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Classroom Resources

Curriculum Development and Lesson Planning

• American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen has many classroom resources to help you plan summertime curriculum and keep students engaged. Last year, they created a documentary with Frontline about the dropout crisis. Watch it for free on PBS’s website.
• Rethinking Schools is a prominent publisher of education materials. Rethinking Schools "remains firmly committed to equity and to the vision that public education is central to the creation of a humane, caring, multiracial democracy."
• Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, is a magazine, but also has classroom resources, film kits, and more available on its website.
• The Zinn Education Project supports the use of Howard Zinn's best-selling novel, A People's History of the United States. The website offers more than 100 free, downloadable lessons and articles organized by theme, time period, and reading level.
• PPS Curriculum Department
• PPS 9th Grade Transition Project: Team Wiki, developed Summer 2011. Thanks to Summer VISTA alumna Sunny for sharing this with the team. The wiki includes teaching and learning resources for writing, reading, geography, and career-related learning experiences.

Positive Youth Development

• ORCC Executive Director, Josh Todd, led a workshop on positive youth development during the 2013 Pre-Service Orientation. Click on the following links to download the handouts from his presentation: Rights and Responsibilities in Positive Youth Development, Youth-Adult Relationships, and Six Steps to Fostering Resilience in Children and Youth.

Working with Youth & Empowering Youth

• The Portland Youth Manual outlines how to empower youth to lead decision-making in their lives. It was written by the Youth Planning Program, run out of the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability at the City of Portland.
• Being Y-AP Savvy: A Primer on Creating and Sustaining Youth-Adult Partnerships. "Youth-adult partnership is involving youth and adults in responsible, challenging, and collective action that seeks to benefit an organization or larger community."

Icebreakers & Reflection Activities

• Icebreaker Activities, Lansing Community College
• Salt & Light Retreat Resource Manual, Boston College
• AmeriCorps Reflection Toolkit
• Facilitating Reflection: A Manual for Leaders and Educators, written and compiled by Julie Reed & Christopher Koliba
• Reflection Basics: A Guide for Processing a Service Experience, Butler University

Mentoring

• The Value of Mentoring, from MENTOR, may help guide you explore the ways in which you can be a mentor to a young person.

Spanish Language

• BBC Languages - Spanish
• Duolingo will send you free, daily lessons and activities.
• WordReference.com has a forum on resources for learning Spanish or improving your Spanish.
• KBOO Community Radio has several Spanish-language programs. Check out Mujeres Bravas, Armando Puentes, and more.

Behavior Management

• Coming soon!