5TH GRADE PROGRAM - JA CITY

Elementary school students are not old enough to drive, work, vote, or be the boss. But that doesn't stop them from operating banks, managing restaurants, writing checks, and voting for mayor at JA City! The program combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to this fully-interactive simulated town facility. The program helps students connect the dots between what they learn in school and the real world.

Through daily lessons, hands-on activities, and active participation in this simulated community designed to support differentiated learning styles, students develop a strong understanding of the relationship between what they learn in school and their successful participation in a worldwide economy. JA City helps prepare students for a lifetime of learning and academic achievement.

JA City is the JA USA experiential-based, elementary school capstone program. The program encompasses important elements of work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy, providing students with a solid foundation of business, economics, and free enterprise education. Furthermore, the program content augments students' core curriculum in reading and mathematics. Throughout the program, students use critical thinking skills to learn about key concepts as they explore and enhance their understanding of free enterprise.

Following several weeks of classroom study, students participate in an exciting full-day visit to the JA City site. At JA City, students work as employees in various businesses (facilitated by volunteer educators and business professionals); they are paid for their labor, and they manage personal checking accounts. Throughout the day, students learn about time and money management skills as they work, bank, and shop as consumers.

Following their participation in the JA City simulation, students participate in debriefing lessons to ensure a well-rounded learning experience. These lessons allow students to reflect on their JA City experience and further identify the relevance of classroom learning to their future plans and goals.

The JA City curriculum will help teachers and students achieve fifth grade academic standards in language arts, mathematics, and social studies. A complete listing of correlations between JA City curriculum and Utah's academic standards is available.