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Papa Johns

Elementary School Program

Our City®


Our City® studies careers, the skills people need to work in specific careers, and how businesses contribute to a city. Five required, volunteer-led activities.

The key learning objectives listed beside each activity state the skills and knowledge students will gain.
 

Activity One: Inside Cities
Students recognize that a city is a place where people live, work, play, and go to school. They become aware of the importance of civic planning to the economic development of a city. 		 Key Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
  • define a city as a place where people live, work, play, and go to school.
  • learn about the different zones used in city planning.
  • identify the job of a city planner.
Activity Two: Building a City
Students examine the role of a builder and become aware of how that job is interconnected with the job of the city planner. 
 		 Key Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
  • understand the importance of the construction business to a city’s economy.
  • recognize the skills a builder needs.
  • identify how the builder’s job relates to the job of the city planner.
Activity Three: Dining Out
While students explore the role of restaurant owner, they work in groups to make decisions about operating a restaurant. They define the terms consumer, producer, and entrepreneur. Through discussion, they are able to identify the difference between consumer and producer. 		 Key Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
  • make group decisions necessary to start a restaurant.
  • decide on a type of restaurant.
  • discuss and select the best location for a restaurant.
  • decide what to charge for meals.
  • select an employee.
  • promote the restaurant.
 
Activity Four: Making Headlines
Students examine the purpose of a newspaper as a communication tool for people in a city, as well as learn about the role of reporter. They generate and organize article outlines for a class newspaper. 
 		 Key Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
  • understand the importance of a newspaper as a communication tool.
  • recognize the skills a reporter needs.
  • generate article topics and develop article outlines.
Activity Five: You Can Bank on It
As they role-play simple financial transactions, students become aware of why banks are important to a city. 		 Key Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
  • understand that one of a bank’s purposes is to hold money.
  • complete a simple bank transaction.
  • balance a checkbook.

Our City® enhances students’ learning of the following concepts and skills:

  • Concepts – Banking, Business, Careers, City, City planner, Communication, Consumer, Decision, Economic development, Economic institutions, Entrepreneur, Incentives, Income, Interdependence, Jobs, Money, Producer, Quality, Resources, Skills, Specialization, Zones
  • Skills – Applying information, Applying thinking skills, Compiling data, Conducting research, Constructing data, Creating readable documents, Decision-making, Developing ideas, Drawing, Filling out forms, Following directions, Identifying zones, Interpreting data, Interpreting directions, Listening critically, Mapping information, Map reading, Making observations, Math computations, News writing, Reading data, Responding to written and oral presentations, Role-playing, Teamwork, Using scale

Our City® is a series of five activities recommended for students in third grade. The average time for each activity is 45 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 are designed to support the skills and competencies identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. These programs also augment school-based, work-based, and connecting activities for communities with school-to-work initiatives.

For additional information on this and all Junior Achievement programs, please visit www.ja.org