Learners recognize that famous philanthropists started with small acts of kindness before they performed the influential acts that we remember them for. Students define caring through discussion of examples and writing an acrostic.

The learner will:

• identify individuals from history as philanthropists.
• define philanthropy as giving time, talent, and treasure for the common good.
• define caring.
• write an acrostic using the word caring.

Anticipatory Set:

Write a list of varied and famous American historical figures/philanthropists on the board and ask learners, “What do these people have in common?” Examples may include local philanthropists as well as some of the following: Clara Driscoll, Ima Hogg, Olga Bernstein Kohlberg, Jane McCallum, Caesar Chavez, Andrew Carnegie, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, Jane Addams, Squanto, Clara Barton, W. E. B. Dubois, Susan B. Anthony,  Dorothea Dix, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, Rachel Carson, and George Washington Carver. Discuss the traits that all of the peoples' names written on the board share (all were/are philanthropists and community-minded, caring individuals) and why we remember them for their positive contributions to the common good.

• Define philanthropy as "giving time, talent, or treasure for the common good." Discuss and identify some of the "time, talent, and treasure" the listed individuals shared that benefited others. Tell the students that each of the individuals on the list on the board performed small acts of kindness that built their character. They didn't start by doing the great things for which we remember them.
• Ask the learners to choose people on the list who seemed like caring individuals and explain why they chose them. Discuss what caring [feeling concern, showing interest] means.  
• Do a quick acrostic as a class to get the students thinking about the meaning of caring. Write the word CARING vertically on the board. Tell the students to use the letters in the word caring to start each line and write synonyms, adjectives, and examples of the word caring.

Example:

C-concern for others

A-always showing kindness

R-reaching out to others

I-initiating friendships

N-noticing needs of others

G-giving and sharing

• Display the class acrostic on the wall.

Excerpts taken from Learning to Give lesson, "What Is a Philanthropist and Why Do We Care?" http://www.learningtogive.org/lessons/unit186/lesson1.html

Lead the students to recognize that kind acts may spark others to perform kind acts. This is known as serial reciprocity. Define serial reciprocity as "the process occurring when one person gives to another, by means of time, talent or treasure, and thus causes a continual chain of giving to occur in a linear rather than circular pattern."