When will JA America Works be available?
The program is scheduled for release on September 1, 2006.
How many sessions are included in JA America Works?
There are six, 45-minute, volunteer-led sessions.
What is the student grade level?
The program is designed for middle grades students studying U.S. history.
What are the major marketing points of JA America Works?
- Aligns primarily with U.S. history and economics standards.
- Secondary focus on reading, writing, and mathematics standards.
- Developed to ensure relevance in all classrooms affected by high-stakes testing.
- Designed for students in grades six, seven, and eight.
- Available for use in grades five and nine as deemed appropriate.
- Includes a CD-ROM for each student for optional use in classrooms or as an interactive, take-home piece.
- Includes a Take-home Newsletter for students to share with parents/guardians and a puzzle that reinforces program vocabulary.
- Contains various learning extensions and opportunities for use in after-school or alternative environments, or by the teacher beyond the volunteer’s time in the classroom.
- Piloted at 11 sites throughout the country, with more than 1,000 students participating.
- Formative evaluation conducted by the Evaluation and Training Institute (ETI).
- Experts in social studies, mathematics, literacy, and diversity, along with Area Office staff, consulted on the program content.
Program Basics
JA America Works focuses on the impact of business and entrepreneurship on the development of the United States during the 19th century.
The program is designed around six important themes:
- Immigration
- Agriculture
- Natural Resources
- Transportation
- Communication
- Industrialization
Program Sessions
Following participation in the program, students will be able to:
- Describe the significance of business and entrepreneurship in the economic development of the United States.
- Explain how new and improved technologies have advanced the production of goods and services.
- Apply their knowledge of business and economic concepts in analyzing contemporary events, as well as business opportunities and challenges.
Immigration Session
Students learn about the contributions made by immigrants in the economic growth of the United States during the 19th century. They also learn how “push and pull factors” affected immigration in the 1800s and still do today.
Agriculture Session
Working in groups, students role-play scenarios related to the Homestead Act to understand how homesteaders helped to make public lands productive.
Natural Resources Session
Students learn about the importance of natural resources to businesses through the example of the California Gold Rush. They explore the development of boomtowns and their frequent transformation into ghost towns.
Transportation Session
Students identify various modes of transportation used during the 19th century and compare them to modern transportation. They also learn about productive resources: natural, human, and capital, and test their knowledge in a board game in which a train and a barge compete in a race to Eureka.
Communication Session
Students explain how methods of communication developed in the 1800s helped expand business opportunities across America. They learn how the telegraph in particular, increased productivity in a variety of businesses. Students also use Morse Code to decode messages.
Industrialization Session
Students learn how industrialization has changed American lives over time and led to increased productivity. Working in groups, they create a future innovation in one of three categories: photography, writing machines, and recorded music.
JA Worldwide™ gratefully acknowledges the Pitney Bowes Literacy & Education Fund for its dedication to the development and implementation of the middle grades program, JA America Works.
410 N. Boylan Ave
Raleigh, NC 27603
Tel: (919) 821-2100 Fax: (866) 362-1392
Email: chip@JuniorAchievement.net