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: Katie Dimmery, as an 11th grader in Sun Valley High School, submitted her story entitled The Quest for Swaraj to the Voices Against Indifference Initiative: The Harry Wu Project. Her award-winning story tells of Mandy Brown, a classmate. It seems that one day while the teacher was out of the classroom for a brief time, a group of boys in the class decided that it was a good time to harass Nick, another boy in the class. Despite his pleas for them to stop, the boys continued with their teasing and punching of Nick while the entire class looked on in silence. Finally when it seemed that Nick could take no more, Mandy, a somewhat shy and skinny little girl, rose from her seat and with a voice that demanded a response boomed, "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THIS?” Making her way to Nick she pushed aside one of the more aggressive boys and fortunately before things really started to heat up, the teacher returned.
   
   Thinking back, Katie shares that she now realizes just how much Mandy's decision must have cost her. In simply defending what was right, she risked punishment, mockery, and the disapproval of unforgiving peers.
   
   While their paths seldom cross anymore, Katie admits, “No matter what Mandy goes on to do in life she will always be a hero to me. She saw an injustice and knew she had the ability and responsibility to end it. And without a second thought, she did what she knew to be the only right thing to do. While everyone else had to have sensed this terrible injustice, we did nothing. Mandy demonstrated for me the principle that all people with the ability to defend what’s right have a moral obligation to do so. It is the duty of all humankind to promote justice and tolerance for life.”
   
   Discuss: What are some of the things Mandy stood to lose by taking the initiative she did? What did she have to gain? What might motivate someone like Mandy to risk “it all” for something that many might consider to have been none of her business? What ‘risks’ might we encounter in carrying out our service activities? How can we motivate others to take those types of risks?
   http://www.echofoundation.org
   
    
2. Read: There are approximately 200,000 of these types of poles presently planted firmly in the Earth’s surface in over 180 countries all over the world. These poles typically are eight feet tall and handcrafted from environmentally sound materials. They can be either four or eight-sided and while usually written in multiple languages, each language bears this message - May Peace Prevail on Earth. Because these poles serve as constant reminders for people to visualize and work toward world peace, they are appropriately called Peace Poles.
   
   Discuss: Why might it be necessary to remind people of the importance of peace? How could we use an idea like a Peace Pole to promote and remind our classmates of our service event?
   www.worldpeace.org/peacepoles.html
   
    
3. Read: According to historians, one of the strangest behaviors of any war occurred between the German and British troops on the Western Front during World War I. On the eve of the Christmas Holiday, December 24, 1914 something that later became known as the Christmas Truce began. It started when German troops began decorating the area around their trenches, placing candles on trees and singing familiar Christmas carols. Seeing and hearing their German counterparts, the British troops in the trenches across from them responded by singing their familiar carols. This continued and escalated into the two sides shouting Christmas greetings to each other. Soon thereafter, there were calls for visits across the “No man’s Land” where small gifts were exchanged. Without any command, the fighting stopped and the region fell silent that night. The unspoken truce allowed a lull where recently-fallen soldiers could be brought back behind their lines by burial parties. Proper burials took place as soldiers from both sides mourned the dead together and paid their respects. The truce spread to other areas of the lines. There are many other stories of football games between the opposing forces. Despite opposition at the higher levels of the military, the Christmas Truce continued throughout the day, some lasting as long as New Years Day 1915.
   
   In all of the following years of the war, artillery bombardments were ordered on Christmas Eve to ensure that there were no further lulls in the combat. Troops were also rotated through various sectors of the front to prevent them from becoming overly familiar with the enemy. Despite those measures, there were a few friendly encounters between enemy soldiers, but on a much smaller scale than the previous year.
   
   Discuss: What seems strange to you about this behavior in the midst of a World War? Do you recall other times in history where people acted differently than their governments might have wanted them to? What do you think it would take for people to permanently drop their hatred, biases, prejudices, and racial and ethical judgments of others? As we approach our service event, how can we keep our event from being just a Christmas Truce but rather something that continues every day?
   
    
4. Read: Throughout the calendar year there are special days of recognition for some pretty zany things. For instance did you know that February 15 is “National Gum Drop Day”? How about June 7 which is “National Chocolate Ice Cream Day”? What about September 5… it’s “National Be Late for Something Day”? And then there is November 12… you guessed it “National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day”…In fact, there is a day set aside for just about anything you can think of. There are also special days set aside almost everyone knows something about. We refer to many of these special days as holidays.
   
   Martin Luther King Jr. Day is one such special day. It marks the birth date of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, observed on the third Monday of January each year around the time of his birthday which is January 15. The recognition for Martin Luther King Day was granted the status of a holiday because labor unions promoted it in contract negotiations. It is one of only three United States Federal holidays to commemorate an individual person, and because of who Dr. King was and what he represented, this day is marked by demonstrations for peace, social justice, racial and social equality, as well as a national day of volunteer for community service.
   
   Discuss: It is a bit ironic that among the 365 zany reasons listed to celebrate, January 13 is “National Make Your Dream Come True Day”. If you recall Dr. King’s famous speech which began with “I have a dream...” his dream was for a better world. How might our service event help celebrate, as well as contribute to making Dr. King’s “dream for a better world” come true?
   
    
5. Read: Shortly after the shooting event at Columbine High School in Littleton Colorado, which claimed the lives of 12 students and a teacher, along with the two student gunmen, Rachel’s Challenge was launched. Seventeen year old Rachel Joy Scott was the first victim in what has become known as one of the deadliest school slayings in U.S. history. Rachel’s goal in life was to change the world through small acts of kindness. Shortly before her death, she wrote an essay for one of her classes. In it she wrote, “I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion then it will start a chain reaction of the same.”
   
   Rachel’s Challenge is being shared in schools and communities all across North America by members of her family. In a very moving and powerful presentation, actual footage of the massacre along with Rachel’s drawings and writings are shared with students in an effort to stop school violence, bullying, and teen suicide. At the White House Conference on School Safety held in Washington, DC, on October 10, 2006, Rachel’s younger brother, Craig addressed the President of the United States, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Education, saying, in part, "Kindness and compassion can be the biggest antidotes to anger and hatred, and I believe the biggest antidotes to violence.”
   
   Discuss: Why is it important that we “go out of our way to show compassion”? As we anticipate our service event, what will we be doing to show kindness and compassion? How might what we do help reduce anger violence, bullying, and hatred in our school? In our community? In our world?
   www.rachelschallenge.com
   
    
6. Read: At a recent Parent-Teacher meeting, one high school counselor shared with the audience what students, whom he counseled, shared with his as to why they perceived that they didn’t “fit in”. The students cited: differences in appearance because of financial resources and/or preferences; differences in family structure because of separation, divorce, or death; differences in educational background and learning styles; differences in family customs and beliefs; differences in values, goals, perspectives, and support systems and differences in social standing and athletic ability. All of their reasons focused on differences.
   
   Discuss: Do you think that this counselor identified all the major reasons, or can you think of any other reasons, why someone might feel that they don’t “fit in” with their classmates? It was Todd Ruthman who said, “It’s the things in common that make relationships enjoyable, but it’s the little differences that make them interesting.” Especially during our service event, how can we not only tolerate differences but also proactively accept, appreciate, and encourage diversity in our school and community? In what ways might our focusing on how we are alike as opposed to focusing on how we might be different make a difference?
   
    
7. Read: The European white settlers were the first to call it a peace pipe because that is one of the ways they saw it used. But to northern Lakota Sioux Indians, it was better known as a ceremonial pipe associated with many of their sacred traditions. In their culture one belief was, the stem of the pipe represented the Animal World, while the bowl of the pipe represented the Plant Kingdom. Consequently the whole of the pipe represented Creation. Because the areas from which the materials for the construction of these pipes came were consider neutral grounds among warring tribes, the pipes were also used by the Native Americans in ceremonies settling conflicts between tribes.
   
   Tobacco made of herbs and grasses was the most commonly burned in the pipe.  Tobacco is considered sacred in many different Native American tribes. While the pipe is being filled, a prayer was said to each of the four directions as well as to Mother Earth and Father Sky. After filling the pipe, some tobacco would be sprinkled on the ground and the pipe would be lit and smoke would be blown into each of the faces of those present. Often this tradition was misunderstood by non- Native Americans, when it was actually a sign of kindness or respect.
   
   Discuss: How do you think most people would react if someone were to come up to them and blow smoke into their face? Why is it important to know and understand something about culture and traditions when interacting with people unlike ourselves? How is our service event an effort to get to know people better? How is it an effort to bring peace to our school, community, and perhaps even to Earth we all share?
   
    
8. Read: When asked by their Civics teacher to share what would make an ideal world, the students of Somewhererville High School responded by listing such things as chocolate éclairs on every street corner, surfing in Hawaii, fancy sports cars, Xboxes, appearing on American Idol, hitting the game winning homerun, skiing in Aspen, etc.. Eventually, they added such things as having no homework or housework, being free to do whatever they wanted when they wanted, having as much money as one could possibly want, being responsible to no one, being free, and so forth. No doubt we could all add some things to this list, but listen closely to this statement:
   
   Freedom without responsibility, doing whatever one pleases to do when one chooses to do it without regard for the rights of others would result in a world of chaos. Such freedom destroys freedom.
   
   Discuss: How might the ideas of an “ideal world” expressed by the Somewhereville High School students destroy freedom rather than be examples of it? How might our service event contribute to the ideal of freedom by promoting the concept of personal and civic responsibility?
   www.personal-development.com/chuck/freedom.htm
   
    
9. Read: On September 25, 2006 Rutgers University's football stadium was transformed into the Dalai Lama's open-air classroom where a crowd of about 36,000 people gathered to listen to this spiritual leader's lecture on "Peace, War and Reconciliation." This spiritual leader, who in 1989 received the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating nonviolent solutions to nations in conflict, dressed in a red and gold monk's robe with prayer beads around his wrist, spoke to the crowd about the obsolete nature of war and alternative ways to reach compassion and peace. He shared:
   
   “The idea of "[destroying] your enemy is an outdated sort of concept. With modern science advancing and the world becoming increasingly interconnected, making war on other countries and people is essentially self-destruction. Eventually, I think the whole world should be free of nuclear weapons, and I call for all countries to trust each other and to ban nuclear, biological and eventually all offensive weaponry. Hopefully, our dream should be [to do this] by the end of this century or the next…. for peace is compassion.”
   
   Discuss: How does Gandhi’s quote “An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind” fit with the Dalai Lama's comment concerning nations at war? How would you define compassion? What would compassion look like in our school, our homes, our community and our world? To what extent do you think that our efforts for service are motivated by compassion? Will promote compassion?
   www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives
   /2005/09/26/news/13202.shtml
   
    
10. Read: A local newspaper recently ran the story of a homeless man who was killed as he walked across a busy intersection late one night. The reporter who covered the story said that the man was wearing dark clothing which made it difficult for drivers to see him…His name was Gary. Most nights Gary slept in a tent behind a liquor store after being evicted from his trailer for failure to pay the rent. During the winter months, he would offer to shovel snow for a small fee and during the summer months he would pick up odd jobs when and where he could. He was a quiet man who kept to himself. Nobody seemed to take the time to get to know him and so when he died many people felt a loss without really knowing why?
    
    Discuss: Why might someone feel a loss without really knowing why at the death of this homeless man? The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines the term "homeless" or "homeless individual or homeless person" as someone who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. Homelessness is a global problem. According to a 1996 United Nations report, an estimated 500 million people worldwide were homeless and that number grows each year. How might our service event work to resolve problems, like homelessness, that require our compassion, justice, fairness?
     

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:
Put four “table coverings” (large sheets of butcher paper) in locations around the room.  Place one of the following headings on each “table covering”

The Service Event (What did we actually do during the event?),
The Feelings (What were some of the thoughts/emotions that we had while participating in this service event?),
The Impact (What do we think were the results/impacts of our involvement in this service event?),
The Improvement (What could be done to make this service event even more successful next time?).

Assign each student to one of four groups giving each group a color marker and a starting “table covering”.  Have the students, in their groups, respond to the prompts written on their starting “table covering”.  (NOTE: Each group is to use the same color marker to record their thoughts and ideas on each “table covering”.)  After 2-5 minutes, have the students rotate clockwise to the next “table covering” with their marker in hand.  They are to first read what the first group wrote before writing their response to the prompt.  After 2-5 minutes the rotation continues until all of the groups have been to each table and have returned to their originally assigned table to read all the comments made by the other groups.  Depending on time, a classroom discussion could conclude this activity or it can be just as effective as a reflection activity without further discussion. 

ACTIVITY TWO:
Have the students share the many ways that information is communicated to the public in today’s world (i.e. radio, TV, Internet, etc.). Have the students talk about the kinds of information that are being shared. Focus on commercials and ads. Talk about how media has utilized the varied forms of communication to promote commercial products and services. Ask the students to think about how commercial products and services might have been advertised prior to all of the communication systems we use today. Lead them to understand that prior to all of our modern day communication systems, most advertising was done using handbills, signboards, and posters.  Share the fact that while each of these types of communicating information is still being used in some form today, the poster is the most popular of the three. 

Inform the class that they are being asked to make posters that can be displayed in this classroom next year to advertise this service project just completed. The poster should serve as an effective way to promote and motivate students to become involved in this service project next year. Assign students to groups of three. Give each group an assortment of art materials for poster making and a poster or a large piece of paper.  Tell the students that the poster is to convey the following information:
 

1. The name of this service project (and the date, if known)
2. The focus of this service project (what is supposed to happen?)
3. The motivations for being involved in this service project (why participate?)
4. The anticipated outcome(s) of this service project (what difference will it make?)
    

If time permits have each group show and talk about their completed poster. Collect the posters for display.

ACTIVITY THREE:

Tell the students that most people don’t have a lot of trouble making a decision to do or not do something. However, very few people give much thought to why they make the decisions that they do. Each of us has a personal style when it comes to making decisions.  Have the students take an involvement style test that will help them better understand how they think when confronted with the need to make a decision, like whether or not to become involved in a project or activity. Have the students select from among the animal character-types listed below, which one they most closely resemble when it comes to making a decision to involve themselves in a project or activity:

• A turtle: Usually I’m not too willing to stick out my neck
• A possum: Usually when I’m asked to something I play “dead”
• A porcupine: Usually when I’m asked to do something, I get “bristle-ly”
• A snail: Usually when I’m asked to do something I am pretty slow to commit.
• A sheep: Usually I just follow the crowd and do what they do.
• A St. Bernard: Usually, I’m pretty helpful but only when I’m really needed.
• A Giraffe: Usually, I need to see the big picture before I am willing to commit
• A Hawk: Usually I have excellent instincts and hit the target on the fly.
• An Owl: Usually, I weigh the pros and cons before I act
• A Mule: Usually, I need someone to force me to do something
• A Beaver: Usually I just dive in and go to work before I’m even told to do so.
• An Ostrich: Usually I bury my head hoping I won’t have to decide.

(Suggest that if there are other animal character-types not listed here that even more closely represent ones involvement style, to feel free to use that animal character type instead.
 
Have the students group themselves by their selected involvement style. (NOTE: Include a miscellaneous group for those without a match or be prepared to mix and match groups so no one is alone.)  In these groupings, have the students share what it’s like for them to make decisions using their involvement style and under what conditions might they change their typical involvement style and why? Reconvene the class and lead a discussion concerning the involvement styles of the students when making the decision to become involved in this service project? How was their involvement style typical of or different from their usual involvement style? For each involvement style, what might be the best approach to take when trying to promoting this service project next year?

ACTIVITY FOUR:
Take a few minutes for students to share why (what were their motivations) they decided to get involved in this Event. Then read the five scenarios below and tell the students that they will be asked to make a decision about which scenario they would respond to/help out with’ if required to select one of the five:

Scenario One: The Appadoca’s home has recently burned leaving the entire family of five virtually homeless. A volunteer agency, that helps families relocate after a disaster, has decided to build the Appadoca’s a new home.  They are in need of people to help out on Saturdays with a variety of skills.

Scenario Two: Mr. Sang is in the hospital recovering from an injury he experienced while using a piece of equipment at the local lumber company.  Mrs. Sang finds it very difficult to visit her husband in the hospital because she has no family in the area to help her take care of her three small children.  The local faith-based organization has asked if anyone would be willing and able to baby sit the children for two hours one night a week so Mrs. Sang can run her errands and visit her husband in the hospital.

Scenario Three: The local soup kitchen is in need of cooks and servers on Friday nights from 5-7 p.m. for the month of October. In filling out their schedule with their regular volunteers, they discovered that not enough volunteers are available in October.

Scenario Four: A local agency, that supplies volunteers to help the elderly who are still living in their own homes with fall clean-up, are in desperate need of leaf-rakers and people who can do light odd jobs that help prepare these older people’s homes for the winter months ahead.  They ask if anyone in the community might be able to help out on the Friday following Thanksgiving.

Scenario Five: A local Salvation Army has put out a request for ‘bell ringers’ for the 4-6 p.m. time period each Tuesday between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

Have the students select the one scenario that they feel they would most likely ‘respond to/become involved in’ and then have them jot down on paper three reasons why they selected the scenario they did.  Designate five different areas in the classroom and have the students move to the designated area that corresponds with their selected scenario.  In the groups, have the students take turns reading the reasons why they selected the scenario that they did.  Have them look for similarities and differences in motivation.

OPTIONAL: Rearrange the groups so that there is at least one representative of each scenario selected.  (Obviously it is highly unlikely that this will all come out even.) In these mixed groups, once again have the students share their selected scenario and the three reasons why they selected the scenario they did.  Once again look for similarities and differences.

Have the students share their conclusions during a whole group discussion. Encourage the class to explore answers to the following questions: Were the motivations for being involved in the same scenario always the same?  Were the motivations for being involved in different scenarios always different?  Did the motivations cover such things as Feelings? Abilities? Impacts? Convenience? How did the motivations involved in this scenario activity compare to those talked about earlier in relation to our recent service project?