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: Hugs are wonderful things.They can show love. They can also show support and comfort. Usually they are expressions of joy or happiness. But they can also be prompted by sadness and loss. Hugs certainly feel good. They are positive expressions on both the giving and receiving end. They can warm a heart and improve one’s health. Even scientists are increasingly interested in the possibility that positive emotions prompted by hugs can be good for your health. One study by the University of North Carolina researchers found that hugs are healthy. They can decrease the risk of heart disease. And they can lower stress that causes a wide variety of other illnesses.Jill Wolf wrote a poem entitled Hugs. In it she shares how everyone seems to understand a hug and how easy they are to give. They require no special equipment or talent just a desire to reach out and be a friend.
   www.gagirl.com/hugs/hug.html
   
   Discuss: What are some other ways that people can reach out to each other? In what ways might this show of love, comfort and support be “healthy” not only for the receiver but also for the giver? Ms. Wolf said in her poem that a hug is “always understood” what do you think she means by this? How is our service project an example of reaching out and being a friend?
    
    
2. Read: A local Girl Scout troupe’s recent project combined hard work with their love of art. They were a part of the Rake-a-Difference project. This project involves raking leaves at the homes of senior citizens.
   
   “I’m just amazed that they would come and rake my yard!” said one 88-year old woman.
   
   But these young girls took it one step further. They collected some of the more beautiful leaves. They made a collage of the leaves. They famed them behind glass and gave these framed pictures to the people whose lawns they raked.
   
   “It was fun!” declared one of the Girl Scouts. “It’s good to help others and it makes me feel good too!”
   
   Another senior citizen said, “The leaves are so beautiful in the fall. But in the winter they get lost under the snow. Now I have something to remind me all winter long of the beautiful trees and the beautiful children who helped me.”
   
   Discuss: In what ways might our art-related service event amaze some people? Why is it important that we be willing to put some hard work into our event? Why do you think the senior citizen who commented on the picture he received referred to the children as beautiful?
   
    
3. Read: A long time ago a talent meant money. If you had many lots of talents you had a lot of money. Today we think of a talent as a natural ability to do something. If someone can do something with ease, they are considered talented.  Someone who can easily catch, throw, and hit a baseball could become a talented baseball player. Someone who can feel the beat in music, could become a talented drummer, singer, or musician. Someone who likes to draw, color, or paint could become a talented artist. All of us have natural abilities. And we could be considered talented… if….. if we use those natural abilities. An unused talent soon disappears if we don’t practice; if we don’t use them.  You can’t be something without doing something.
    
   Discuss: In what ways is our service project asking us to practice and use our natural abilities? In what ways is our service project asking us to try something new? How is sharing our talents with others like putting money in the bank?
   
    
4. Read:  Imagine yourself 60 feet or so above the ground standing on a platform. Thousands of people are watching you. They are hushed. They wait for you to make your first move. You feel ready. It’s now or never. Now imagine taking a step out from the platform. You step onto a 1/2-inch metal wire. It’s now the only thing between you and the ground below. The platform that you are headed toward is over 100 feet away. Welcome to the world of the high wire! Welcome to the world of tight rope walking!
   
   The key to tight rope walking is to keep a balance over the wire or rope. Some high wire, tight rope walkers use long poles to help them with balance. Others have used umbrellas. Some have only used their arms and body to maintain balance. Sometimes high wire, tightrope walkers have props like juggle clubs, spinning plates, wheelbarrows with passengers, ladders, pets, and yes- even children! Sometimes nets are used to catch a high wire, tight rope walker if he falls. At other times they choose to perform without a net.
   
   Why do you think someone would want to do this? Sometimes it is done for entertainment. Sometimes it is done to gain publicity. Sometimes it is done for personal recognition. For whatever reason someone chooses to do this, it is not a popular sport! In fact we use the saying “walking a tight rope” to mean that you are in a very uncomfortable place.  It that requires your full attention so that you won’t make mistakes.
   
   Discuss: In what ways might our service project be like high wire/tightrope walking? In what ways might it be different? To get started with anything new can always be a bit uncomfortable. What are some things we can do to help each other focus our attention on the task at hand? What “safety nets” can we put in place to “catch” those who find the task too scary for them or those who choose not to participate or quit?
   
    
5. Read: A flower shop in the Midwest uses this slogan to promote its products, “Flowers whisper what words cannot say”. A greeting card company says it this way, “At times a single word can express a lot. Thanks, is one of them. But at other times a single word cannot fully express what you want to say. At these times, say it with a card. Sometimes it’s easier to say it with a song. Country singer Rodney Atkins sat down one night and wrote the song Someone to Share It With. He recalls, "It was what I wanted to say (to my wife), and I think sometimes it's easier to sing it than say it." Say it with clay comes to us from potters and sculptors. There also is the proverb a picture is worth a thousand words or the camera slogan for those precious moments. We can use many art forms to communicate our feelings.
   
   Discuss: What are some things that people might have difficulty communicating using just words? As we plan for our service project, what do we want to communicate? To whom are we planning to communicate? Given the many and varied ways of communicating, how might we decide which art form to use? Does it make a difference?
   
    
6. Read: In Erick’s school there is a tutoring program. It pairs students with adults. The adults help the students with their reading and math. Erick wasn’t sure that he wanted to be in this program. But when his teacher encouraged him to participate, he decided to give it a try. He now says that “giving it a try” not only helped him do better in reading and math, he also found a new friend. “Sometimes it’s hard to do something new or different. That’s because we’re not sure how it will turn out,” Erick said. “I don’t think I would have joined this program if it weren’t for my teacher’s encouragement. Now I’m trying to convince my friend, Takota to join the program.”
   
   Discuss: Sometimes it takes someone to encourage us to try new and different things. Why do you think this is true?  Because our service project may be something “new and different” why might it be important to encourage others to “give it a try”? How might our involvement lead to being better students and perhaps finding new friends?
   
    
7. Read: Read: Ruth Handler was the tenth and youngest child in her family. She was the creator of the Barbie doll. Elliot Handler, her husband, created Hot Wheels. Hot Wheels are miniature toy die-cast cars and trucks. Together these two started the Mattel Toy Company. This company still makes Barbie Dolls, Hot Wheels and many other toys. The Handlers were well liked by their employees. They were caring and thoughtful of their employees. They made everyone feel that what they were doing for the company was important. They also found time to a help others. Some of the money they made, they gave to non-profit organizations like the Los Angeles Music Center, the American Cancer Society and the United Negro College Fund.
   
   Discuss: By treating people as if they really mattered, the Handler’s gave of their time. As creators and producers of the Barbie Doll and Hot Wheels, they used their talents to make lots of money. They chose to share their treasures (money) with others. How might our event be a way for us to share our time, talent, and treasure? Do you think that the Handler’s always knew that their talent would someday allow them to help others? Is it possible that we have talents that we are not even aware of yet? How might our involvement in our project help us discover or practice some of our own talents?
   
    
8. Read: During “current events” one of the students in the fifth grade class at Somewhereville Elementary school shared an article from the local newspaper. It was about a dog named Toto. Toto was a leader dog owned by Mr. Fletcher. Mr. Fletcher was blind and he lived near the school. The article shared that Toto was in need of surgery to repair a bad hip. The community was being asked to give money to help pay for the surgery. After hearing about Toto, the class talked about wanting to help. After much discussion each student was asked to come up with something that they could do to help raise money for Toto’s surgery. The next day the students shared their ideas. Susi said she could baby-sit her brother to earn some money. Anne said that she could bake cookies. Her mother had already agreed to take them to her work to sell. Dantrelle, Tyler, and Jose thought they could get permission to play their guitars in front of Luke’s Dry Cleaning store. They hoped that people passing by would place money in the jar for Toto. Josiah, Kennedy, and Brecken agreed to design and place posters in the school telling other students what they were doing and encouraging them to donate what they could. Leroy, Mark, and Lindsey each went to family members to see what jobs they could do to earn money for the cause. Jaimie, Samatha, and Joel planned to get permission to place collection jars in four local department stores. They would decorate these jars with drawing and paintings of dogs. They would place a sign next to each one that read “Change for Toto”. Stacey, Rhonda, and Michael each decided that they could take turns calling Mr. Fletcher, while Toto was recovering from his surgery, to see if they could help him in anyway.
   
   Discuss: Each of these students planned to share a talent. Can you identify these talents? Is there any one talent shared by these students that is more important than another? Why or why not? If you were Mr. Fletcher how do you think you would feel about what this fifth grade class was planning to do? What did the story teach us about sharing talents during our service project?
   
    
9. Read: Have you met The Zimmers? With a 90-year old lead singer and a combined age of more than 3,000 years, these 40 people make up what may be the world’s oldest rock band. This British group grew tired of life in old age homes. They did not like being set apart in their own communities. So, they hit the road!
   
   Lead singer, Alf Carretta says, "I feel like the whole experience has brought me back to life. I was stuck in a rut and now I feel alive again,"
   
   Record producer, Mike Hedges says of older people, "They are highly entertaining to talk to. Their experiences, the things they talk about are just fantastic - really, really exciting. People forget that they know a lot and they've been through a lot… I've just always got on well with older people and have a great love and respect for them.”
   
   Discuss: Have your experiences with older people been the same or different than Mike Hedges? Why is it so easy to forget about older people? People “different” than us? Is there a way that we can be sure to include those in our school who feel that they are being ignored or set apart during our service project? How might what we do show them that they are appreciated and accepted? In what ways might our event help bring people “back to life”?
   
    
10. Read: Chris Brown grew up near NBA Basketball star, Allen Iverson. Chris wanted to be a basketball player just like Mr. Iverson when he grew up. Eighteen years later, Chris found another talent. A talent that has launched him to stardom. As a Rhythm and Blues singer and dancer, Chris has already earned two top music awards (Grammys) and ten top hits! But he’s not like a lot of other music stars. He wants to maintain a wholesome image. He says he’d never do anything to disrespect anyone. When asked how he plans to do this when so many others seem to be doing just the opposite, Chris says, “By having the right people around me and being my own individual. I was never a follower--the guy who wanted to do what everyone else was doing. I want to be a positive influence.”
    
    Discuss:  Finding ones talents is not always as easy as it seems. Like Chris Brown, some people start out thinking they want to do one thing and later find they want to do something else. What do you think Chris meant when he said, “I was never a follower”? What do you think he meant when he talked about the importance of having the right people around him? As we approach our service project, is it possible we may discover a talent we didn’t think we had? How can we be a “positive influence” during our event?