Project 2000 is a nonprofit organization established to inform the citizens of Utah and create a dialogue about the changes in Utah's future by the year 2000 and beyond.

One of the programs initiated by Project 2000 is KIDSPEAK which is designed to give young people---future citizens, community leaders and decision-makers---an opportunity to voice their concerns and perceptions about life in Utah and their expectations for the future. At the same time, KIDSPEAK provides a vehicle for children to become directly involved in projects that will make their communities a better place to live.

"The future belongs to the children of today. They will inherit a rapidly changing world filled with problems and promise.As the guardians of their future, it is our responsibility to equip them to enter the adult world with an understanding of the challenges, the skills to analyze those challenges, and the ability to make a difference," said Jenifer Stevens, Executive Director, Project 2000.

KIDSPEAK has three components: a survey, administered statewide by the PTA to 10,000 students; community projects, to motivate students to develop responsibility for making their community a better place to live in; and a Futures Forum, to utilize the survey results to develop questions for a panel discussion on issues.

Expanding on the original program, in 1989, a "KIDSPEAK-Futures Curriculum" Workshop was held as a pilot project to focus on implementing critical thinking skills within the context of community problem solving into school district curriculums.

In a follow-up workshop a year later, teachers from targeted school districts felt the curriculum was instrumental in helping them expose students to new and different methods of learning about how to affect change in their own communities, and in teaching students how to think critically.

Project 2000 materials were adopted as part of the social studies core curriculum. Based on the success of the curriculum, the KIDSPEAK-Futures Curriculum was updated, expanded and introduced to the remaining school districts across the state.

The following lesson plan is from KIDSPEAK:


Lesson 1 Personalizing the Planning Process

Step 1: The world in your bedroom.
Have students spend some time thinking about their bedrooms, which are one of the few environments most kids have any contorl over, i.e. they can choose where objects are placed and how clean or dirty they want it.

Step 2: Through your bedroom door.
Ask students to imagine walking through their bedroom door into the hallway and notice how it connects to the other rooms.

Step 3: Connections with your everyday world
Continue the exercise by having them imagine walking out of the house, noticing how the home sits on the land, and how the land connects to neighboring homes, businesses or vacant land.

Step 4: Your neighborhood and your city
Finally, have the student continue their explorations by noting how they feel as they leave their homes and travel to school, taking their usual route and usual method of transportation. Remind students to use their best instincts and all of their five senses as they explore their everyday world from their bedroom outward.

Step 5: Some questions
These are just a few of the questions you might ask at the end of the exercise."Were there places that made you fearful or comfortable?" "Were there places that smelled terrible or places you always avoid?" "Are there places you always choose to travel past or think could be improved?" The students' answers will lead to the discovery of real problems in need of solutions that will improve their everyday environment.