts this fall. The first webcast took place on September 23rd, 2009, on the topic of "Choosing Congress: Pursuing Public Service on the National Stage." Two former Representatives spoke about what it takes to get elected and fielded some great questions from our scholars. Click here to view the entire webcast when it best fits your classroom schedule. You can watch the upcoming webcast(s) live, or view them at a later date. The next webcast will be Wednesday, October 7th at 2 p.m. ET. You may register at any time by clicking here. We hope you will enjoy using this resource with your students.

Message from the Director

Dear Educator,

Welcome back to school and to another edition of Leadership Link, the Congressional Youth Leadership Council's (CYLC) E-Newsletter!

The new school year brings with it new opportunities and challenges along with a renewal of school community. This month's issue focuses on the theme of community and ways in which you and your students can reach out to connect your local area and school community in a meaningful way. Also, be sure to take a look at this month's lesson, as we focus on ways to help your students to recognize their school and classrooms as communities as well.

In addition, CYLC has partnered with By Kids for Kids (BKFK) to help foster a community of bright and motivated students from across the country. Be sure to read more below about how some of your inventive-minded students can take part in an innovative challenge!

Be on the lookout for next month's issue to arrive on October 6th. Until then, I wish you a successful, happy and healthy school year!

Please comment below or e-mail me at anita@cylc.org.

Best Wishes,

Anita Barrett, M. Ed.
Managing Director of Academic Affairs
Congressional Youth Leadership Council

From Our Classroom to Yours:A Lesson on Building Community

As your students return to the classroom for another school year, they may question where they fit or belong in the social hierarchy that exists in many middle and high schools. Research shows that teachers who successfully engage students tend to incorporate activities into their lessons that address students' basic psychological and intellectual needs (Anderman & Midgley, 1998; Brewster & Fager, 2000). A student's sense of belonging (social support and participation) predicts their likelihood of dropping out of high school (Yazejian, 1999).

This month's lesson plan will help your students to recognize their school and classrooms as communities to which they belong and help you build a sense of community within your classroom.

Click Here to view this month's lesson - Lesson on Building Community. You will be asked to login using the password you received via e-mail at the time you subscribed to CYLC Mentor Newsletter.

Did you use this lesson plan with your students? Please share some of your classroom experiences with using this lesson plan or share suggestions with your teachers on ways you adapted this lesson plan to work for you.

Does Service-Learning teach citizenship through experience?

Enhancing the Community

Service-Learning enhances the community through the service provided and it also can have powerful learning consequences for the students participating. Click here to read how one rural school district in California has implemented service-learning to benefit both their community and their students.

How does Service-Learning teach citizenship through experience? Comment below to share with other educators how they can also include environmental studies in their classrooms.

Partnering with the Community

Partnering with the Community

Schools across the country are seeking creative solutions to dealing with the impacts of budget cuts in their district. Click here to see how a teacher partnered with his sister to bring discarded government agency computers into his Thomasville, Alabama school.