Learning to Give, Philanthropy education resources that teach giving and civic engagement
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Purpose:
Students become more aware of the variety of jobs required to run the school. They also demonstrate appreciation for the work of different people through a bulletin board display and respectful behavior.
Duration:
One-Hour Class Period
Objectives:
The learner will:
identify at least six different jobs found in the school.
recognize that each job is required for the operation of the school.
recognize the importance of treating these workers with respect.
design and illustrate a book about the workers in the school.
Service Experience:
Optional: Students create a bulletin board by displaying the pictures they make of the school workers. They propose several messages to display that declare appreciation for the employees and encourage others to recognize the efforts of the varied school personnel.
Materials:
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A collection of props that symbolize the different jobs in the school (phone for the secretary, apron for cook, clipboard for principal, magazines for media specialist, computer mouse for technology support, screwdriver for custodian, etc.)
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Paper for class book (inside pages and cover)
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Book binding materials
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Pencils, crayons and markers
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Optional: Collage materials for the class book
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Optional: Hallway bulletin board materials
Instructional Procedure(s):
Anticipatory Set:
Tell the students that they are going to play a guessing game. You are going to pretend you are one of the employees in the school and they have to guess who you are. Hold up one of the props symbolizing a job in the school. In the role of that staff member, tell what you do for the school or the students. Talk about what you do, where they might find you and what would be missing if your job position wasn’t there. As the students guess the school job, write it on the board and move on to the next. With the students’ help, make a complete list of the jobs in a school (including classroom teachers).
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Tell the students that just as each one of them is an important member of the school community, each of these people is vital to the running of the school. Talk about the importance of showing respect for each person.
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Ask the students to suggest ways they can show respect (and appreciation) for these people who contribute to the good of our community. Some ideas include being friendly, talking politely, using manners, following their directions, saying thank you and greeting these people by name. Write the names of each person by his or her job title.
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Tell the students that they will make a class book of the school employees. On the cover, write the title “Our School Community.” Talk about what it means to be a community. Define community as coming together for a common purpose and for the common good.
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Assign each student a person or position. If some students are doing the same person, they can decide to highlight different roles of that position. The students should write and complete the following sentence: Our __________(e.g., school secretary), ________ (name), helps us by _________________________________________. The students illustrate the sentence using crayons or markers (and possibly collage materials).
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Bind the pages together in a class book or display the pages on a hallway bulletin board. If you decide to display the pages in the hall, challenge the students to come up with the appropriate captions that will not only demonstrate appreciation, but also encourage others to recognize the contributions of these varied people.
Assessment:
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Evaluate students’ responses to the ways that we can show respect for the contributions of these different people who make up our community. Do the students comprehend that the common good includes benefits to themselves and therefore something they can be thankful for?
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Give the students pencil and paper and tell them to list or illustrate (and label) at least six different jobs within the school community. Use the following rubric to evaluate their comprehension:
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3 Points Can list six or more different jobs
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2 Points Can list four or five different jobs
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1 Point Can list two or three different jobs
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0 Points Cannot recall any school jobs
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School/Home Connection:
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Interactive Parent / Student Homework:
None for this lesson.
Cross-Curriculum Extensions:
Make copies of the students’ artwork and sentences before the students color them. Have them color both copies and give one copy to the person featured on each page.
Lesson Developed By:
Kathy DockertyBuchanan Schools
Ottawa Elementary School
Buchanan, MI 49107
Handouts:
Unit Contents:
Overview:Volunteering as Good Work Summary
Lessons:
- 1.
- School Worker Guessing Game
- 2.
- Yea For Volunteers!
- 3.
- Ask a Volunteer!
- 4.
- Thank You!
- 5.
- What Can I Do?
All rights reserved. Permission is granted to freely use this information for nonprofit (noncommercial), educational purposes only. Copyright must be acknowledged on all copies.
