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JA BizTown combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to a simulated town. This popular learning experience allows elementary school students to visit BizTown, where they become Citizens in a simulated town. They will have the opportunity to operate banks, manage restaurants, write checks, and vote for the mayor. Students can connect the dots between what they learn in school and the real world.
JA BizTown is recommended for grades 4–6. The learning experience is a JA Capstone program and is available for classroom-based, self-guided, or remote classroom implementation. It includes 12 teacher-led sessions before the visit to BizTown and one session following the simulation, with a 4–5 hour visit to a hands-on simulated community or a virtual simulation.
In JA Career Speaker Series, a volunteer guest speaker visits the classroom and shares information about his or her career, work, and education experience. The speaker may bring props, work samples, or other visuals to help engage students.
Following participation in the learning experience, students will be able to:
JA Career Speaker Series is part of the JA Work and Career Readiness Pathway and can be placed in grades K–12. The learning experience is available in classroom based, remote synchronous, recorded video, or after-school/out-of-school Implementation. Activities and implementation design vary based on grade level.
JA teachers and volunteers are encouraged, as part of this learning experience, to utilize the resources available in JA Connect® Learning Pathways, located at connect.ja.org. This self-guided experience includes interactives, JA Here to Career™, games and apps for student use.
JA Learning Experiences support national and state standards in reading, mathematics, social studies, and work and career readiness. See below for more information on alignment with national and state standards.
Junior Achievement USA gratefully acknowledges Citi Foundation for its dedication to the development and implementation of JA Career Speaker Series.
JA Economics for Success reveals the heart of a successful economic life: choosing the right career and managing money properly. JA Economics for Success is part of the JA Financial Literacy and JA Work and Career Readiness Pathways and is recommended for middle school students.
JA Economics for Success is recommended for grades 6 to 8. This volunteer-led, kit-based program is available for classroom-based and remote classroom implementation. It includes six 45-minute sessions, with additional extended learning activities and optional digital assets offered throughout.
As part of this program, JA teachers and volunteers are encouraged to utilize the resources available in JA Connect™ Learning Pathways, located at connect.ja.org. This self-guided experience includes interactives, JA Digital Career Book, games, and apps for student use.
JA Inspire is more than a career fair: It brings together the business community and local schools and is designed to help launch middle school students into their future—high school, college, and careers beyond. During the JA Inspire expo, students participate in hands-on activities, often using equipment or tools used on a job. The multi-hour experience is configurable to align with local industry and career opportunities.
JA Inspire is recommended for 6th to 8th grades. It’s a volunteer-led and educator-led program that can be classroom-based, remote-live, or after-school. The program is both classroom and event-based and consists of three segments: in-class sessions presented by the classroom teacher, the hands-on JA Inspire expo, and an in-class debrief.
This program can be combined with JA Inspire Virtual to meet the needs of educators, students, and volunteers.
JA It's My Future offers students practical information to help prepare them for the working world. Students develop the personal branding and job-hunting skills needed to earn a job.
JA Inspire is recommended for 6th to 8th grades. It’s a volunteer-led program that can be implemented as a classroom-based, remote synchronous, or after-school program. It includes six 45-minute sessions, with additional extended learning activities and optional digital assets offered throughout.
JA It's My Job (Soft Skills) helps students understand the value of professional communication and soft skills, making them more employable to future employers across multiple career clusters. Lessons focus on social and soft skill competencies that relate real-life experiences to job skills and prepare students for their future careers. Topics include communication and presentation skills, manners, listening skills, and cell phone etiquette.
JA Inspire is recommended for 6th to 12th grades. It’s a volunteer-led program that can be implemented as a classroom-based, remote synchronous, or after-school program. It includes six 45-minute sessions, with additional extended learning activities and optional digital assets offered throughout. The minimum delivery is three sessions; the number and topic of modules can be determined based on student needs and available time.
JA Our City featuring Cha-Ching™ introduces students to financial literacy and learning objectives for social studies, including how people manage their money and the importance of economic exchange within a city. Dr. Alice Wilder, an award-winning expert on childhood learning (Blue's Clues, SUPER WHY, Cha-Ching, Speakaboos, and Amazon Kids original programming), consulted on the learning experiences redevelopment.
JA Our City is recommended for third-graders. It’s a volunteer-led, kit-based learning experience available for classroom-based or remote classroom implementation. It includes five 45-minute sessions, with additional extended learning activities and optional digital assets offered throughout. Spanish translation is available for JA Our City. New features include Cha-Ching financial literacy music video enhancements, digital posters and games for use in the classroom, extended learning opportunities and optional supplements, and augmented reality activities to do at home.
The JA Our Community program emphasizes work readiness intersected with social studies learning objectives. Topics include careers, production, innovation, earning, taxes, government, money, business, and decision-making. The student will develop a sense of career awareness and learn how all jobs help a community. The theme throughout the curriculum will emphasize how they, as citizens, benefit from and contribute to a community’s success in the future. Students will come to see how a community works together to be successful.
JA Our Community is recommended for second graders. It’s a volunteer-led, kit-based learning experience available for classroom-based or remote classroom implementation. It includes five 40-minute sessions, with additional extended learning activities and optional digital assets offered throughout.
JA Our Nation introduces students to the intersection of work readiness and upper elementary grade social studies learning objectives. Through hands-on classroom activities, the learning experience provides students with practical information about the nation's free-market system and how it serves as an economic engine for businesses and careers. It also introduces the need for entrepreneurial and innovative thinking to meet the requirements of high-growth, high-demand careers and the concept of globalization in business.
JA Our Nation is recommended for fifth-graders. It’s a volunteer-led, kit-based learning experience available for classroom-based or remote classroom implementation. It includes five 45-minute sessions and one optional supplemental session, with additional extended learning activities and optional digital assets offered throughout.
