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: Excuses are reasons used to explain some of our actions. For example, we use excuses when we are asked to do something that we are not sure we want to do. Saying “no” should be easy with no excuses necessary. This is especially true when it comes to using drugs, stealing, vandalizing things and in other ways breaking the law or hurting our health or the health of others. But sometimes our saying “no” is followed by such excuses as: I’m not good at that! Other kids will laugh at me! I’m too busy! What difference can I make? That’s not my problem! Usually we use excuses like these when we are asked to do something we are afraid to do or don’t want to do even though we know that we should. While we all can use our “no” to mean “no” whenever we feel it is in our best interest, sometimes we need to look at our excuses when we say “no” to things that are in the best interest of everyone.
   
   Discuss: As we think about our service event how easy might it be for us to use excuses not to participate? How can we encourage those who use excuses because they do not want to participate in our event? In what ways might our service project be in the “best interest of everyone”?
   
    
2. Read: We all know that 1 apple + 1 apple = 2 apples. But did you know that 1 person + 1 person can equal 2, or 3, or perhaps even more people? This unusual “math fact” describes synergy. Synergy is a big word that means when two or more people are working together they can create an effect far greater than they could if they worked alone.
   
   A good example of synergy recently appeared in a newspaper article in Belmont, New Hampshire. According to the reports “…eight unidentified men helped free a woman who was trapped under her car after crashing along Route 107. The local newspaper reported the next day that … Lisa K., of Belmont, lost control of her car while driving south on Route 107. Her car crossed the center-divide and went into the ditch and rolled over on top of her. Police told reporters that about eight men, apparently on their way to work, lifted the car off Lisa. Another passer-by called 911 and was told to tell the men not to move her. So these eight men held the car up in the air until a rescue team arrived at the scene.” We know that no one human being could do this alone. So how was this possible? It was possible because of synergy; people working together in order to save Lisa’s life.
   
   Discuss: How important is working together for our service event and other events like it? How will our working together accomplish more than working alone? How can we work together to produce synergy?
   
    
3. Read:  Baseball is a game of strategy. It is also a team sport. Sometimes players are actually asked to make “sacrifices” for the team. There are two types of sacrifices baseball players can be asked by their manager to make for the benefit of the entire team. One of these sacrifices is called a “sacrifice fly.” Here the player is asked to focus all his ability on hitting a pitched ball deep into the outfield. By so doing it is hoped that a runner on base would be able to advance a base after the outfielder caught the ball.  The other type of “sacrifice” is called a “sacrifice bunt.” In this situation, a batter is asked to hit the ball slowly into the infield in hopes to advance a runner while he, the batter, is being thrown out at first base. The batter purposely makes an out in this situation in order to advance a runner. There are other occasions when player are asked to make sacrifices, but they are not called sacrifices. On occasions a player may be asked to give up his turn at bat and allow a “pinch-hitter” to bat instead. A player on base may be asked to allow a “pinch runner” to run in his place. A player may be asked to give up his position in the field so a “defensive replacement” can take his place. A starting pitcher may be asked to allow a relief pitcher to come into the game and replace him on the mound. All this strategy is intended to make the “final score” something that will make the team proud.
   
   Discuss: In what ways will our service event require a team effort? In what ways might we have to make “sacrifices” for our team in order to make the “final score” one that will make everyone proud?
   
    
4. Read: In 1920 Robert Frost’s Poem entitled The Road Not Taken was published. From your literature classes you may recall that the poem starts with these lines:
   
   Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
   And sorry I could not travel both.
   
   And it ends with these lines:
   
   Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
   I took the one less traveled by,
   And that has made all the difference.
   
   Discuss: We know that there are a number of interpretations concerning the intended meaning of this poem. Probably the most popular being that Mr. Frost was advocating for the excitement of “risk”; and choosing to do things that others might not consider safe or comfortable. In what ways might involving oneself in our service event be like taking the road less traveled? How might our doing so, “make all the difference?”
   www.bartleby.com/119/1.html
   
    
5. Read: Have you seen the movie Rocky? In it Sylvester Stallone plays an underdog boxer. He is far out classed by a formidable opponent by the name of Apollo Creed. Bigger and stronger by far than his opponent, Apollo Creed would appear to be the winner even before the first punch was landed. But Rocky had three qualities that spurred him on to defeat Apollo Creed. Those qualities were determination, an “I-can-do-it” attitude, and his love for his girlfriend, Adrienne.
   
   Discuss:  In what ways might our service event seem like a formidable opponent? In what ways will the qualities of determination, an “I-can-do-it” attitude, and our desire to make a difference in the lives of others, our school and community help us be successful?
   
    
6. Read: John Robert Wooden (John Wooden) is a retired college basketball coach and arguably the best coach to ever coached at that level. To this day, his 10 NCAA (pronounced "N-C-Double-A) National Championships while at UCLA (The University of California, Los Angeles) are unmatched. He has not only been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, located in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, as a player but he also has been elected to the hall of fame as a coach. He was the first person ever receive to this honor in both categories. He has chosen to live his life by a Seven Point Creed, given to him by his father upon his graduation from school.
   
   Be true to yourself.
   Make each day your masterpiece.
   Help others.
   Drink deeply from good books.
   Make friendship a fine art.
   Build a shelter against a rainy day.
   Seek guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.
   
   He is quoted as saying, “You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
   
   Discuss: In what ways might John Wooden’s Seven Point Creed have helped him be such a highly successful basketball player and coach? In what ways does his quote reflect his Seven Point Creed? In what ways might we act in agreement with his creed and his quote by involving ourselves in our service event?
   
    
7. Read: Last October, for the 16th time, millions of Americans reached out to help others on USA WEEKEND magazine's Make a Difference Day. This is a national day of community service. This day focuses national attention on how people, working together, can help change things for the better. Our school’s event is very much like Make a Difference Day. One of the things that is true for both Make a Difference Day and our event is that its impact is immeasurable. No one can really know all the good that will result from our efforts on these special days.
   
   Discuss: In what ways is this true? Is the fact that our impact could be  immeasurable a good way to encourage everyone to get involved? Why or why  not? What are some ways we might be able to tell if what we do for our service event has made a difference?
   
    
8. Read: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia on the web, lists over 200 different ways to tie a knot. Each knot has a unique purpose. For example a Windsor knot is one way of tying a necktie around a shirt collar. A honda knot is a knot used in making a lasso, while a monkey fist is a type of knot most often formed at the end of a rope and used as the weight in throwing a line ashore for tying up a boat. The lover’s knot, legend has it, was used by Dutch sailors on their ships to remind them of their loved ones during their ocean voyages in the 16th century. The two intertwining overhand knots symbolize two lovers. The knot is sometimes used by goldsmiths to make a romantic piece of jewelry. The egg knot is a knot used to tie soft or loose bait, including clusters of eggs, to a fishing hook, while a corned beef knot is a knot tied to hold the corned beef together while it is being cooked.
   
   Discuss: All knots serve to bring and hold things together. The use of an appropriate knot ensures that things won’t loosen and fall apart. Yet each knot serves a special purpose. The use of any other knot for that same special purpose has proved not to be as good. During our service event we intend to bring everyone together for the purpose of our planned event. Why might that be important? Why is it important to plan this event in such a way that each of us will be assigned a “special purpose” according to our interests and abilities? What are some things we can do to make that happen?
   
    
9. Read: Inside Addition is a TV show about real stories and real people. One of the recent real people stories was about 11 year old Jourdan Urbach. He is an excellent violinist. Jourdan is the founder of C.H.C. (Children Helping Children). C.H.C. is a musical group which helps raise money for the children’s areas in hospitals. Jourdan’s group has raised over 1.3 million dollars since it began. Jourdan says that his goal is to use his musical talent to raise money to help make a difference in the lives of as many children in the hospital as possible.
   
   Discuss: What might motivate someone our age to want to do what Jourdan is doing? Even though we all cannot be Jourdan Urbach, what can we do to help make a difference in the lives of others? How is being involved in our school’s service event going to help make a difference?
   
    
10. Read: It seems that everyone is looking for the good life, defined by many as fame and fortune. Both have launched ships as well as careers. But according to research and studies done by psychologists and sociologists, while a few people have found these things lead to the good life, many have also found that fame and fortune weren’t at all what they expected it would be. Stories time and again report of the dissatisfaction with what many refer to as the good life. Often celebrities lack a sense of their true self and instead find themselves having to live up to an image that is created for them. They lack privacy and their schedules often will not allow them to go where they want to go when they want to go. They can’t always do things they want to do when they want to do them. “My life was just not my own,” shares one former movie star.
    
    How about fortune? Wouldn’t it be great if you could win the lottery? Many follow-up studies of past lottery winners however, reveal that while for many people, winning the lottery is the American dream, for many that reality is more like a nightmare. Story after story share the trails of woe left in the wake of lottery winners. Many have lost everything and are now worse off than they were before. The 1988 Pennsylvania $16.2 million lottery winner admits, "I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare.” So what are people really looking for? “People are ultimately looking for a life of meaning. Such a life is one that is filled with purpose, contentedness with self, and happiness. It is a life filled with love and service for others.”
    
    Discuss: Why do you think some people who possess fame and/or fortune, are so dissatisfied with their life? In what ways is our one-day event all about service for others? In what ways is our event making a contribution to the good life? How might our involvement in this event help to bring meaning to our lives?

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: Give each student four sticky notes. On one of the sticky notes have the students write their response, using one or two words, to the question, “How did you feel about participating in the event prior to actually being involved?” On the second sticky note have the students write their response to the question, “How did you feel while being involved in this Event?” On the third sticky note, have the students respond to this question, “How did you feel after the Event was over?” And on the fourth sticky note have the students respond to the question, “What could I do differently in the future?” 
Place the following headings on the display board: Before, During, After, Future. Have students come and place their sticky notes under the appropriate heading on the display board.  Allow time for them to walk around to view and read the comments of others. Encourage them to note similarities and differences.  Involve the class in a discussion using the prompt,”What did you learn from reading everyone’s comments?”

ACTIVITY TWO: Give each student three sheets of multi-colored construction paper, one sheet of white construction paper, a pair of scissors, and a black marker (assorted colored pens are optional).  Using one of the sheets of multi-colored construction paper for each shape, ask each student to draw and cut out the following shapes: 1) a head, with a “light bulb” drawn in it; 2) a body, with a “heart” drawn in it, and; 3) limbs-two arms and two legs.  Ask the students to think about what the “light bulb” and “heart” might represent. (NOTE: The ‘light bulb” is an icon often identified with “ideas”. The “heart” as an icon is often identified with “feelings.”) Ask the students what they think the “arms and legs” might represent. (NOTE: Arms and legs are often associated with going places and doing things.) Now have the students use their sheet of white construction paper to cut out three “word bubbles.” (See Example) Have them write words or phrases that represent how their head (mind), their body (heart) and their arms and legs were involved in the Event.

Said another way, one ‘bubble’ for the head (what they thought about the Event),
one “bubble” for the body (how they felt about the Event), and one ‘bubble’ for the limbs (what they did for the Event).  When completed, call the first student to the bulletin board-type display area entitled  “Join the Crowd” (or some similarly appropriate title).Have each student, in turn, pen his/her designed cutout head along with its “bubble” on the display board. Share some of the responses. Now have each student come and pen his/her cutout body beneath their head along with its bubble. Share some of the responses. Finally, have each student pen his/her designed cutout arms and legs on their body along with the “bubble.” Share some of the responses. Have students walk past the ‘crowd’ and read the “bubble”. Discuss findings, comparisons, and final thoughts.

ACTIVITY THREE: Assign the students to one of four groups and distribute a white sheet of square paper, preferably 21.5” x 21.5” (the official size of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd base in Major League Baseball), a pair of scissors for each student, a glue stick/paste and a variety of magazines and newspapers.  Tell them that they are to go look through these magazines and newspapers to cut out pictures and /or words that could be used to describe their involvement in the recent service project. Once they have cut out as many pictures or words as they can, in the allotted time, as a group they are to decide which pictures and/or words will be included on their group base. Tell them to glue the pictures and/or words to their base.  When completed they are to offer their base for display in the area marked “Let’s Play Ball” or “Covering All the Bases,” etc (Note: You may wish to display the base in the traditional diamond shape to add more realism and invite interested students to complete the ballpark design. If time allows, ask the students how participating in this service project is like playing baseball/participating in sports.)

ACTIVITY FOUR: Using the name of the service project, have students brainstorm words or short phrases, the letters of which when properly placed, form some sort of crossword puzzle-like creation.  These words should ‘describe’ the activity, the feelings, and/or the impact of the Event for the individual student involved.   

When the students have each completed their own crossword puzzle, instruct them to draw an outline of the pattern around their words (See above), have them shade-in the interior of the form with a light color pencil or crayon, so as not to cover up the words, and then cut out the form along the outline. Display these crossword puzzles forms in an area entitled, “The Shape of Our Service” or “We’re in Great Shape”, “Join the Crowd” or etc.