Jane was born in 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois to a prosperous family. Her father was "Quaker-like" in his thinking and so encouraged Jane to pursue a real education and, if she chose, a career. Jane attended Rockford Seminary and then attempted medical school. She decided a trip abroad might help her clear her head so she could find her calling. It worked. Jane decided to dedicate her life to the uplifting of the poor and displaced. Through education, training and job opportunity, the poor could improve their situations. And she gave them that opportunity through Hull House in Chicago, Illinois. She received a Nobel Peace Prize for her work in 1931. Jane died in 1935.

1. Prior to the arrival of the character, have students compose and write down questions to ask fellow students about the presentation. At the conclusion of the presentation students will ask and respond to each others' questions. The character will remain silent throughout the exercise. At its conclusion the character will correct any wrong answers for the students. (This is an exercise in securing the students' attention to the materials presented; the Q & A session will positively reinforce the lesson.)
2. Ask the students to define charitable works. Relate it to the immediate family, then the community and, finally, to global projects. Have them give examples: helping a parent, grandparent or sibling at home; a marathon to raise funds; a school drive to collect for a hunger campaign; any ads they might see on TV for local social service agencies; international movements, such as Peace Corps, save the children campaigns, environmental organizations.
3. Have the students organize a charitable event, such as a food or clothing drive for a shelter in the community. Help them to plan it and run it themselves. Create posters to advertise the drive at school, compose a "giving letter" to be sent home to parents. Have the students deliver the goods to the site. When their campaign is complete, discuss how they feel about what they did.
4. Create a play. Have the children pretend that they are social workers that are on a mission to investigate unfair child labor practices at a Victorian factory. What might they encounter? What would they do about it?
   Characters:
   Social workers (three or four)
   Factory owner
   Factory boss
   Child laborers
   The children's parents
   A mayor and some council people
   The governor and some state legislators
   The president of the United States
   This exercise will help the students to realize responsibilities to their fellow human beings as well as the opportunities of free speech and social activism that they enjoy as citizens of the U.S. The teacher will initiate discussions about the problem of unfair child labor practices and how to resolve it with laws that protect children through activism at all levels of community and government. Discuss and compare the differences between the democratic form of government in the U.S. and that of, say, China.

1. Social work - organized efforts to improve life for those less fortunate
2. Poverty - being poor; having less than an adequate amount of money or material possessions
3. Suffrage - the movement to get women the right to vote
4. Settlement Houses - centers that provide community services in a poor area
5. Immigrant - a person who leaves one country to permanently settle in another
6. Depression - a period of time in which people lose their jobs and have difficulty finding another, businesses close and people have little or no money to spend
7. Victorian - the period of time that Queen Victoria of England ruled: 1837 to 1901