Serving with Character

Grade Level: 3-5

Academic Areas: Language Arts, Social Studies

Duration of service: Semester Long

Character Virtues: Respect, Civic Virtue and Citizenship

Service Areas: Human Services

Service Learning Project:

During a semester long project, students will contact adult citizens of their communities. In an effort to learn about good character, citizenship, and respect, students will invite local community members to their school. After formulating appropriate questions, students will interview these adult citizens. Then they will cooperatively create a well-written document which notes the accomplishments and contributions these individuals have made and continue to make to the community. The written document will be distributed to senior centers, local archivists, local historical societies, veteran organizations, legions, local government agencies and schools.

Goals and Objectives

Academic

Learning Goal: Students will list, understand, and appreciate contributions made by local adult citizens.

Standard: Social Studies #1 and #5

Learning Goal: Demonstrate effective interviewing and writing skills.

Standard: ELA #1 & #4

Service

Community need: Community’s lack of acknowledgement and knowledge of the contribution and dedication of its members.

Possible Community Partners: senior centers, local archivists, local historical societies, veteran organizations, legions, local government officials and organizations

Objective: Students will create a written document highlighting the contributions and dedication of community members.

Objective: Students will increase the public’s awareness of the contributions made by local adult citizens.

Character

Virtue: Civic Virtue and Citizenship

Objective: Understand the importance of the adults’ roles as citizens of their community and share this understanding with others.

Virtue: Respect

Objective: Gain a respect of adult citizens by valuing and appreciating the role they have played in shaping the community.

Key Activities

Key Planning Activities

1. Students, parents, and educators will brainstorm a variety of local organizations where they can contact adult citizens.

2. Students will develop a list of interview questions. Questions should provide opportunities for adults to share life experiences, accomplishments, and changes within the community.

Key Service Activities

1. Students will interview a local adult citizen. (A local community member such as a newspaper reporter or the school district’s personnel administrator could be invited in to discuss interviewing techniques.)

2. Students will listen to cassette recordings of the community members’ interviews while taking notes.

3. Interviewers and interviewees will cooperatively refine responses into a well-written document portraying the citizens’ lives.

4. Using their notes and other sources of information, such as the local newspaper, students will write biographies about these community members’ lives. The writing process will be utilized, especially peer editing and revising.

5. Students will put the well-written documents into an attractive format for distribution and display in the community’s schools, libraries, historical society, and various government agencies.

6. Students will present these biographies to the interviewed community members, as well as parents and other local members of the community. At the presentation ceremony, students will prepare a short speech that will introduce each community member and invite him or her to receive a copy of the biographies.

7. During the project, when local community members visit the school, students will take them on a brief tour, highlighting school activities and students’ work.

Key Reflection Activities

1. (oral) Pre-Activity: Brainstorm a list of ways to show respect to adults. (Teachers can pose the following scenarios: What if the adult cannot hear you? What if you cannot understand the adult because they are speaking too quickly? What should you do if they cannot answer a question? Etc.)

2. (written) Pre-Activity: Students will write a brief response to the question: What role do adult citizens play in our community? Post-Activity: How do you think children will view you as an adult citizen? Post-Activity: How is your life been impacted by the accomplishments of these adults?

1. (written) Students can write poetry and/or letters to the community’s newspaper editor about the individuals they have worked with.

2. (performance) Students will perform a skit of a scene depicting activities that the community member would be involved in.

3. (performance) Students will draw a picture of the shoes that their community member would most likely wear. Then standing on those shoes, students will address their classmates as if they were the community member. (Students could also write a paragraph using the community member’s point of view.)

4. (performance) Students will draw a picture depicting the adult they interviewed during a time period of their life.

5. (oral/written/performance) Students can create analogies, similes, and metaphors about the lives of the community members. These can be shared orally, in written form, or artistically.

6. (performance) Students can design a symbol that represents a community member.

7. (oral/written) Students can choose a significant statement made by the community members they interviewed. The class can then listen to this statement by using the cassette recording of the interview. Each student can reflect upon that statement’s meaning in his or her life. This activity can be repeated numerous times using multiple quotes from individuals.

Celebration Activity

Service Learning Presentation Local community members, school personnel, and parents will be present. The celebration will include students introducing the adults they interviewed and reading an excerpt from the written document created after the interview. The students should acknowledge what they learned throughout this experience and what was most interesting. They should also share the advice that the community members offered. All adults present will receive a copy of the document. At the conclusion, while refreshments are being served, the community members, school members, and parents will have a chance to meet and also view student work throughout the school building.