• Guide children to knowledge about themselves, their place, rights, friends, families, and roots.
• Support children in the act of growing up and living, without imposing adult views, religious or political points of view on them.
• Help children get friends, build social networks, and cooperate with peers around the world.

It is provided in the shape of lists of 389 questions and 233 activities. Questions and activities are optional, so that teachers and moderators can make a selection that meets the needs of the children they serve, and curriculum.

Usually, the learning process starts with a face-to-face discussion in a classroom or some other meeting place.  After the discussion, conclusions and views are shared with peers through the Internet for questions, feedback, and discussion. Each of these connections is essentially more human than technical. They link kids more than their machines, and can lead anywhere.

Sample Questions

This selection is made to provide an impression, a cross section. It is not necessarily those that you would select for your group. For example, when working with street kids, some questions about family may have to be removed.

Module 1: Who am I? (8 weeks)

1. Who Am I?
2. Some people are Realistic (the doers), Conventional (the organizers), Investigative (the thinkers), Social (the helpers), Enterprising (the persuaders), Artistic (the creators). Do you know which of these types fits your personality or that of your classmates?
3. What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up?
4. Some of us are good team workers; some of us work better alone. The team workers are 'members of the pack'; they work in cooperation with the others until the task is completed. They are the facilitators. At the other extreme is the 'lone wolf'. This person prefers to do the job alone. He will develop solutions by deductive reasoning and attempt to achieve objectives with a minimum of help from others. Which of these types will work beautifully doing a research, analysis, or audits? Find among your friends a 'lone wolf' and a 'member of the pack'
5. How Do I Want The World To Be Better When I Grow Up?
6. What Can I Do Now To Make This Happen?

Module 2: Where do I live? (9 weeks)

1. You and your friends have very unique personalities. What do you think you have in common and how do you differ? Do you think that you are shaped by your place on earth, the surroundings you live in, your country, music, what is popular? What shapes you and your friends as you are? Do your friends help shape who you are? Do your heroes shape you?
2. How do people change their environment to accommodate their needs?
3. What do you like best about your area?
4. How many people are in your town or village? Where can you find this information? Does it matter how many live in a community? Does it matter where you live?
5. How do people earn their living where you live? Is your area full of hard working farmers, industrial laborers, businessmen and women, scientists or academics? Do people work at home or elsewere?
6. Does your area or country have a legend or folklore that you know?
7. Do you think that there is a prejudice in your area? How would you define prejudice? Share experiences of prejudice, when you felt it and when you showed prejudice if you have.
8. Choose one day this week and write a journal entry for every hour on the hour. Take short notes during your learning day describing where you are and what your feelings are at the time. If you are in a learning situation that you really enjoy tell us why you like it. Be sure to describe your feelings in greater detail that evening.

Module 3: What are my rights? (10 weeks)

1. What rights do I think I have?
2. What is the difference between a right and a privilege?
3. Can we demand rights without assuming responsibilities?
4. Do kids at school respect your space and right to be yourself? Do kids make fun of kids who are "different?"
5. What do you think are the major challenges facing children with disabilities in your school or in your town?
6. Why do you think that adults don't always include kids in decision making?
7. Are you allowed to make decisions about how you spend your free time for sports or hobbies?
8. Should schools use filtering software for the World Wide Web?
9. Should parents limit the number of hours that kids watch TV? Do you think TV shows have too much violence? Is this harmful to kids?
10. Do you think some drugs are dangerous to your health? Are some controversial drugs tolerated in parts of the world?
11. Do you think kids should get an allowance from their parents? Should this allowance be earned for doing chores?

Module 4: My friends and family (8 weeks)

1. How do you know that a person is your friend? Does your friend have to say something or do something to be your friend?
2. How do you resolve disputes? Do you try to avoid people you disagree with? Do you find that listening carefully for what the other person really wants and needs can help?
3. What things can help you feel better when you are sad about the death of a friend, family member or pet?
4. Do you think responsibilities are fairly divided among your family members? If you don't think so, how would you makes changes that would be more fair? Do you think you should do more - or less? If so, why?
5. If you become a parent what rules do you think you will make in your family? Will you give your kids a chance to help make family rules?

Module 5: What are my roots? (8 weeks)

1. Are there any special songs that your family sings whenever there are big family gatherings? Do the old people in your family sing the same songs as you do or different ones? Do you know those songs?
2. Do you ever feel that your culture is under attack? Do you feel that your culture is changing or losing its identity because it is assimilating elements from other cultures?
3. What household appliances that we take for granted today were not around when your grandparents were young? How did they manage to do without them? What alternative means did they use?
4. What family traditions does your family have that you would like to see passed down to future generations?
5. Do you think that your ancestors thought about their future generations and how life would be for them? You are that future generation. Do you think that your ancestors handed down to you a world that is better than they had?

Module 6: Virtual Vacation (10 weeks)

1. Write to your online friends and invite them to come to you on a three day virtual vacation.
2. How can you make your area interesting to others? Are there interesting places in the neighbourhood? Did anything interesting happen there in the past? Did any famous people ever live there?
3. Are there any traditions, holidays, festivals or sports in your area that you think might interest your visitors?
4. Write an invitation: You can write a letter and send it to the mailing list or you can make a poster with pictures and text about your area, scan it and send it to the list. Or you can make a web page with the information you have gathered. Perhaps you would like to make a videotape and send to those interested in making a visit. A postcard, a photograph or a picture would surely be welcome. You can draw pictures on the computer or on paper.

5. After having sent your invitation, write to the mailing list and ask others if the information you gave them is clear enough. If anyone needs more information about your place, find it and post it to the list.

6. Where would you like to go? What makes places interesting to you?
7. Do you want to visit a place where you have been before or see a new place?

Instead of learning math, reading, writing and science as foreign, theoretical subjects, students are learning to use these subjects as important tools in a program that relates to real life.

Next page: How to get started?
The Magic of WAI | Curriculum Connections by Area | Life-skills training | Abstract to print and share