Volunteering Lesson Plans

Students demonstrate appreciation for volunteer workers. For this philanthropy lesson, students create a card, picture, or poem for a school volunteer. Students use a variety of art supplies to create the appreciation gift.

Students write a story. In this volunteering activity, students discuss family interaction, caring, sharing and jobs within the family. Students work in groups to illustrate the words caring, sharing and volunteering. Students brainstorm services that do not require payment and create a story or comic strip about volunteering within the family.

Students read and discuss a poem about the issues of gender, education, and family written by a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in South Africa. In this poetry lesson, students read the poem 'Moetsana' and discuss the issues South Africa faces illustrated in the poem. Students may also write their own poem that combines similarities and differences to the original poem.

Learners investigate one family's volunteer tourism experience and the international volunteer organizations to create a community guide to helping those in need around the world.

Students conduct individual interviews to find out how people in their own communities provide services to others. In this interview lesson, students broaden their perspectives on the meaning of the common good by conducting interviews with community volunteers. Students bring their finished interviews to class and share their findings with classmates

Students amaze their friends and families with this human calculator trick. In this algebraic lesson, students use the associative property of addition to act as a human calculator and stump their volunteers. The steps to the trick, along with further investigation suggestions are listed.

Students define philanthropy and evaluate how the government would functin without the help of volunteers. They write song lyrics, participate in a class discussion, and complete a Venn diagram.

Students recognize amphibian adaptations. In this amphibian lesson students explore amphibian adaptations that provide for successful living in their environments. A volunteer dresses up with all of the adaptations using everyday items as examples.

Students examine their personal skills and strengths and connect them to specific volunteer possibilities in developing countries. Based on what they explore hi-tech venture philanthropy, students envision projects that affect global change.

Students examine the life of a rural Niger boy. They discover his relationship with foreigners and indigenous peoples. They read excerpts from a former Peace Corps volunteer.