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: Teamwork is defined in Webster's New World Dictionary as "a joint action by a group of people, in which each person subordinates his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group." This does not mean that the individual is no longer important; however, it does mean that effective and efficient teamwork goes beyond individual accomplishments. The most effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work toward a common goal. Most coaches will tell you that developing teamwork is one of their most important yet most difficult undertakings in coaching. "Pat" Riley, widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, is not only one of professional basketball’s winningest coaches but his speeches before hundreds of corporations have earned him the title of "America’s Greatest Motivational Speaker." He has been rated by Success Magazine as "The best in his field." Riley stars in an award winning 30-minute motivational video entitled "Teamwork" in which he applies his winning philosophies to business and life in general. Mr. Riley says, “…one of the reasons there are so many bad teams out there is because they are afflicted with the Disease of Me.” His Rule of the Heart reads “Every team must decide, very consciously, to uphold the values that represent voluntary cooperation, love, hard work, and total concentration on the good of the team.
   
   Discuss: Why do you think most coaches would agree that “developing teamwork is one of their most important yet most difficult undertakings in coaching”? As we prepare for our Earth Day event how important do you think teamwork will be to our success? What are some ways we might avoid the Disease of Me? How can we encourage others to join our team?
   
    
2. Read: A Drug Free Zone can be any designated location in a community, but they are especially areas where children congregate and the residents perceive as being a place where drug trafficking or alcohol availability problems exist. Typically these areas surround schools, recreational areas, and other public property. These designated zones are then carefully and intentionally “policed” by community residents. Banding together to form partnerships with law enforcement, schools, treatment programs, local government, businesses, and community organizations these residents will alert the proper officials of any trafficking or suspected trafficking going on in those zones. These partnerships create a powerful force to carry out a successful Drug Free Zone. In short, these zones work because citizens work as a group. Parts of New Jersey are also launching a Kids Clean Air Zone campaign. Like a Drug Free Zone, Kids Clean Air Zones can be found in specified locations in a community, especially around schools and playgrounds, recreational areas and parks. These zones require emission standards for all vehicles that enter or pass through them. The intent is to improve the quality of air that children in these areas breathe. Citizens campaign for strict enforcement of these zones.
   
   Discuss: Both drug trafficking and vehicular traffic can cause serious environmental problems. What are we planning during our Earth Day event that will help address a problem or problems in our school or community? In what ways is our coming together as a class to participate in our Earth Day event similar to “citizens working as a group” to ensure the success of a Drug Free Zone and a Kids Clean Air Zone? What might be some of the advantages of forming partnerships with other schools or community resources?
   
    
3. Read: Global Warming is a hot debatable blip on the local, national, as well as International radar screen. Some say that it’s just a lot of hype to steer dollars into the pockets of businesses waiting to profit from the scare. Others are convinced that we are already headed for major changes if not extinction. But somewhere in the middle individuals and organizations are quietly going about the business of making some changes that will make a difference. The non-governmental organization, Environmental Defense is one of these organizations.  Their goal is to help bring about change not through confrontation, but through partnerships with powerful market leaders. For instance, being a partner with Environmental Defense, one major delivery company has developed hybrid trucks that run 57% farther on a gallon of fuel. This results in the reduction of the particulates that cause cancer and respiratory illness by 96%. Other trucking companies have begun to follow this company’s lead, including a major beverage company, a well known manufacturer of cleaning supplies, and even the U.S. Postal Service. One company spokesperson said, “It is not just altruism that moves major corporations to join organizations like Environmental Defense. It also makes very good sense for businesses to take care of the planet while making a profit.”
   
   Discuss: Our Earth Day event is intended to make changes in our environment that make a difference. What responsibility do we as individuals have to help make those changes? How could an organization like Environmental Defense persuade a business to spend a portion of its profits to “clean-up” the environment? How can we persuade our peers to spend a portion of their time to join us in our Earth Day event?
   www.environmentaldefense.org
   
    
4. Read: Worldchanging.com is a blog run by its co-founder Alex Steffen. Based on the book entitled, Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century the blog advocates solving old problems using more ultramodern industrial based “green” solutions. For example, let’s take the annoyance of most households at one time or another. The clogged drains that result from the unwanted buildup of mineral deposits inside pipes. Instead of reaching for the typical products to remove such clogs, those with harmful chemicals that eventually get flushed into the environment, biologists have found a new “greener” way to solve the problem.
   
   Long ago they discovered that the common sea mollusk naturally extracts minerals from the ocean water to form its shell. More recently they discovered that these mollusks can regulate their size by turning off this process. They discovered that a mollusk is capable of producing a protein that stops the accumulation of the calcium carbonate needed to construct their shell. Manufacturers have found an environmentally safe way to produce a synthetic alternative that mimics this “stoppage” protein. Now that it is being used in clearing pipes of unwanted mineral deposits, we are able to avoid having millions of gallons of poisonous chemicals flushed into our environment.
   
   Discuss: How is what we have planned for our Earth Day “environmentally friendly”? Are we doing everything we can to solve an environmental problem/situation as “green” as possible? Why or why not? How can we go about “partnering” with a local industry to maximize our Earth Day efforts?
   www.worldchanging.com/aboutus
   
    
5. Read: On April 27, 2007, the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) reported an unusual phenomena occurring in many urban environments.  The University of Sheffield’s conducted a seven-year research program to measure the impact of urbanization on biodiversity. It was led by its Department of Animal and Plant Sciences. They investigated why robins are now singing at night in urban areas. They chose this research because this is very unusual behavior for robins. Typically they greet the dawn and bid the setting sun farewell with their singing, not to mention a lot of chirping in between. You generally only seem to hear nocturnal singing in cities," explained Richard Fuller, one of the study's co-authors. "So this led us to think that there was some aspect of the urban environment that was driving this phenomenon." Until now, light pollution had been blamed because it was thought that street lights tricked the birds into thinking it was still daytime. However, there had never been a scientific study to measure the impact of light pollution on the behavior of urban robins. "So we went out and measured both nocturnal light and daytime noise levels and we found that daytime noise had a far stronger effect. Noise levels were 10 times higher in places where birds were singing at night!" 10.6
   http://news.bbc.co.uk/text_only.stm
   
   Discuss: We can learn a lot from animals, birds, and insects by their behavior. The 2004 tsunami earthquake claimed the lives of thousands of people in Asia and East Africa. However, In the midst of all the destruction, wildlife officials at Sri Lanka's Yala National Park have reported no mass animal deaths. Yala National Park is a wildlife reserve populated by hundreds of wild animals including elephants, leopards, and monkeys. Researchers believe that these animals were able to sense the danger long before humans and moved to safer areas. Some studies reveal that insects can predict coming droughts and the severity of impending winters. And that birds can sense coming thunderstorms and the onset of winter cold. What might the singing robins in urban areas be trying to tell us? Why is it important to understand the impact of urbanization on biodiversity? Our Earth Day event may or may not have anything to do with environmental light or sound, but what can we do to help reduce either or both of these types of pollution? What impact might our Earth Day event have on animals, birds, and insects?
   
    
6. Read: Under a new program, farmers in Michigan are being encouraged to practice conservation on their land. They are also being rewarded for doing so. They can earn up to $10.00 per acre for using environmental friendly farming practices, i.e. no-till farming methods and various forestation efforts. It is hoped that by incentives such as these the excessive emission of greenhouse gases, that promote global warming, will be reduced. While this type of program is better than nothing, cities, companies, and other large scale polluters meanwhile are still being allowed to buy their way out of the damages they do. As one critic of large scale polluters summed it up, “Polluting seems to O.K. if you can afford to pay for it.”
   
   Discuss: If improving the environment is the right thing to do, should everyone be required to do it, including those cities, companies, and other large scale polluters that can afford to “buy their way out” of doing the right thing? Why or why not? Do those individuals, who can afford trash pick up service in order to avoid recycling and who can excessively use energy sources (such as water, electricity, gas, and oil) in order to avoid conserving, have any obligations to do the right thing when it comes to saving and improving our environment? What difference might our Earth Day event make in our homes, school, and/or community? Why is it the right thing to do even though we can afford otherwise?
   
    
7. Read: Earlier this summer news reports out of Kenya, Africa told of the death of seven elephants at the hands of poachers. Poachers illegally hunt and kill animals or plants for profit. Poaching elephants for their ivory tusks has slashed Kenya's elephant population from nearly 50,000 in 1965 to about 10,600 in the early 1990s. However, conservation efforts and anti-poaching measures saw the numbers inch back up to 30,000. In spite of all this added effort, poaching continues. The state-run Kenyan Wildlife Service said most poachers in southwestern Kenya cross over from Tanzania. Once there, they have nearly wiped out wildlife in Mkomazi Game Reserve. "These incursions could be a result of a lack of wildlife in many parts of Tanzania caused by abused licensed hunting," a spokesperson, Paul Udoto explained. Last month, the 171-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) approved a landmark nine-year ban on international ivory trade. They are hoping to stem a surge in poaching that has killed up to 20,000 elephants per year. But there are other problems. The Kenya Wildlife Service have had to also increase their surveillance in the country's animal sanctuaries after almost 500 pounds of zebra and wildebeest meat destined for Nairobi markets were impounded.
   
   Discuss: Why is it important to maintain an elephant, zebra, and wildebeest population in Kenya? If we extend the definition of a poacher to include someone who trespasses or steals, what might be some examples of poaching in our country? How can our Earth Day event serve to preserve nature? How can our Earth Day event help educate people about the importance of not trespassing or stealing from the Earth?
   
    
8. Read: Perhaps you have heard the phrase Think Globally, Act Locally. By consensus, David Brower is credited with having coined it as a slogan for Friends of the Earth. Friends of the Earth is a 70-country international network of environmental organizations founded in 1969. The organization considers environmental issues in their social, political and human rights contexts.
   Then they respond by taking action at the local level to address environmental issues. For example, present concerns of this organization are climate changes, corporate accountability, and forests to name a few. The concept slogan admonishes people to think in terms of long range goals given short term action. Said another way, consider the good that is being done for the entire world if even a little bit of good is being done in the community. Several multi-national companies have converged the terms "global" and "local" into the single word "glocal” to emphasize their involvement in global markets while at the same time maintaining their connection with the local levels.
   
   Discuss: As we consider our Earth Day event in what ways are we attempting to act locally? In what ways might our acting locally have a more global impact outside of our school and our community? In other words, how might our Earth Day event be seen as a “glocal” one? How could we use the idea behind this slogan--Think Globally, Act Locally ---to respond to anyone who might try to pass off our local efforts as seemingly inconsequential compared to the global situation?
   
    
9. Read: Organic farming is becoming big business. It is a form of agriculture which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers and livestock feed additives. As far as possible, organic farmers rely on crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures and mechanical cultivation to maintain soil productivity. These farming methods also supply needed plant nutrients to control weeds, insects and other pests. Organic foods raised on these farms are typically more expensive than conventional foods. The USDA makes no claims that organically produced food is safer or more nutritious than conventionally produced food. Agricultural organizations however do claim that farming techniques that emphasize these methods enhance environmental quality. And that, they say, is priceless for present as well as future generations.
   
   Discuss: Not everyone is willing or can afford to pay a little extra to buy “organic” just as everyone is not willing or can afford to recycle in order to “save our environment”. In what ways is our Earth Day event a priceless attempt to improve our environment for us as well as future generations? Why is this a good thing for all? What techniques or encouragements can we offer those who seem unwilling to be a part of our Earth Day event?
   
    
10. Read: We would not refuse anyone medical attention because they refused to give up smoking when they were younger. We would not refuse tossing a life ring to someone who is drowning just because they did not take their swimming lessons more seriously. Nor should we refuse to do what we can to save our environment. “Nature is on life support,” says Bruce Sterling, a science fiction author and futurist best known for his influence on the cyberpunk genre and his popular writing for Wired magazine. In 1998, Mr., Sterling founded the Viridian Design movement. In slight contrast to the “green” movement, Viridian Design suggests a “bright green” approach. It encourages the use of advanced technologies and understandings to support our natural environment. While it has been easy to point an accusing finger at mega industries for the condition of our environment, we all have a role to play.  While many of these industries are taking the initiative in environmental issues, they are not responsible for the trash that gets tossed from cars or left on our beaches or alleyways. Saving our environment is everybody’s business.
    
    Discuss: Why is it so easy to point to manufacturers and industries as the reason for the plight of our environment? Why do you think some of the same people who complain about environmental pollution from manufacturers and industries, think nothing of tossing cans and bottles into their trash rather than recycling or reusing them?  In what ways is our planned Earth Day event like “tossing a life ring” to save our environment?

 

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 Event (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 service project (why participate?)
4. The anticipated outcome(s) of this service project (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?