Resource Database

It is important that kids know how to safely navigate the Internet. In response to this need, Y4Y has added digital literacy to its suite of Click & Go training resources. Its purpose is to educate afterschool staff on the importance of digital literacy and how to effectively teach it to students. Training materials include podcasts, customizable tools, and links to additional resources.

How does one become engaged in their community? Youth.gov has created a webpage that helps educators and youth improve their understanding of civic engagement and provides resources related to that topic. Resources include an overview of volunteering as a form of civic engagement and links to civic engagement activities and organizations.

A strong persuasive essay should include evidence to support the author’s argument. A video from Edutopia shows how educators can use an evidence scavenger hunt to help students locate text passages that present evidence in an essay.

Many people journal their thoughts and feelings, but what about journaling diagrams and lists? A recent article from Edutopia describes the practice of math journaling and how students creation of mathematics-related stories and drawings can improve their learning.

Students have lost a substantial amount of valuable learning time due to COVID-19. A new blog post from Share My Lesson discusses how student book clubs help students recover from the pandemic learning loss and develop a passion for reading.

Project-based learning (PBL) is helping students become more engaged and creative. A new article from Edutopia summarizes two gold-standard studies demonstrating that PBL is a beneficial education strategy, including for historically marginalized students. This blog post can be helpful to educators seeking research on the effectiveness of PBL.

The Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) is a new resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This resource assists educators and curriculum developers in creating the most effective health education curriculum and providing the best quality health education for students. The HECAT resources include guidance on reviewing health education curriculum, customizable templates, and tools to analyze curriculum fundamentals.

The Afterschool Alliance, along with The Institute for Citizens & Scholars, hosted a webinar moderated and led by students from the Kentucky Student Voice Team. The students shared content from a case study, The Co-Creation Generation, which is intended to serve as a resource for advocates who want to create meaningful youth-led and intergenerational initiatives. The webinar archive includes a question-and-answer session, strategies for youth-led initiatives, and student perspectives.

Each year about one in five students faces at least one form of hostile or violent behaviors like bullying, hate speech, hate crimes, or assault. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a study explaining the hostile behaviors that students experience on school campuses and the strategies that schools adopt to address these problems. The report finds that nearly every school reviewed uses programs or practices to address hostile behaviors, with almost 90% of schools utilizing SEL principles.

The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments has designed a tool that provides helpful practices on how school administrators can support staff members and how educators and other staff can support students. These practices center on building individual capacity and creating a supportive environment. Topics include ways to support staff when they are overwhelmed, designing an identity chart for personal reflection, and helping students build connections with others.