These Learning Links provide ten quick-and-easy, five-minute mini-lessons to promote student thought and dialogue about service and civic engagement. You may use as many of them as you wish, and in whatever order best meets your needs and the interest of your students. The purpose of these mini-lessons is to provide a deeper understanding of philanthropy (the giving of time, talent, and treasure for the common good) and to reinforce the lesson focus. These Learning Links also promote the development of character traits, civic engagement, and student leadership. As appropriate to your grade level, it is recommended that students play an active leadership role in presenting these mini-lessons to their classmates.

1. Read: Do you recognize any of the following names: Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, Alan Alborn, or Michael Neumayer. How about Bjorn Einar Romoren? Each of these individuals holds their nation’s record in Ski Jumping competition: Eddie from the United Kingdom, Alan from the U.S.A., Michael from Germany, and Bjorn from Norway Bjorn currently holds the world’s ski jump record of 239 meters. That’s equal to the distance of over 2 ½ football fields in length! Since 1924 Ski Jumping as been a part of the Winter Olympic Games, but not every nation has been able to support a team of jumpers. One of the reasons that many nations do not compete in this sport is that they lack snow and therefore the ability to practice. One of the ways supporters of this sport are trying to spread its popularity is by finding ways to construction and maintain practice facilities. These include plastic "fake snow" to provide a slippery surface even during the summer and in locations where snow is a rare occurrence. “We want every nation represented (in the Ski Jumping competition) that way it’s more fun and more challenging!” admits one promoter of the sport.
   
   Discuss: Often people will not get involved because they feel that they lack the necessary resources or skills.”I don’t have the necessary supplies.” “I’m not good enough.” “It’s not my thing.” “It sounds like too much work.” “I’m too old (or young) to be doing this stuff.”These are often the comments one hears from those who are hesitant to leave their comfort zone and get involved in something new and perhaps different. Like the supporters of Ski Jumping, what are some of the things we, could do to help spread the popularity for our service project? In what ways will having everyone involved in our event be more fun and more challenging?
   
    
2. Read: Can you enjoy a bike race? How about a swimming race? A boat race?  A track race? A car race? Followers of NASCAR Racing know the name Dale Earnhardt. The mere mention of his name provokes emotions of respect, idolization and a sense of awe in race fans and people around the world. His daring and calculated moves on the track brought fear and respect from his fellow drivers, both of which were often off-set with his advice and extensions of friendship to them off the track. Known as The Intimidator, his heartfelt and giving ways were bigger than any track he raced. Many of those giving and charitable ways often went without fanfare or public accolades. As busy as he was, he never forgot his humble beginnings and he knew the value of taking time to remember those in need.
   
   In his honor and memory The Dale Earnhardt Foundation was established. This Foundation believes the solutions for many of society’s problems rests in the imagination of individuals, who are simply looking for a way to express them. As a part of the Foundation’s projects, the annual Legend Leadership Award was established to recognize deserving individuals and/or charitable organizations that offer outstanding solutions to problematic issues we all face, either in our local communities or in our daily lives. Two recent winners of this Award were teenage brothers Kyle and Brady Baldwin from Green Valley, California.  Through the support of local businesses, book publishers, bookstores, and individuals, these two boys have distributed over 4,800 books to underprivileged children.
   
   Discuss: How did Dale Earnhardt use his talent to promote the common good? Why do you think someone would choose to be a part of a solution to problematic issues in our schools, communities, and/or nation?  Could recognizing someone for doing good motivate others to want to make a contribution as well? Why or why not? How is our project showing the value of taking time to remember those in need, those who need cheering up, those who deserve our thanks and appreciation?  Everyone enjoys some type of a race, how does our participation in this event indicate that we enjoy the human race?
   www.TheDaleEarnhardtFoundation.org
   
    
3. Read: In earlier times one of the few ways that the people of Alaska were able to move about the country during their winters was by dog sled. Several distinct dog breeds were and are still being used to pull wheel-less sleds across Alaska’s frozen tundra. The well known purebred sled dog breeds are the Siberian Husky, the Alaskan Husky, and the Alaskan Malamute. These dogs and similar such breeds of dogs are used to race in what some refer to as “The Last Great Race on Earth”- the Alaskan Iditarod. This race is run from Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast. It features dog sled teams of 12 to 16 dogs and their driver known as the musher. From start to finish this race covers over 1,150 miles and typically is accomplished in 10 to 17 days depending on weather conditions and other factors.
   
   One day, John Suter went for a snowmobile ride and was amazed that his miniature poodle could keep up with his snowmobile, at a reasonable speed. He decided to try sometime that no one had ever done before. He decided to race standard poodles as sled dogs. In 1988 through 1991, Mr. Suter and his poodles competed in Iditarod Sled Dog Races. Musher and poodles finished all four Iditarod Races in which they competed and always finished toward the middle of the pack.
   
   Discuss: What do you think would motivate someone like Mr. Suter to try something no one had ever tried before, much less thought about trying? When you consider all the talents of a Siberian Husky, Alaskan Husky, or Alaskan Malamute, what do you think most people thought the chances were of the poodle team even finishing the grueling 1,150 miles, much less in the middle of the pack? What might this story have to say about being inclusive when it comes to the planning of our service project? In what ways might we surprise ourselves as well as others? How can we convince those who feel that they have “poodle-like” talent when “Husky-like” talent seems more appropriate, that the seemingly “impossible” is “possible”?
   
    
4. Read:  In the mid-1930s, a man by the name of William Penn Adair Rogers, better known as “Will Rogers” was Hollywood’s top-paid movie star and humorist. He was born on land set aside by the United States government for use by the Native Americans. Learning to ride horses and use a rope, Will Rogers quickly became known as Oklahoma’s favorite son. He is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for throwing three ropes at once. He threw one around the neck of a horse, another around the horse's rider, and a third around all four legs of the horse. His 50 silent films and 21 "talkies” and nationally known syndicated newspaper columns brought him recognition as a world-famous figure. No doubt many of you have heard of him. Despite having been killed when the small airplane in which he was riding crashed near Barrow, Alaska in 1935, Will’s legacy lives on to this day. Even though all of the roles that brought him fame and fortune in the past, today Will plays his most important role and it affects the lives of thousands of people throughout the world. The Will Rogers Institute, an organization that was founded soon after his tragic death, is making strides every day in understanding, treating, and curing pulmonary diseases and disorders. For those whose health have benefited from this research institution, Will Rogers will always be known as one of the World’s favorite sons!
   
   Discuss: Do you think Will Rogers, back when he was a young boy living on a reservation and tossing a rope around, gave even a passing thought to the fact that one day he would have an Institute named in his honor? Will Roger’s talent just didn’t fall from the sky, it took a lot of hard work and practice but even after his death his talent is still being used to help make today’s world a better place. As we participate in our service project and other projects that require hard work and practice, can we possibly know the present and future impact of our efforts? You might use this little story to encourage those who have not yet made up their mind about participating in this event. But you’re likely to hear the excuse, “Oh, but I’m not a Will Rogers!” If you do hear this excuse, ask the person who responded this way, if they honestly think as a young person Will Rogers knew that he would someday become Will Rogers, one of the World’s favorite sons? Whether our participation brings us personal fame or fortune is not the question for this day. The question for this day is how will our planned project help make today’s world a better place?
   
    
5. Read: The National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning has a “GOAL”. They want to make Tampa Bay a better place to live. The team has created their own Foundation that focuses on the advancement of amateur hockey and educational enrichment to the Tampa Bay communities. They are currently developing a program that gives medical research and treatment for those in need. Even the Lightning’s mascot-ThunderBug- gets into the action promoting the importance of reading through an interactive presentation of "GoldieBug and the Three Bears. A team spokesperson said, “Through this presentation, the Lightning Foundation hopes to make reading "cool" for youngsters.” Participating schools receive ThunderBug posters autographed by ThunderBug and defensive player Jassen Cullimore. They also receive ThunderBug's “ GoldieBug and the Three Bears" books for each student. During the holidays the Lightning player’s wives can be found collecting and packaging food and meals for families in the Tampa Bay area. They collect and wrap donations to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Program. A special holiday party each year is hosted by the Lightning Foundation to help make the season for children suffering from cancer and their families merrier. Players, coaches, and staff are on hand to give presents, sign autographs, and give away tickets to up-coming hockey games.
   
   Discuss: In what ways does everyone involved with the Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey Team share their talents? What are some of the “goals” we have for sharing our talents with others? Is it possible that by participating in our event we can help make our school and community a better place to live? Why or why not?
    www.tampabaylightning.com.
   
    
6. Read: Rachel Carson grew up in rural Pennsylvania. Even as a very young person she was very interested in nature. She also enjoyed writing and poetry. As she grew older she began to write. Many people in literary fields called her writing, hymns to the inter-connectedness of nature and all living things. She held an ecological view of nature. She would describe, in precise yet poetic language, the complex web of life. She linked mollusks to sea-birds to the fish swimming in the oceans’ deepest and most inaccessible reaches. Rachael Carson soon became a renowned nature author. As a former marine biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, she was uniquely equipped to create a book that would startle and inflame the world. In her book, Silent Spring, written in 1962, she exposed the hazards of the pesticide DDT, eloquently questioning humanity's faith in technological progress. This book helped set the stage for the advancement of the environmental movement that exist yet today holding industries and individuals responsible for keeping our environment safe and healthy.
   
   Discuss: Rachel Carson used her talent to move the world toward caring about the environment. She was able to combine her talent with her deep abiding interest. As we become involved in our service project, how might we, like Ms. Carson, use what talents we have to make the world a better place? How might our event help celebrate our interconnectedness with all living things? In what ways might our event help reveal the benefits of caring?
   
    
7. Read: We know him as Michael J. Fox but his real name is Michael A. Fox (A. standing for Andrew). He was born in Canada, where his family lived in various cities and towns because of his father's career in the Canadian Armed Forces. At the age of 15, Michael co-starred in his first TV series and at age 18 he moved to Los Angeles, CA to pursue an acting career. He was unable to use the name of Michael Fox when he went to register with the Screen Actors’ Guild. The Screen Actors’ Guild does not allow duplicate registration names to avoid credit ambiguities. A veteran character actor was already registered under the name of Michael Fox. Since he did not like the sound of "Andrew" or "Andy" Fox and he decided against using his middle initial in order to avoid a Canadian stereotype, as in Michael "Eh?" Fox, he finally arrived at the letter “J”.
   
   Stardom did not come easily for Michael J. Fox, although he landed a rapid succession of parts, he hit a dry spell. At one point the young actor was even forced to sell off pieces of his sectional couch. Michael called this period of his life "macaroni days" referring to the fact that he ate many macaroni and cheese dinners.  Family Ties, Back to the Future, Spin City, and The American President, plus numerous supporting roles finally helped to reveal his talent.
   
   In 1991, Michael was diagnosed with the onset of Parkinson’s disease; a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills and speech. This prompted him to use his talent to become a strong advocate of Parkinson's disease research. He especially advocated for embryonic stem cell research, which many in the scientific community believe may one day help sufferers of Parkinson's and other life threatening illnesses. His foundation, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, was created to help advance this research.
   
   Discuss: Michael J. Fox uses his acting talents to support his Foundation in an effort to promote the common good by finding cures for life threatening diseases. As we look to utilize our talents during our service project, while our efforts may not appear to be nearly as important as Mr. Fox’s, how might we avoid feeling that we have little if anything to offer? What “disability” might we have to overcome in order to make our contribution for the common good?
   
    
8. Read: Break Dancing began somewhere around the early 1970s. Initially it was believed that break dancing provided young people with a constructive alternative to violent urban street gangs. Today, while it remains a remarkable art-form, the break dancing culture is typically free of the common race, gender and age boundaries. It has been accepted worldwide. Though its intense popularity eventually faded in the 1980s, today it has grown into a well-known and accepted dance style. It is portrayed in commercials, movies, and the media. One break dance instructor said, “Break dancing gives kids an opportunity to express themselves and share their expressions with others in a way that communicates acceptance and appreciation for music and movement. It’s a dance that is taught and learned in community. It’s all about sharing.”
   
   Discuss: In what ways is our service all about expressing ourselves in a way that communicates acceptance and appreciation? Why might learning from others and teaching others what we know be a good way to approach this event?  How could our service project give each of us a chance to express our individuality and share it in our community?
   
    
9. Read: Mention the name Pelé in soccer circles and everyone is likely to agree that he might well have been the greatest soccer player who every played the game. On November 19, 1969, 200,000 people witnessed the scoring of his 1000th goal. In spite of being honored as the Athlete of the 20th Century, Pelé insists that an eight year old girl, Yamilett Cortés, from Queens N.Y. launched him out of retirement and into his new career.
   
   At age 66 he not only inspires children to play soccer, but promotes reading as well. Yamilett’s letter and art work, in response to an article in Fútbol Mundial, a soccer magazine, led the magazine to launch the Time to Play, Time to Read campaign. The campaign is now being headed up by Pelé. This campaign seeks to promote reading skills for children and families worldwide. “Our intention is clear, we want to engage families and kids to grow and prosper together by discovering the world through reading. We want to create reading routines that close the achievement gap and encourage bi-lingual learning skills,” Pelé says.
   
   Discuss: In what ways are the talents of Pelé, Yamilett, and those of Fútbol Mundial being used to promote the common good? What might motivate these individuals and this publishing company to use their talents to help individuals and families? How can we use our talents to promote the common good during our service project? How can we use our talents to promote the common good even after this year’s art-related service event is retired?
   http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/pele-talks-brazil-us-and-david-beckman/
   
    
10. Read: There is a Chinese proverb that says “Tis better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Perhaps this is what Chris Rice had in mind when he wrote the song entitled Go Light Your World. Do you remember hearing it? The song is a call to each of us to reach out to the world's lost and hurting people. It uses a candle to symbolize the need for us to be a light in our world especially in those dark corners where people feel hopeless, confused and torn.  The song was sung by Kathy Troccoli. She was so inspired by its words that she personally has since gone out to meet and work directly with over 250,000 people a year in prisons and in other difficult and “dark” areas all over the world. Most recently she traveled with James and Betty Robison of Life Outreach International to Africa and India. While in Bombay, India, Troccoli spent several days working in the slums of the city. As the Robisons' TV crew documented the terrible conditions that exist for hundreds of thousands of India's children, Troccoli understood for the first time why Mother Teresa wanted to help them.
    
    "To see the condition that these little ones are living in is devastating," says Troccoli, who found herself weeping continually during the trip. She was humbled by a child who wiped her eyes with his sweater, and by two children who gave her one of their two cookies and halved the remaining one.
    
    "My eyes have seen, and my heart now has responsibility," she says. "May we all light our candles and stun the world with the brightness of the flame!"
    
    Discuss: If anyone were to ask us for the name of a particular song that we really liked, we could all come up with a favorite. How can a person become so inspired by the words in a song or poem that it changes his/her life? Music and poetry will often stimulate a mood: happiness, sadness, anger, loneliness, excitement. Do you think it is the intent of song writers and poets to “move” people to respond in some way? Why or why not? How might what we are planning for our service project serve to “move” people? In what ways might cards and letters be like candles in the darkness?
    www.walkthroughlife.com/midis/christian/golight.html

Reflection plays a very important role in promoting student learning. The following suggested activities are ways to help students reflect on their learning after they have participated in a service event.  Choose one or more of the activities most appropriate to the service event and your students.

ACTIVITY ONE:
Put four “table coverings” (large sheets of butcher paper) in locations around the room.  Place one of the following headings on each “table covering”

The Service Project (What did we actually do during the Event?),
The Feelings (What were some of the thoughts/emotions that we had while participating in this service project?),
The Impact (What do we think were the results/impacts of our involvement in this service project?),
The Improvement (What could be done to make this service project even more successful next time?).

Assign each student to one of four groups giving each group a color marker and a starting “table covering”.  Have the students, in their groups, respond to the prompts written on their starting “table covering”.  (NOTE: Each group is to use the same color marker to record their thoughts and ideas on each “table covering”.)  After 2-5 minutes, have the students rotate clockwise to the next “table covering” with their marker in hand.  They are to first read what the first group wrote before writing their response to the prompt.  After 2-5 minutes the rotation continues until all of the groups have been to each table and have returned to their originally assigned table to read all the comments made by the other groups.  Depending on time, a classroom discussion could conclude this activity or it can be just as effective as a reflection activity without further discussion. 

ACTIVITY TWO:
Have the students share the many ways that information is communicated to the public in today’s world (i.e. radio, TV, Internet, etc.). Have the students talk about the kinds of information that are being shared. Focus on commercials and ads. Talk about how media has utilized the varied forms of communication to promote commercial products and services. Ask the students to think about how commercial products and services might have been advertised prior to all of the communication systems we use today. Lead them to understand that prior to all of our modern day communication systems, most advertising was done using handbills, signboards, and posters.  Share the fact that while each of these types of communicating information is still being used in some form today, the poster is the most popular of the three. 

Inform the class that they are being asked to make posters that can be displayed in this classroom next year to advertise this service project just completed. The poster should serve as an effective way to promote and motivate students to become involved in this service project next year. Assign students to groups of three. Give each group an assortment of art materials for poster making and a poster or a large piece of paper.  Tell the students that the poster is to convey the following information:
 

1. The name of this service project (and the date, if known)
2. The focus of this service project (what is supposed to happen?)
3. The motivations for being involved in this event (why participate?)
4. The anticipated outcome(s) of this event (what difference will it make?)
    

If time permits have each group show and talk about their completed poster. Collect the posters for display.

ACTIVITY THREE:

Tell the students that most people don’t have a lot of trouble making a decision to do or not do something. However, very few people give much thought to why they make the decisions that they do. Each of us has a personal style when it comes to making decisions.  Have the students take an involvement style test that will help them better understand how they think when confronted with the need to make a decision, like whether or not to become involved in a project or activity. Have the students select from among the animal character-types listed below, which one they most closely resemble when it comes to making a decision to involve themselves in a project or activity:

• A turtle: Usually I’m not too willing to stick out my neck
• A possum: Usually when I’m asked to something I play “dead”
• A porcupine: Usually when I’m asked to do something, I get “bristle-ly”
• A snail: Usually when I’m asked to do something I am pretty slow to commit.
• A sheep: Usually I just follow the crowd and do what they do.
• A St. Bernard: Usually, I’m pretty helpful but only when I’m really needed.
• A Giraffe: Usually, I need to see the big picture before I am willing to commit
• A Hawk: Usually I have excellent instincts and hit the target on the fly.
• An Owl: Usually, I weigh the pros and cons before I act
• A Mule: Usually, I need someone to force me to do something
• A Beaver: Usually I just dive in and go to work before I’m even told to do so.
• An Ostrich: Usually I bury my head hoping I won’t have to decide.

(Suggest that if there are other animal character-types not listed here that even more closely represent ones involvement style, to feel free to use that animal character type instead.
 
 
Have the students group themselves by their selected involvement style. (NOTE: Include a miscellaneous group for those without a match or be prepared to mix and match groups so no one is alone.)  In these groupings, have the students share what it’s like for them to make decisions using their involvement style and under what conditions might they change their typical involvement style and why? Reconvene the class and lead a discussion concerning the involvement styles of the students when making the decision to become involved in this service project? How was their involvement style typical of or different from their usual involvement style? For each involvement style, what might be the best approach to take when trying to promoting this service project next year?

ACTIVITY FOUR:
Take a few minutes for students to share why (what were their motivations) they decided to get involved in this Event. Then read the five scenarios below and tell the students that they will be asked to make a decision about which scenario they would respond to/help out with’ if required to select one of the five:

Scenario One: The Appadoca’s home has recently burned leaving the entire family of five virtually homeless. A volunteer agency, that helps families relocate after a disaster, has decided to build the Appadoca’s a new home.  They are in need of people to help out on Saturdays with a variety of skills.

Scenario Two: Mr. Sang is in the hospital recovering from an injury he experienced while using a piece of equipment at the local lumber company.  Mrs. Sang finds it very difficult to visit her husband in the hospital because she has no family in the area to help her take care of her three small children.  The local faith-based organization has asked if anyone would be willing and able to baby sit the children for two hours one night a week so Mrs. Sang can run her errands and visit her husband in the hospital.

Scenario Three: The local soup kitchen is in need of cooks and servers on Friday nights from 5-7 p.m. for the month of October. In filling out their schedule with their regular volunteers, they discovered that not enough volunteers are available in October.

Scenario Four: A local agency, that supplies volunteers to help the elderly who are still living in their own homes with fall clean-up, are in desperate need of leaf-rakers and people who can do light odd jobs that help prepare these older people’s homes for the winter months ahead.  They ask if anyone in the community might be able to help out on the Friday following Thanksgiving.

Scenario Five: A local Salvation Army has put out a request for ‘bell ringers’ for the 4-6 p.m. time period each Tuesday between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

Have the students select the one scenario that they feel they would most likely ‘respond to/become involved in’ and then have them jot down on paper three reasons why they selected the scenario they did.  Designate five different areas in the classroom and have the students move to the designated area that corresponds with their selected scenario.  In the groups, have the students take turns reading the reasons why they selected the scenario that they did.  Have them look for similarities and differences in motivation.

OPTIONAL: Rearrange the groups so that there is at least one representative of each scenario selected.  (Obviously it is highly unlikely that this will all come out even.) In these mixed groups, once again have the students share their selected scenario and the three reasons why they selected the scenario they did.  Once again look for similarities and differences.

Have the students share their conclusions during a whole group discussion. Encourage the class to explore answers to the following questions: Were the motivations for being involved in the same scenario always the same?  Were the motivations for being involved in different scenarios always different?  Did the motivations cover such things as Feelings? Abilities? Impacts? Convenience? How did the motivations involved in this scenario activity compare to those talked about earlier in relation to our recent service project?