Learning to Give, Philanthropy education resources that teach giving and civic engagement

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Living In a Community

Unit of 5 lessons

Kindergarten-2nd Grade

Subjects:

Arts, Language Arts, Library / Technology, Philanthropy and Social Studies

Key Words/Concepts click to view

Lesson 1 :	ELA:	Humphrey the Lost Whale; Brainstorming; Non-Fiction Literature; Response to Text/Others
	PHIL:	Common Good; Community; Cooperate; Helping; Neighborhood
	SOC:	Common Good; Communities; Natural Characteristics of Place; School Community
Lesson 2 :	ELA:	Brainstorming; Constructing Meaning; Expository Writing
	PHIL:	Caring/Sharing; Common Good; Community; Cooperate; Helping; Philanthropic Act; School Climate; Time/Talent/Treasure; Trust
	SOC:	Common Good; Communities; Family; School Community
Lesson 3 :	ART:	Visual Arts: Create/Communicate
	ELA:	City Mouse & Country Mouse; Brainstorming; Fiction Literature; Response to Text/Others
	PHIL:	Community; Cooperate; Neighborhood
	SOC:	Communities; Cooperative Groups; Human Characteristics of Place
Lesson 4 :	ELA:	Journaling; Predicting; Understanding/Interpretation; Viewing
	PHIL:	Common Good; Community; Nonprofit Sector
	SOC:	Common Good; Communities; Economics; Natural Characteristics of Place
Lesson 5 :	ART-VA:	Visual Arts: Create/Communicate
	ELA:	Brainstorming; Letter Writing; Teamwork
	PHIL:	Community; Cooperate; Philanthropic Act; Sensitivity; Service Plan; Time/Talent/Treasure; Volunteer
	SOC:	10 genOn; Communities; Cooperative Groups; Nonprofit Organizations; Wants/Needs

Unit Overview:

Students explore the concept of community and perform a service in order to recognize their responsibility to their community. The students learn that communities take many forms: communities that form in response to a need or common interest, their school community, family community and the community in which they live. Communities come in different configurations, such as rural, suburban and urban. The students take a field trip to a local community business district/downtown and learn about the four sectors: business, government, nonprofit and family. They pay particular attention to the nonprofit sector. They come to recognize that people in communities help each other in many ways. The unit culminates in the students choosing a service learning project to carry out in their community.

Unit Purpose:

Students explore the concept of community and perform a service in order to recognize their responsibility to their community.

Unit Objectives:

The learner will:

define community and neighborhood.
respond to an example of a community in literature.
recognize that communities form when people work together for a common purpose.
list places that help or give service in the community.
recognize that the classroom is a community of people with a common purpose.
demonstrate sharing time, talent or treasure in the classroom community.
give examples of when he/she can do something philanthropic without permission.
state why trust is important in a community.
define philanthropy as the sharing of time, talent or treasure for the common good.
illustrate urban, suburban and rural areas.
describe attributes of the local community and attempt to classify it as urban, rural or suburban.
define each of the sectors: business, government, nonprofit and family.
recognize that the nonprofit sector is an important part (and separate) part of the community.
give examples of needs met by government, business, philanthropy and family.
recognize that giving to the community is a responsibility and that giving takes many forms.
select a service project to serve a nonprofit organization in his/her community.
set goals for a service project for the community.
give specific examples of safety for the project.
describe a service plan.
reflect on the effects of their service project.

Service Experience:

Although lessons in this unit contain service project examples, decisions about service plans and implementation should be made by students, as age appropriate.

Based on community needs as well as students’ interests and abilities, the class chooses a service project to carry out. Some community projects may include fixing up a park, helping at the library, helping those in need, building bird houses for the nature center and making banners or posters to teach others about a need.

See Extension in Lesson One: What Is a Community? Choose an animal, such as a polar bear, a whale or an otter. Gather information about the animal and find out what organizations are doing to help the animal. Is there some way that the class can help, such as adopt an animal or raise money for the helping organization? Go to <http://www.defenders.org/adopt/>to read about adopting an animal for the class. For a donation of $25, the class will receive a plush animal and a monthly newsletter.
See Extension in Lesson Two: Our Classroom Is a Community. Students can brainstorm a list of philanthropic acts they can do in the community without permission, such as picking up trash. Choose one act to carry out as a group.

Unit Assessment:

The teacher will evaluate by observing their journal notes and participation in class discussion throughout the unit.
In Lesson One: What Is a Community? the students will trace their hand onto a piece of paper. On each finger they write places in their community that have helped or could help them. The hands are used on a bulletin board. The project will be graded according to a rubric provided in the Assessment of Lesson One.
Lesson Three: Exploring Our Community: The final mural project should reflect understanding of the characteristics of the different areas.
In Lesson Five: Providing Service for a Nonprofit, a rubric is provided (see Assessment) to assess student participation in the service project.

School/Home Connection:

“Copy-and-Paste” Class/School Newsletter Information Insert:
“Community” is a wonderful concept. Not only do we live and work in a community, but we belong to lots of other communities for a variety of purposes. The sense of being part of a community is very appealing to children because it connects them to other people in a variety of ways. A community is defined as the degree to which people come together for a common purpose for the common good. A child’s first community is his/her family. Our classroom is a community that is brought together for the purpose of learning. We will explore the many communities that form, why they form, and what they do for each other. Our goal is for students to recognize that a community comes together (for however long it lasts) for a common purpose and that purpose is enriched when community members support each other with kind acts, sharing and helping. Our unit will include a field trip downtown where we will identify the different sectors: business, government, nonprofit and family. The culminating project for our unit is a service learning project that the students select in order to help a nonprofit group in the community.
Interactive Parent/Student Homework
In Lesson One: What Is a Community? students can cut out a second hand and bring it home tonight. They should talk about it with their families at the dinner table tonight. As a family, can they list five more helping groups/organizations in the community—especially ones they use the services of, belong to, or get assistance from? The next day, attach the additional hands to the bulletin board.
For homework after Lesson Two: Our Classroom Is a Community, the students should brainstorm with their families what philanthropic deeds can be done at home for the common good of their family. Encourage them to think about sharing time, talent and treasure. See Lesson Two, Attachment One: Our Family Is a Community.
Encourage students to talk to their families about which type of community they live in (urban, rural or suburban). What characteristics do they like about the type of community in which they live? Has their family (and ancestors) always lived in this type of community? If not, when and why did they move/change?
After the field trip in Lesson Four: Profit and Nonprofit Organizations, students can ask their parents whether they work in the nonprofit sector. Also, parents may be able to name philanthropists related to their work.

Notes for Teaching:

In Lesson Four: Profit and Nonprofit Organizations, you will be taking the class to a central area of town (or a neighboring city if you live in the suburbs). The area should have a variety of businesses, organizations, public buildings and parks. The goal is for the students to recognize the roles of the four sectors in their own community. If possible, arrange for some people at these locations to talk to the class about their sources of funding (government, nonprofit or profit). Be prepared to answer student questions about the areas you visit. Do some research on your community foundations, philanthropists and local nonprofits before you go. (www.learningtogive.org, Resource Room)