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: Carrie often would tell her parents about the things she would like to buy or do. Each day it seemed that she wanted to buy or do different things. One day her father told her, “You know dear, you are not going to be able to buy or do all the things that you want to right now. Why don’t you write down all the things that you want to buy or do? Then decide what you want to buy or do first, and then second, and so on until everything on your list is in order of importance.  That will help you decide how to use your money.”
   
   Carrie thought that was a good idea. After she finished doing this, she went back to her father. She asked him, "Now that I have my list organized, what can I do to earn the money that I need to buy and do the things that I have listed?"
   
   Her father told her, “Well dear, think about the things that you can do and organize them in order of the things that you enjoy doing. Once you have done that, look for someone who needs what you can do. Offer what you can do for a fair price.”
   
   Carrie thought this was a good idea too. So she came up with a list of the things she could do and enjoyed doing to raise money, then she began to look for people who were willing to pay her for her work.
   
   Discuss: How did Carrie show good decision-making skills? Why is it important to have a plan for using your money? Why is it important to earn your money doing things that you enjoy? Why is prioritizing how we plan to use the money we raise during our service project important? Why might it be important that we raise money during our service project event doing some of the things we enjoy doing? Why might it be important to also be willing to do some things that might not be fun for us?
   
    
2. Read: There is a story told of a man who fell from his bicycle when its front wheel slipped into a hole in the sidewalk. As he laid there unable to get up, someone driving down the street in a fancy sports car slowed to see what had happened, and then sped off leaving him to lie there. Soon the injured man heard another car approaching. This time it was a mini-van. It appeared to be heading to or from some sports event. It was loaded with kids in uniforms. It too slowed and then moved on. Finally, the injured man heard footsteps fast approaching. They seemed to belong to a businessman carrying what appeared to be a laptop computer. The businessman stopped. He asked the injured man if he was okay. “My hand really hurts and it looks like my knees are bleeding” the injured man replied. The businessman admitted that he was already late to a meeting but promised that he would call 911. As he walked away, he removed his cell phone and appeared to be dialing the number. It seemed like a lot of time had passed before the injured man saw two kids coming toward him on their bikes. Seeing someone lying there, Zack grabbed his water bottle. Anne rushed up to the man to ask him if he was okay. Realizing that he was hurt, Anne told Zack to give the man a drink.  She went and knocked on the door of one of the neighbors to ask for help. Zack gave the man a drink. He took a napkin from his backpack and wet it to wipe away some of the blood that was beginning to dry on the man’s knees. When Anne returned she said that the police had been called and that the owners of the house were bringing some more water to clean his wounds. They waited for the police to arrive and apply First Aid. When an Emergency Unit arrived, they took the man to the hospital.
   
   Discuss: Which of the people who saw this man lying on the sidewalk really took the time to care for him? Why do you think the others didn’t stop to help him? There may be those who choose not to be involved in our service project. They may say that they would rather play than work. They may say that they already have too much to do. They may say that they don’t have time. They may say that nothing they could do would help. How can we encourage everyone to be involved in our service project?
   
    
3. Read: Memories are important. Sometimes they can cause us to want to do things again. Sometimes they cause us not to do some things again. We all have memories. Somewhereville Elementary School was beginning its annual service project fund raising event. Two students went to see a neighbor to ask her if there was something they could do to help her. “Absolutely not! Last year I had kids here to help me clean out my garage and they did nothing but goof off!” she said as she turned and slammed the door shut behind her. These same two students then went to ask Mr. Kutcher, who owned the local hardware store, if they could do something to earn money for their service projects. He responded, “Oh yes! I was hoping your school would do that again this year. Last year, I had three wonderful kids who worked really hard. They cleaned out my back storage space. When can you start?”
   
   Discuss:  Two different groups of students and two different memories. Why is it important that we work hard and not "goof" around especially during our service project? What kind of memories are we hoping to leave with those we help in order to raise money for our future events? Why is it important to think about students who will be doing projects like this next year?
   
    
4. Read:  Marty wanted to go to the circus next week. The problem was he had almost no money left in his piggy bank. His sister Carrie had a similar problem. She wanted to go to the movies with her friend next weekend. Unlike Marty, she had enough money to do it, but she also wanted a new water bottle for her bike. She couldn’t make up her mind. One day at the dinner table they were both sharing their need for money to buy the things they wanted. Grandmother who lived with Marty and Carrie’s family said to them. “I know that Mrs. Harrison who lives down the street is looking for someone to rake her leaves. She said that she would be willing to pay someone to do it. Maybe you can raise some money that way.” Both Marty and Carrie like the idea. They knew it would be work but it would also make it possible for them to do the things they wanted to do.
   
   Discuss: Our service project is also a way to raise funds. Even though our service project may be work, what are some of the paybacks for participating? Like Marty and Carrie how will what we do help us do the things we want to do?
   
    
5. Read:  Two workers were approached by the owner of a farm and asked if they would consider working in the owner’s fields for the day. The first one said, “Absolutely!” And shaking hands with the owner, he headed for the fields. But as the story goes he never made it there. He got distracted by other opportunities. He failed to keep his promise to the owner. The second worker, when asked to work in the fields, at first said “no”. He had other things planned for that day. Maybe he was thinking about playing golf or going fishing. We are told that he politely thanked the owner for the offer, and left to go on his way. However, later this worker perhaps rethought his decision and he decided to go to work in the farmer’s field after all. And so he did.
   
   Discuss: Maybe you’ve heard a slightly different version or two of this story, but the one question that is most often asked following its telling is, ” Which of the two did as the farmer asked?” What does this have to say about commitment or making a promise? How can we avoid making promises and then not keeping them during our service project? How can we encourage those who say “no” to rethink helping us during our service project?
   
    
6. Read: A farmer in Southern Wisconsin was getting ready to plant 10 bushels of winter wheat seed. Winter wheat is usually planted in the late fall. It doesn’t grow over the winter months. Early in the spring the green blades of wheat begin to show above the ground. By late June to mid-July the wheat crop is ready for harvest. One day, the farmer’s young son asked his dad, “How many bushels of wheat do you think will grow from these 10 bushels of seed?”
   
   Thinking for a moment, his dad replied, “Well son, when I was your age, my father had a saying. It went something like this, Anyone can count the number of seeds in an apple, but no one will ever know how many apples there are in one seed. I guess that’s true for wheat as well.”
   
   Discuss: What was the farmer trying to teach his young son? How might this story apply to our service project? What are we “planting” during our service project? Do we have any idea how much we will reap from our “planting”?
   
    
7. Read: “I’ll try.” Have you ever heard these words or said them yourself? Maybe someone asked you to do something and you weren’t sure if you really wanted to, so you said, “I’ll try.” Saying I’ll try can get you off the hook. Let’s say your friend asks you to help his after–school group on Saturday to clean up an area along the beach. Immediately, you think of all the other things you would rather be doing on Saturday. But, so as not to hurt his feelings or having to say “no”, you say “I’ll try.” That way if you don’t show up to help, you can always say, “I tried.”
   
   Discuss: Sometimes, saying I’ll try is an appropriate response. Under what circumstances might I’ll try not be an appropriate response?  Why is it important that we make a decision one way or the other to be involved in our service project and let others know of our decision? Are there times when someone has to do more than just try? How might our service project be one of those times?
   
    
8. Read: This story could have taken place in your classroom. Adrianna Wakefield was a quiet and shy girl. She sat in the middle of the third row in our fourth grade class. She had come to our school just two weeks before. No one really knew a lot about her. Everyone thought it was because she was new.  Our teacher had just announced that our service project this year would be spent cleaning up a vacant field. This field was located on the south side of our town. I doubt that anyone saw Adrianna’s painful reaction. It seemed that everyone was too busy complaining about having to “go down there where everything was dirty and smelly”.  But when the morning of our service project finally came, everyone started working. They seemed to have gotten over most of their complaining.  However, I noticed Adrianna still appeared uncomfortable. She kept looking around as she worked. A week after our service project, our teacher announced that he had received a letter from a couple who lived near the area we had cleaned. This couple sent the letter to thank to us for doing what we did. The letter said that what we did showed the neighborhood that our school and our community really cared. They said that their neighbors were now thinking about planting flowers and even a vegetable garden in the cleaned area. Their letter of thanks ended with: Respectfully yours, Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield.
   
   Discuss:  Why do you think Adrianna might have been uncomfortable? What are some things that could be done to help everyone feel as comfortable as possible during this service project? Could what is planned for this service project result in others continuing to make things better in the community?  Why or why not?
   
    
9. Read: We probably have all played the game of dodge ball.  You recall there are two teams and a soccer-size ball on a divided court or field. The game is played when players from one side of the court or field throw the ball and try to hit someone on the other side in order to eliminate them from the game. Those who are being thrown at have four options. They can just stand there, get hit by the ball and leave the game. They can dodge the ball so as not to be hit by it. They then can pick up the ball and throw it back trying to eliminate someone on the opposing side.  Or, they can catch the ball in the air and eliminate the thrower of the ball from the game. The object of the game is to remain in the game as long as possible. When all the players from one side have been eliminated the game is over and the other side is declared the winner.
   
   Discuss: When we are faced with a problem we have three options. We can just stand there, not make any move and get hit by the problem. We can try to “dodge” the problem hoping that it won’t affect us. Or we can “catch” the problem and do something about it. What option would be the most effect one to take during our service project? In dodge ball there is a winner and a loser, how is it possible that everyone can stay in the game and be declared winners during our service project?
   
    
10. Read: Justin lay in his bed with the sheets pulled over his head. It was Friday. He didn’t want to get up and go to school today. Twice, his mom had to go into his room to turn off his alarm clock because it kept ringing. She tried shaking him and begging him to get up. She even threatened him with not being able to play with his friends on Saturday if he didn’t get up and go to school. Nothing seemed to work. Then she got an idea. She called out to two of Justin’s friends who always showed up an hour early at the bus stop in front of her house. They liked to talk and toss the football back and forth to each other while they waited for the bus. “Hey, you guys hungry?” she called out to them already knowing that they would be. “I made some blueberry caramel-cream filled pancakes,” she announced as the boys headed for the kitchen. Justin smelled the pancakes even under his blankets. They were his favorite in the entire world. While debating if it was worth getting up and going to school, he heard his friends laughing and whooping it up in the kitchen. Great food and good friends! Justin didn’t want to miss it. He hurriedly slipped into his school clothes and raced down stairs to join in the fun.
    
    Discuss: There is a moral in this story. It reminds us that it might not always be possible to “wake someone up” unless they want to be awakened. Oh, we can try to forcefully wake someone if we want to. We can create a loud noise. We can shout. We can set off alarms. We can even shake or try to shame someone into getting up and involved. But this story shows us another way. What other way(s) might people be “awakened”?  What finally “awakened” Justin to get out of bed and involved in the day? Is it okay if our classmates are not fully “awake” and ready to join us in our service project? Why or why not? How might our participation in our service project, help others to want to join us? What are some additional things we can do that might make others want to be a part of our service project?

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 a paragraph about their personal Event experience using this prompt, or something similar:  “This Event was like a chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk because…”

ACTIVITY TWO: Toss a tennis ball to a student and have that student use one word or phrase to describe or summarize how they felt about their service experience.  After a student has had an opportunity to respond, have him or her toss the ball back to you.  Continue the process until everyone has had an opportunity to respond.  As always, allowing a student to pass (not respond) is permissible.

ACTIVITY THREE: Give each student an 8 ½” x 11”-sheet of multi-colored construction paper, a pair of scissors, a glue stick/paste and a variety of old magazines and newspapers.  Instruct them that they will have a certain amount of time to go through these magazines and newspapers to cut out pictures and/or words that could be used to describe their involvement in the recent Event.  Once they have cut out pictures or words, instruct them to place their name somewhere on the construction paper and then glue the pictures and/or words they cut out to the construction paper being careful not to cover up their name.  Display these in the classroom. If time allows, have each student share the contents of his or her collage with the rest of the class.

ACTIVITY FOUR: Provide each student with a sheet of construction paper, preferably of five different colors.  Have the students cut from their sheet of construction paper, five different geometric shapes; namely, a square, a circle, a triangle, a cone, and a rectangle.  Provide each student with a wire coat hanger and pieces of string.  Collect all the squares in one pile; all the triangles in another, and so forth.  Invite the students to select one of each shape from the piles.  On the circle have them draw a face showing how they felt doing the service project on the reverse side have them write a word or two describing how they felt during the Event activity.  On one side of a triangle have them draw a picture of what they did during the Event and on the reverse side write a brief description.  On the square, have them list what they think were the affects/effects of the Event project. On the rectangle have them draw another act of giving or caring they would like to do and on the reverse side ask them to describe what they drew. On the cone have them place their name. Then demonstrate how the students are to attach the strings to each shape and tie the shapes onto the coat hanger to make a mobile.  Display the mobiles in the room. If time permits, ask for student volunteers to explain their mobile.