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.

Read: When you think of the hungry, who comes to mind? Do you think of those people who live many, many miles away in far off remote areas of our world? Well you are partially correct, but did you know that often the hungry are closer than you think? In Michigan for example, the sad truth is that 1 in 10 families receive food assistance from food banks each year. Many people getting help are living right next door - they are children, working mothers, people on fixed incomes, the elderly and others who don't fit the profile of a homeless or destitute person. If we don't feed our hungry neighbors, the cost to our community goes up exponentially. Without food, children have difficult time learning. Without food, the elderly may end up in the hospital with problems they could have easily avoided. Without food, some people steal just to feed their children and themselves. These are only a few examples of the high cost of hunger, many of which are not on the radar screen for people who can make a difference.

Discuss: How does knowing this information help us make decisions as to where we contribute our service event collections? Since it is not always easy to determine who the hungry are, why might it be important to work with a community agency who distributes donated items to those in need? How does feeding the hungry help make the world a better place?

 

1. Read: Most people like peanut butter unless of course they are allergic to it in which case they still might like it but they need to avoid it. Each year for the past several years, residents of Providence, Rhode Island have joined with local Washington Trust Bank branches to collect cans and jars of peanut butter to be contributed to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. This year (2007) the drive brought in 23,473 pounds of peanut butter. This is equivalent to almost 12 tons; the combined weight of approximately six mid-size cars or utility trucks stacked on top of each other! Since the program began in 2001 this drive has collected 44 tons of peanut butter! Add the weight of another 16 cars to the six already in the stack! Why peanut butter? One donor put it this way, “Peanut butter is a great source of protein and we know most people like peanut butter.”
   
   A spokesperson for Food Bank put it this way, “The more you learn about the needs of hungry people and who they are, the more you realize that they are "just like us."
   
   Discuss: How might our remembering that those who receive the items that we collect during our service  event “are just like us” affect what we contribute? How can we best share this message with our peers?
   www.rifoodbank.org
   
    
2. Read: On May 3, 2002 the first Spider Man movie was shown. If you saw the movie, you might recall that when bitten by a genetically modified spider, a nerdy, shy, and awkward high school student gained spider-like abilities. He eventually used these abilities to fight evil as a superhero. The following tagline was used as a promo for the movie, “There is a thin line between being an ordinary man and an extraordinary hero.”  During the movie there is another scene in which Spider Man’s Uncle Ben tells Spider Man, “….with great power comes great responsibility.”
   
   Discuss: When you think about extraordinary people, what makes them extra-ordinary? Is it who they are or what they do? Or is it a combination of the two? What great powers do we possess as a class or school that we could use to help make our world a better place? How might these two taglines be representative of our involvement in our service  event? How might they be used to the encourage involvement of others?
   
    
3. Read: On any given day, most cupboards in America hold more food stuffs than some people eat in one year. Recently, a newspaper columnist reported that during her “spring cleaning” she went through her cupboards to see what she should throw out as a result of past-due use-dates. She discovered that well intended purchases were either forgotten or no longer needed. “My husband and I would always talk about how our refrigerator ate better than we did. But now we realize that our cupboards fair pretty good as well!” she said. “We decided that when two-for-one offers for items we usually use were made by our local grocery store, we would purchase them. We would keep one of the items and place the other in a bag for the city soup kitchen rather than in our cupboards where they would be forgotten until my next “spring cleaning” effort.” It’s a win-win situation. The store sells their items, we are able to purchase multiple items for one price, we use what we can and give the rest to those who care for people in need. Everyone wins; expect the cupboard, refrigerator, and wastebasket!”
   
   Discuss: Would you assume that looking into your cupboards at home or the refrigerator that you could find some food that could be donated to our service event? Why would giving it away be better than throwing it away? How does giving it away make for a win-win situation for everyone involved?
   
    
4. Read: People give money, make contributions, and donate items for many different reasons. Personal life experiences will often motivate people to give.  Maybe someone in their family died of cancer so when the request goes out for cancer donations, they give. Maybe they know the family whose home burned to the ground and so when the requests for needed items are made, they donated what they can. Wanting to make a difference will motivate people to give. Hunger around the world has many faces most of which are unfamiliar, but people choose to help out because they want to make things better for everyone. Wanting to make a statement or take a stand on an issue will often motivate people to give. People support smoking bans, HIV research, political candidates, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), and other such social issues and problems because of what they believe. Recognition and/or tax write-offs will often motivate people to give. People feel that they get something back for what they give. Sometimes it’s merely a sincere “thank you”. At other times it may be their name in the newspaper or on a building. It could be a personal income tax refund. And finally the feeling of warm fuzzes for having done a good thing will often motivate people to give.
   
   The National Institute of Health (NIH) says giving feels good. Dr. Jorge Moll a leading researcher at NIH reports, “Brain scans show the existence of a warm glow at a biological level for people who are altruistic (someone who shows selfless concern for the welfare of others).
   
   Discuss: Our service event is one way of making contributions and donating needed items. In what ways is our event intended to be an altruistic effort? Motivations for giving are personal matters and not always so easily identified as described above. A golf commentator once remarked that it’s hard to determine specifically which golf shot won the game, because they all add up to the final score. In what ways might the same be true when trying to determine the “best motivation” for giving?
   
    
5. Read: The phrase “the tip of the iceberg” usually refers to a problem or difficulty that is only partially seen or known; the “tip of the iceberg” is only a small manifestation of a larger perhaps deeper problem. Icebergs as we know it are large pieces of freshwater ice that have broken off from a snow-formed glacier and are floating in open water. Only one ninth of the volume of an iceberg is above water. The shape of the remainder under the water can be difficult to surmise from looking at what is visible above the surface. This has led to the expression "tip of the iceberg”. Recently, a TV celebrity speaking on behalf of a fundraiser for eradication of hunger in the world shared this observation, “The visible needs of those lacking proper food and nutrition are often merely ‘the tip of the iceberg’. What lies beneath the surface is beyond comprehension.”
   
   Discuss: We have probably all seen them; pictures of half clothed children with distended stomachs too weak to swat away the flies that move freely in and out of their eyes and noses. We probably wonder to ourselves if not verbally the question, “How can this possibly be true?” And yet, this truly is only “the tip of the iceberg”. Over 850 million people go to bed hungry in all corners of the world. Looking deeper, we find that more people die from hunger each year than die from war, tuberculosis and AIDS combined and every 5 seconds a child somewhere dies from hunger. So what does this all say about the importance of events like our Drive event? Do you think most people while they might see what floats about the surface are aware of what floats beneath the surface? Why might it be important to share what we know about what isn’t always so visible?
   www.wfp.org
   
    
6. Read: Each year since 1916 there has been a contest held in Coney Island, New York. It is called Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. This world famous contest is sanctioned by Major League Eating (MLE), the world governing body of all stomach-centric sport. Nearly 50,000 people watched the event in 2007. The contest winner set a new world record by downing 66 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. The trophy comes back the to the United States “Nothing represents summer and the Fourth of July like the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog-Eating Contest,” said the president and CO of the contest. “This year our nation has new hope for glory.”
   
   Discuss: Can you think of any other food eating contests that you have read about or seen? Considering the amount of hunger in the world, is a food eating contest something that contributes to the common good? What are some other things that might bring hope and glory to a nation besides stomach-centric sports? How might our service event be a way of bringing a different kind of hope and glory to our class, our school, our community, and our nation?
   
    
7. Read:  Do you know what American Idol, Survival, Amazing Race, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, etc… have in common? If you guessed that they are all considered TV Reality Shows, you are correct. Skeptics are more likely to agree with the reality of some of the situations than they are to the realness of the approaches taken to address these situations. But there is something that is very real in many shows like these. What you may not know is that many of these ‘reality shows’ promote philanthropy. The shows as well as the participants in these shows involve themselves in special fund raising events, personal volunteer efforts, and the giving of personal wealth to help promote the common good. In fact, often individuals who star in these reality shows, volunteer to help promote participation in these acts of philanthropy among their peers and fans.
   
   Discuss: How can we share with our peers that there is a “real” need for the items we are collecting during our service event? How might we as a class share the “real” importance of everyone participating in our service ? How might our service promote a “real” difference in the lives of people in need?
   
    
8. Read: In Mitch Albom’s best seller, Tuesdays With Morrie, Mitch, a sports journalist, learns of the impending death of Morrie Schwartz, one of his former college professors. While his newspaper was on strike, Mitch decided to visit his old professor. This initial visit was the first of many as the book chronicles the successive Tuesday visits of Mitch with Morrie up to the time of Morrie’s death. During the visits many reminiscing and heart-felt conversations were shared, as Morrie with candor, courage, and wisdom, offered Mitch advice about what truly matters in life. During one of these conversations, Morrie shared his thoughts on status. He tells Mitch that status doesn’t really impress people at either end of the social continuum. While people at the top typically remain unimpressed, people at the bottom are just envious and what difference does either of these attitudes make? Morrie goes on to share that only an open heart impresses people and gives one status. He freely admits that at one time his car, his home, or other possessions might have brought him some sense of life and purpose, but he’s now discovered that its giving to others of his time that makes him truly feel alive; it’s helping make someone smile that gives life its purpose. Morrie summarized his thoughts on status with this piece of advice. Do the kinds of things that come from the heart. When you do, you won’t be dissatisfied, you won’t be envious, you won’t be longing for somebody else’s things. On the contrary, you’ll be overwhelmed with what comes back.
   (Footnote: Morrie Swartz died in 1995, shortly after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. The book Tuesdays With Morrie was published in 1997 and spent more than six years on the USA Today best-seller list.)
   
   Discuss: What does this conversation about status have to say about giving? Why do you think Morrie shared these things with Mitch? How does this conversation reflect an attitude we might take during our service event?
   
    
9. Read: Eric was new to his Texas high school. He had recently come from Alabama where his home had been completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.  In Alabama, his family had lived comfortably and he lacked for very little. But Katrina changed all that in a matter of only a few hours. Staying at a temporary shelter, Eric saw things he had never seen before. He saw people, hungry, and destitute, walking around. Their faces etched with fear and hopelessness. He heard people crying over lost possessions and loved ones. He saw and heard what mattered most to people in times like these. When his new school announced their annual Drive event, Eric volunteered to represent his class in planning and conducting the event.
   
   Discuss: Why might Eric have volunteered to take a leadership role in the service event even though he was a new student to the school? Does it always require an experience, like the one Eric had to motivate people to get involved? How might we encourage/motivate our classmates to take part in our service event?

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 each student write a one or two sentence response to at least three of the following prompts:

1. During this service project, I learned how to…
2. During this service project, changed my mind about…
3. During this service project, I was feeling…
4. During this service project I thought ….
5. During this service project I was hoping that…
6. During this service project I became convinced of…

Encourage the students to share their responses to the prompts they selected and have them look for similarities and differences in the responses of others. Conclude this activity by having students come up with three or four single words that reflect the majority of responses given to each prompt.  Write these words on the display board. Have the students share why it might be difficult to ‘put into words’ what they experienced during this service project.

ACTIVITY TWO: 
Provide the students with the following questionnaire. Using a Likert scale rating 0-5 with 0 meaning “not at all” to 5 meaning “very much so”, have them circle their responses. Instruct the students not to place there name on the questionnaire.

	Not at All > Very Much So
1. I was fully prepared to participate in this service project.	0   1   2   3   4   5
2. What I expected would happen during this service project happened.	0   1   2   3   4   5
3. The feelings I had about participating in this service project, remained the same from start to finish.	0   1   2   3   4   5
4. I think the service project had positive impacts.	0   1   2   3   4   5
5. I felt that everyone worked together to make this service project the success that it was.	0   1   2   3   4   5
6. I have given some consideration to how I might be able to be involved in other service events in our school/community.	0   1   2   3   4   5
7. Should participation in this service project be required of all 9th graders next year?	0   1   2   3   4   5

 
When each student has completed their questionnaire, have them exchange their questionnaires with another student. Do this exchange two additional times. Now have the students call out the response numbers to each of the questions as you record hash marks (IIII) for each question on a display area for all to see.  Engage the students in a discussion of what the class responses to these questions tell them about this service project?

ACTIVITY THREE:

Place the following slogans on the display board:

1. Diamonds are forever (DeBeers)
2. Just do it (Nike)
3. The pause that refreshes (Coca-Cola)
4. We try harder (Avis)
5. Good to the last drop (Maxwell House)
6. Breakfast of champions (Wheaties)
7. Does she ... or doesn't she? (Clairol)
8. When it rains it pours (Morton Salt)
9. Where's the beef? (Wendy's)

Tell the students that these slogans have been identified as the Top Ten Slogans of the Century.  Have each student decide which of these slogans (or one that they come up with on their own/or one that is more contemporary) he/she thinks might best represent their personal over all feeling about their involvement in this service project.  Encourage the students to share their selected slogan and their reason for selecting it.  Discuss how slogans could be used to promote future service projects.

ACTIVITY FOUR:
Pair the students and provide them with a “Person in the Street” Interview form (see below). Indicate that each student will take turns interviewing and being interviewed using this form as a guide.  Each interviewer is responsible for recording the information he/she obtains from their interviewee during the interview.  The interviewer should “read back” to the interviewee what it is that he/she recorded/heard them say in response to the interview questions.  Once the interviewee agrees that what he/she said was accurately recorded, the interviewer is responsible to write a one-page newspaper article about the interviewee and his/her experiences during the service project.

“Person in the Streets” Interview:

1. What is you name?
2. What was your role in this service project? What did you do during this service project?
3. How did you feel the night before this service project?
4. How did you feel during this service project?
5. How did you feel after this service project?
6. Do you think you did your best during this service project?
7. If you had it to do over again, are there some things you would do differently? If so, what things would you change?
8. Do you feel that this was a worthwhile service project? Why or Why Not?
9. Any recommendations/suggestions for next year’s service project?
   
    

Pair the students and provide them with a “Man in the Street” Interview form (see below). Indicate that each student will take turns interviewing and being interviewed using this form as a guide.  Each interviewer is responsible for recording the information he/she obtains from their interviewee during the interview.  The interviewer should “read back” to the interviewee what it is that he/she recorded/heard them say in response to the interview questions.  Once the interviewee agrees that what he/she said was accurately recorded, the interviewer is responsible to write a one-page newspaper article about the interviewee and his/her experiences during the service project.

“Person in the Streets” Interview:

1. What is you name?
2. What was your role in this service project?
3. What did you do during this service project?
4. How did you feel the night before this service project?
5. How did you feel during this service project?
6. How did you feel after this service project?
7. Do you think you did your best during this service project?
8. If you had it to do over again, are there some things you would do differently? If so, what things would you change?
9. Do you feel that this was a worthwhile service project? Why or Why Not?
10. Any recommendations/suggestions for next year’s service project?