Student-Senior Service Connection

Grade Level: 6-8

Academic Areas: Language Arts, Technology and Home and Careers

Duration of service: Year Long

Character Virtues: Giving, Caring, Respect

Service Areas: Human Services

Service Learning Project:

Students will create a student-senior want ad digest with the objective of matching student volunteers with senior residents within the school district. Students will create personal resumes detailing objectives, services offered, qualifications and experience and character virtues and personal qualities possessed. Students will initially create a database to simplify matching process. Computer technology will also be used to design and publish want ad digest. Students, parents and seniors will gather for a "interview" evening where all parties can meet and discuss job services and logistics. Parents will be encouraged to be supportive of student’s interest to serve others. Students will commit to meeting with and offering service to selected senior for at least one hour per month for the entire school year. Reflection on service will be ongoing.

Learning Goal: Students will use technology skills to develop classified ads and database to connect seniors with student volunteers. Students will use database to create and produce a student volunteer want ad digest designed to match services with needs of senior residents.

Learning Goal: Students will create all written documents and publications needed to produce want ad digest (service request forms, service needed forms, letters to seniors, advertisements, etc.

Standard: ELA 1,4

Learning Goal: Student volunteers will design personal resumes and cover letters to list services offered.

Standard: CDOS 1, 2, 3b

Community Need: Student-Senior want ads will provide valuable connection between volunteering student groups and elder residents in need of assistance around house, in yard, etc.

Possible Community Partners: PTSO, senior citizens groups, local clubs (e.g., Elks)

Objective: Student groups will volunteer services to seniors in selected geographic areas of district near to their homes.

Objective: Students will create and manage ongoing want ad service designed to connect needy seniors with eager student helpers.

Character

Virtue: giving

Objective: Students will be giving time, service, talents and companionship to needy seniors within the community.

Virtue: Caring

Objective:Students will offer support and service to seniors. They will demonstrate a long-term interest in their well-being and commit to an on-going service connection.

Virtue: Respect

Objective: Students will develop respect and appreciation for those who are less fortunate and less able than themselves. All people, regardless of age, appreciated and respected

1. Students will identify senior centers, local senior residence homes, adult living centers, retirement groups and residents 65 or older that could benefit from the students’ services.
2. Students will create personal resumes describing services offered and personal qualifications.
3. Letters will be created and mailed to local senior residence homes, adult living centers, retirement groups and residents 65 or older.

Key Service Activities  

1. A "services wanted" form will be created and mailed to senior residents within the community. Students will develop a database matching services offered with services wanted.
2. Students will develop a senior-student want ad digest to be published and distributed in the community. Parents and students will meet selected senior at an introductory "interview" evening at school prior to services rendered. Senior-student interview process will require that students reflect and communicate their objectives and qualifications for offering services to the selected senior.
3. Each student will create a mini-commercial/ infomercial advertising the student-senior want ad digest and the many types of services offered. Video tapes will be created to be broadcast at senior residence homes and, if possible, commercials will be broadcast on local cable access channels. Students will also advertise their good character and willingness to give and care for others.
4. Students will commit to a minimum of 1 hour per month of services offered to the senior who they agreed to serve.

1. (oral) Students will discuss the challenges they anticipate facing in working with the elderly and how they will use giving and caring behaviors to overcome those challenges. This process will require that students communicate the character virtues that they feel they will bring to such service.
2. (written) Following each hour of monthly volunteer work, students will be required to submit a student reflection form. The form will document the time and services provided and will include a personal reflection about how he/she felt about giving to and caring for the elderly. As part of the reflection, students will ask senior to also reflect on the experience. If needed, student will serve as a scribe for this process. Once the want ad digest is created and published student reflections will be included as a form of advertisement.
3. (performance) Students will role play a challenging situation with an elderly person and consider alternative respectful, caring and giving responses.

At the end of each school year, students, teachers, parents and seniors will gather for a celebration of the good character shown by the student volunteers.