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: Do you remember the story Stone Soup? As the story goes, some ancient travelers came into a village with nothing but an empty kettle. They were hungry. They asked the villagers for food. But the villagers said that they had very little food for themselves.  They did not want to share any of their food with the hungry travelers. The travelers went ahead and filled their kettle with water, anyway. Then they dropped a large stone in it, and placed it over an open fire.  Some of the villagers became curious. They asked the travelers what they were doing. The travelers answered that they are making "stone soup" and that it tasted wonderful. But they told the villagers that if only they had some additional items to add to the stone soup, it would taste even better. Soon all the villagers had passed by the pot and added a little of their vegetables and seasonings to the soup. Finally, a delicious pot of soup was enjoyed by everyone in the village. The villagers were all happy to be able to contribute “a little” to make a lot of this wonderful “stone soup”.
   
   Discuss: Our drive event is a little like stone soup. We have ideas about what we can donate. But some of us don’t feel that we can be of any help. We have nothing to offer. How did the hungry travelers get the people in the village to all contribute to the soup? What was the end result? How might having everyone contribute something to our service event be helpful? Why do you think everyone was happy at the end of the story even though they only contributed “a little”?
   www.extremelinux.info/
   stonesoup/stonesoup.html
   
    
2. Read: The students in Mr. Brock’s classroom learned about the slogan Just Say No”. They learned that it was created by former First Lady, Nancy Reagan during her husband’s presidency. The slogan was made into an advertisement for T.V. At first the slogan was used to encourage children to Just Say No to using drugs. Later it was expanded to include saying “no” to anything that might cause someone personal harm or harm to others, such as smoking, stealing, graffiti, bullying, violence etc. The class concluded that to Just Say No to bad things was a good thing.  Mr. Brock asked his class to consider a new slogan. The new slogan was Just Say Yes to good things.  He challenged the class to Just Say Yes to being involved in their school’s service event.
   
   Discuss: In what ways do these two slogans encourage us to do the right thing? Do you think it is easier to say “yes” to good things than it is to say “no” to bad things? Why or why not? How can we encourage everyone to Just Say Yes to be involved in our service project?
   
    
3. Read: The country known as Haiti shares a small island in the Caribbean with the Dominican Republic.  It is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. More than half of the people who live there live on less than $1 per day. Every year, an estimated 38,000 children under the age of five die because of malnutrition or a lack of healthy food to eat. That is almost one out of every three children born.  The people there have a saying. It goes like this: “an empty sack can’t stand up”. Boys and girls who live there and who get little or no food are so weak that often they cannot even stand up. For as little as 25 cents a day from a person will help buy food for the children and can be given to them in their school.
   
   Discuss: Sometimes we think our pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters can’t do much to make a difference. Sometimes we think a can of soup, a box of cereal, or a bag of rice can’t do much to make a difference. In what ways is our service project going to help people “stand up”?  How can we share with our classmates and friends that every little bit helps and can make a difference?
   
    
4. Read: There once was a young boy who loved to play soccer. But he lived in part of the city where there was no open field in which to play. Often as he walked to and from school, he would pass a vacant grass-and-weed filled lot. It had become home to many old tires and all sorts of trash. The young boy would dream about how this field would  be a great place to play soccer. But the work needed to clean it up seemed impossible. One day, the young boy shared his dream with his uncle. His uncle knew the mayor of the city. His uncle asked the mayor if it would be okay if the lot was cleared. Getting the okay was easy. But the boy knew that the real work was still ahead of him. Alone, he began working to move the tires and trash to one corner of the lot. An older man passing by stopped. He offered to help move some of the heavier things. As they were worked together, a recycling trunk pulled up. The driver asked what the plans were for the old tires. He agreed to come back in a couple of days and pick up all the tires for recycling. As the lot began to take shape more and more people stopped to offer advice and help. One person offered to pick up the remaining trash in his truck and haul it away. Another person brought a mower and mowed the overgrown grass. Another offered to make goal posts from plastic pipe he had stored in his garage. And still another said she would be willing to paint a sign. The sign would tell everyone that this field was open to anyone who wanted to come and play. When the job was finally finished, the mayor was impressed. He promised the young boy that his city workers would keep the field mowed and cleared of trash from now on.
   
   Discuss: Why do you think this young boy started this very big job all on his own? How might our “getting started” by bringing an item for our drive, help to encourage others to do so as well? If only a few of us are involved, will our drive be successful? How do you think everyone who participates in our drive event will feel after it is over?
   
    
5. Read: During the Winter Holiday season desperate wide-eyed shoppers search the shelves for that perfect gift. But many store owners are relying on the fact that you won’t find it. One store owner recently admitted, “There are no perfect gifts any longer!”  When asked why he would say that, he responded, “They don’t exist because most of us have everything we could possibly need. And more! What do most people do when they want something? They get out a credit card and buy what they think they need. Most of us are into instant gratification. That means we see it-we like it-we buy it!  Why wait for that special occasion to come around, get it today! So what do most people do during the Winter Holiday Season when looking for gifts for others who usually have everything they need as well? They buy whatever they can get their hands on. They do this with little or no thought, just so there's something under the tree. Store owners love it! “However, in response to this frenzied situation a quiet trend is beginning. This trend is to “Give more by giving less”. This trend is all about giving more to those in need and less to those who have everything. These trends include toy collections for needy children. Donating new and used clothing. Food collections and food services offered to those who might otherwise have little or nothing to eat. Most people would agree that they don’t need another stick of sausage or a cheddar cheese ball in their life. They are deciding to give the gift that keeps on giving.
   
   Discuss: In what ways might our drive event be a way of “giving more by giving less”?  Why might it be important to give some thought to what we give during our drive? What can we do without in our lives so that others who have so little may have more of what they need? How might what we do during our service project be a gift that keeps on giving?
   
    
6. Read: When Beth’s teacher asked the class where their favorite food comes from, everyone had a response. Some said it came from their refrigerator. Some agreed that it came from the store. Others said their moms or dads made it. A couple of students identified a particular restaurant. One student said his grandmother was the source of his favorite food. But we all know that food comes from gardens and farms. People have to work in these gardens and farms to help the crops and animals grow properly. That means people have to water, feed and take care of the animals as well as water, feed and weed their gardens and fields. It takes a lot of work to get the food raised in gardens and on farms to our tables. Because getting food to our table costs money, some people who don’t have much money often are not able to get their favorite food. While some can afford to buy a little food, some cannot afford to buy any.
   
   Discuss: In what ways is our drive event trying to get food to the tables of people who have little or no money to buy food? Why is it important that we help in this way? Who can help us make sure that those people who need the food, get the food that we collect?
   
    
7. Read: An ancient African proverb says, “It takes an entire village to raise a child.” That means that raising children is everyone’s responsibility. Parents, family members, teachers, police persons, etc. all have a role to play. Recently, Niccole Evans coined a slightly different slogan, “It takes but one child to educate a whole village.” When asked why she thinks kids can make changes in their communities, she says, “If you just start, and other people see what you’re doing, they want to join, so it begins to grow. It just takes some guts to make that start, to begin that chain reaction.”
   
   Discuss: Both the proverb and the slogan have something to say about giving. What is that message? How might both of these quotes be used in to promote our service event?
   http://www.giraffe.org/hero_Nick.html
   
    
8. Read: Sometimes, wouldn’t it be nice if life could be operated like a TV remote control? We could decide when to turn something on or off. If we didn’t like hearing something we could push the mute button. If we didn’t like something we were seeing, we could change the channel to something more to our liking. And all the while we could just be sitting back, relaxing in a lounging chair, and nibbling on popcorn. But life is not always “push-button” operated. We can’t always change the facts of life for our own convenience and comfort.  Life requires us to act. We can’t always close our ears to what we don’t want to hear. We can’t always look away from things we don’t want to see. And we certainly can’t spend our entire lives sitting around nibbling on popcorn, no matter how much fun that may sound.
   
   Discuss: If we could approach our drive event with a remote control what buttons would we press to make things different? What things do we think need changing in order for everyone to be able to have enough of what they need? How can we help to “turn up the volume” so everyone is aware of our planned drive event? How can we encourage our classmates to do more than just sit back and wish things were different? Why is it important that we do something?
   
    
9. Read:  A poem entitled Why Is It? was written by Courtney Kenney, a student at Our Lady of Divine Providence School in Metirie, Los Angeles. He wrote the poem and sent it in to Kids Can Make a Difference©. In the poem Courtney questions why for some people getting food is difficult while for others it is so easy. He also asks why the amount of food some are able to eat is so little while others can pretty much eat as much as they like. He concludes his poem by saying that everything is unfair.
   
   Discuss: Do you think Courtney’s conclusion is it true or untrue? Why or why not? How do you think Courtney and people who feel the same way would respond during our drive? How is our drive an attempt to try to make things fairer for everyone? What are some others things we could do to promote fairness during our drive?
   
    
10. Read:  Summer reached into the cupboard. She took down two cans of tomato soup, a box of macaroni, and one bag of pretzels. “What are you going to do with those things?” her mother asked.
    
    “We’re having a food drive at school for people who do not have enough food,” Summer replied.
    “So what are you contributing?” mother asked with particular emphasis on the word you. At first Summer thought her mother didn’t hear her explain about the food drive. But then she realized that she wasn’t actually giving anything “of her own” to the food drive. She was just taking food from her family and giving it away.
    
    “You’re right mom. Our teacher told us that we should try to make the donation something that was ours. Maybe I can help do extra chores. That way I can earn these items. They’ll be more like mine,” Summer said.
    
    “That’s an excellent idea!” her mother agreed. They went to work figuring out the details of their plan. The day finally came when Summer donated her items. Placing them on the table at school she had a different feeling than last year when she just took food from the family cupboard to give.
    
    Discuss: Do you think what Summer did -- taking the food from the cupboard --is pretty typical of what most kids do when it comes to donating to a food drive? Why or why not? Why do you think Summer felt differently about giving food this year than she did last year? How important do you think it is that what we contribute to our drive be something that we have purchased or earned?