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: Some of us already have jobs while others of us are looking for them. One day we will all be in a job or at least looking for a job to support our growing needs and ourselves. So what is the number one thing that employers look for in hiring new employees? If you guessed a work ethic, congratulations you are correct!  What is a work ethic, anyway? The dictionary defines a work ethic as a set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence. It includes being reliable, having initiative, and social skills. And yes, employers are also looking for evidence of whether you can do the work they need to have done, but equally important in their eyes is whether or not you are interested in going the “extra mile”. By that they mean are you willing to continue your education? Are you willing to try new things? Are you willing to help others on and off the job? Are you willing to be a positive representative of their company in the community and perhaps the world? Maybe that’s why most employers, while looking at your GPA are equally interested in what you have done “on your own time”.
   
   Discuss: While most of us may have heard the term work ethic before we may not have known how important it is to potential employers. Think about this. As you look over your “extra miles” traveled “on your own time” do you feel that someone looking at your job application would be impressed? In what way might our involvement in our service event be helpful to others as well as help to ourselves? Is it okay that we both are helped in this way? Why or why not?
   
    
2. Read: Reader’s Digest named its 2007 Hero of the Year. He is Kevin Bardsley and simply known as The Dad. Mr. Bardsley’s son Garrett was 12-years-old he went missing during a Boy Scout camping trip in Utah's Uinta Mountains. His body was never found. Mr. Bardsley said that he did not want another family to suffer a loss as his family did. He decided to set up foundation in his son's name. The foundation helped to purchase GPS tracking equipment and train a large group of volunteers to be ready to search in minutes should the need arise. Candy Lightner had a similar story. Ms Lightner’s 13-year-old daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunken hit-and-run driver as she walked down a suburban street in California. "I promised myself on the day of Cari’s death that I would fight to make this needless homicide count for something positive in the years ahead,” Ms. Lightner said. She organized and served as President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD the single-issue non-profit rights organization working to change public attitudes and laws regarding driving under the influence (DUI).
   
   Discuss: Respond to this statement “Sometimes good comes from bad”. As we look at our service event what “good” might come from our involvement in helping to make a “bad” situation better? Besides a personally felt tragedy, what might be some other things that motivate people to become involved in making the world a safer and better place to live?
   
    
3. Read: While most people become legends only after their death, golf pro Tiger Woods has become an instant legend. His winning ways continue to set golf records, recently earning him the title of Athlete of the Year. In addition to Tiger’s physical talent, something that most professional athletes have, Tiger also has an uncanny ability to stay in The Zone. Staying in The Zone is the ability to stay focused and determined despite pressures and distractions. Tiger admits that his father had a lot to do with this, “Dad would always say, 'Focus on the task at hand and get the job done,'" Tiger recalls. No doubt Tiger is able to perform at the level he does, because he does exactly that.
   
   Discuss: To persevere is to continue to work at something until it is finished. How might Tiger’s fatherly advice apply to our efforts during our service event? How might it look, if during our service event, our entire school was in The Zone?
   
    
4. Read: “Everybody can’t do big things, but we all can do little things to help others.” This challenge from former Illinois Judge, the Honorable Abraham Lincoln Marovitz, helped to launch the Lend-A- Hand Program. This joint effort of the Chicago Bar Association along with the Chicago Bar Foundation is in honor of Judge “Abe”. To lend a hand means to help someone do something, especially something that involves physical effort. The Lend-A-Hand Program features adults, typically lawyers, who provide one to two hours of tutoring hands-on time each week to children who come from underprivileged communities, who lack adequate supervision at home, or simply need some extra help with school work. “It’s not much, but it sure makes a difference with kids…and the time just flies,” admits one of the adults involved in the program.
   
   Discuss: Sometimes we really wonder what sort of an impact we can possibly have when the needs are so great. How does Judge Abe’s quote help us to deal with this potential for discouragement? In what ways are we lending a hand during our service event? What difference can we hope to make? Why do you think time flies when one is involved in lending a hand?
   
    
5. Read: There was a time when large families were more common than they are today. But a family of 24, well that was really unusual! Born weighing a mere 4.5 pounds, number 20 of 22 children, Wilma Rudolph knew sickness, poverty, and discrimination from the very beginning. You name a childhood disease and Ms. Rudolph probably had it. But her most difficult blow came when she was diagnosed with the crippling disease known as Polio. However, due to the continuing care and love of her family, by age twelve Wilma could walk normally, without the crutches, braces, or corrective shoes! She went on to become a high school basketball star. She set scoring records and led her team to a state championship. Later she became a track star and participated in her first Olympic Games in 1956 at the age of 16. She won a bronze medal in the 4x4 relay.  And then, on September 7th, 1960, in Rome, Wilma became the first American woman to win three gold medals in the Olympics. She won the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and ran the anchor on the 400-meter relay team.  This achievement resulted in her becoming one of the most celebrated female athletes of all time.
   
   Discuss: Like Wilma Rudolph, we probably all have or have had some things that limit our ability to perform at a level we would like. How might we use Ms. Rudolph’s story to remind our classmates and ourselves that we can overcome many of our limitations? How can we encourage our classmates to overcome their ‘limitations’ or excuses about having nothing to offer to our service event?
   www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/rudo-wil.htm
   
    
6. Read: Most non-profit groups and organizations are closely scrutinized as to how they use the money they are given. One of the most often heard criticism of non-profits groups and organizations is that too much of the money they receive from personal, private, corporate, and public donations is being used for overhead. That is, the money is being used for administrative and/or operational purposes, and not ‘directly’ used to affect the mission of the organization. Unlike a gift one might receive for a birthday, the person who donates a gift to a cause has a right to know how that money is being used. This information allows donors to make personal decisions to continue or discontinue giving to particular causes. That’s why most recipients of donated money and gifts make it very clear how the money and gifts will be used.
   
   Discuss: Knowing this, how important is it for us to know how the money we collect for our service event will be used? How important is it for us to share  with our potential sponsors how we intend to use their donations? Is there a need for overhead expenses for the service project? If so, what might they be?  How can keep these expenses at a minimum?
   
    
7. Read: Amelia Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and women's rights advocate in the 1930’s. She was recognized and celebrated as the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Her ideas on marriage were liberal for the time as she believed in equal responsibilities for both "breadwinners" and pointedly kept her own name after marrying George Putman. As a celebrity of sorts and an activist by nature, Ms. Earhart was often quoted. One of her more famous quotes is “Better to do a good deed near at home than go far away to burn incense”.
   
   Discuss: What do you think Ms. Earhart was saying when she offered this quote? In what ways is our service event occurring “near at home”? How is Roger Nash Baldwin’s quote “The smallest deed is better than the grandest intention” similar? How can we avoid having our good deeds during this service project only be grand intentions?
   
    
8. Read: Can you name the first Japanese-born everyday position player to play in the Major Leagues? If you said Ichiro Suzuki, you are correct! After playing nine years in Japan, the Seattle Mariners signed Ichiro to a contract, and they weren’t sorry! He immediately established himself as one of the premier players in the Major Leagues, surpassing his accomplished career in Japan. He not only has set several Major League Baseball hitting records he is also recognized as one of the best defensive outfielders in all of baseball. Ichiro has won the Gold Glove award (The award given annually to the major league baseball player judged to have the most "superior individual fielding performance" at each position) in each of his first six years in the majors, all six as an outfielder. Seattle Times baseball sports writer, Larry Stone said of Ichiro’s 2007 All Star performance, “Never mind rising to the moment. Ichiro soared to the occasion Tuesday in the All-Star Game at AT&T Park, delivering three hits in three at bats, one being the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star history — a stand-up job — and winning the game's Most Valuable Player honors.” In a recent USA Today interview Ichiro spoke of his quiet reserve. "It's a weakness to try to show yourself to be more than you actually are. To me, it's cooler to hide yourself, even if you're better than that. That's a big difference between Japanese and American cultures. Sometimes, (Americans) try to make themselves out to be bigger than they are. They do this to get approval from others. It’s phony. You should seek approval from yourself."
   
   Discuss: As we think about our service project how might we soar to the occasion? What can we learn from the wafer-thin Japanese-born ballplayer that we can apply to our event? How can we be realistic about our ability and at the same time avoid the feeling that we have nothing to offer? How can we feel good about ourselves even though what we are able to do may not measure-up to what we think others are expecting of us?
   
    
9. Read: Everyone who has ever taken a music lesson knows that playing the musical scales is something that is very important. The world’s finest musicians still practice the scales before beginning a performance or concert. Everyone who has ever played Little League Baseball or softball knows that taking batting practice is important. From T-ball to the Major Leagues, players take batting practice before a game. Even those who are selected to be in the Major League Baseball All Star game take batting practice before the big game. Baseball Hall of Famer- Al Kaline says of practice, “…understand that you've got to practice the way you play. You've got to get good habits of working hard so that when that play comes up during the regular season that you're able to complete it and do it the right way."
   
   Discuss: What are some of the things we could do to practice so that our service event is successful and something we can all be proud? How might our involvement in our service event help us practice good habits so as we grow older we’ll be better able to play the game of life successfully?
   
    
10. Read: You may recall Sir Isaac Newton as the person credited with the discovery of gravity while sitting under an apple tree, when an apple fell on his head. Judged by many to be the greatest intellect mathematician and scientist who ever lived, life didn’t start out for him that way. He was considered by his peers as a strange boy and by his teachers, to be curious, but certainly not bright. But we know all that changed!  And then there was Ada Lovelace. She grew up as an exceptionally bright and  well-liked child. She was a gifted mathematician and understood things of logic at a very young age, well beyond what was considered appropriate for a woman in the mid-1800s.? She is credited with foreseeing the possibility of the calculator and programmable computers a century ahead of their becoming a reality. But as she grew up, she became an insatiable gambler and while trying to find an infallible gambling system, she died hopelessly entangled in debt.
    
    Discuss: What do these two stories have to say about “assuming” who will make the bigger contribution? Is there a moral here when it comes to recruiting our peers’ participation in our service event? How can we be sure to include everyone and help everyone feel included in our service event?

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:
Have the students write down some of their thoughts and ideas about their involvement in this most recent service project.  Assign them to groups of three or four. Have each group listen to the thoughts and ideas of each of its members.  Using words and phrases representative of the individuals in the group, have each group create a rap, a poem, a song, or a skit that represents the combined thoughts and ideas of the group. Conclude the class with a performance of each composition and a brief discussion of what was learned as a result of these performances. (Note: Groups that perform their composition could be “rewarded/recognized” in some way. An “Oscar” Award could be given to the group whose performance receives the most votes from their classmates, and/or other categorical awards could be given etc.)

ACTIVITY TWO:
Review this service project with the students asking them to share their experiences: what they did, how they felt, and what impact they think they had. When everyone has had an opportunity to contribute to the discussion, share this scenario with the class: An Assistant Principal in another school district is experiencing some frustration over the lack of interest and involvement by the 9th graders in their service projects.  We are being asked, as a class, having been 9th graders last year, if we would discuss what might be done to involve more 9th grade students in upcoming service projects.

Assign students to groups of three and give them a number to represent their group. Have them complete the following work sheet:

GROUP #__________

1. Names of the students in our group
    
2. The problem as we see it.
    
3. Some solutions we have considered.
    
4. The solution that we think might work best and why we think so.

Collect each group’s worksheet. Read these worksheets to the class indicating only the group number. As the students listen to each group’s recommendation/suggestion, have them rank (See Below) each group’s recommendation/suggestion based on how effective their recommendation/suggestion might be in motivating more 9th graders to be involved in service projects.

Solution Ranking	No Way...It’s Possible ...This Will Work
Group 1	0       1       2        3         4        5
Group 2	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 3	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 4	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 5	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 6	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 7	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 8	0        1       2        3        4        5

 

Tally the results and conclude this reflection with a brief discussion as to why the recommendations/suggestions receiving the most points might be a good way to motivate 9th graders to become involved in service projects.

ACTIVITY THREE:
Ask the students if they have ever seen the TV reality program entitled Extreme Makeover  (A show that features groups of architects, designers, carpenters, decorators and painters selecting a house, usually too small or run down for the families who live in them, and completely remodeling them into wonderful places in which to live. The families who live in these homes are away so that they do not see what is going on.  After a specified period of time, the work is completed and the owners return to their home to discover an almost unbelievable transformation.)  For those who have seen the show, encourage them to share something about the show that impresses them.  Talk about what might be the motivations of the people who work on these houses.  Discuss why companies might be willing to donate thousands of dollars of free equipment and building materials. Consider how someone might react returning to their “new” home and why. Discuss any similarities and differences between this TV show and what they were thinking, feeling and doing during this service project. Talk about the motivations they felt as they became involved; how they donated “dollars” (time equals money); and how they might feel if they were the recipients/benefactors of this service activity. Discuss how this Event could become the next “reality show.”

ACTIVITY FOUR:
Have students think about who, in their lives, has made the biggest impression on them so far.  Have them consider why they think this is so.  Encourage students to expand their thinking to consider whether this big impression was because of a one-time action or something that occurred over time and/or possibly is still occurring in their lives.  Challenge them to consider whether this “big impression” had more to do with time, talent, or treasure or a combination of these.  Ask them if this “big impression” came about as a result of something someone had done/is doing for them or did it have more to do with who that person is (personality and traits), or possibly a combination of both.  Open the discussion by asking the students to share some of the things they did during this service project. Have them consider the possibility that they too may have made a “big impression”. 

Conclude this reflection by giving students an option to:

1. Write a letter to the person identified as the one who has made the biggest impression in their lives to date, thanking them for what they did/are doing for them.  (Note: Students may not feel comfortable sharing names, so names need not be included.)  Encourage students to consider the impact of their letter if they were to send them and challenge them to do so.
2. Write a description of this service project and describe any ‘lasting impressions’ that it had on them as participants.