Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "When Giving Is All We Have" by Alberto Ríos
What makes giving meaningful? Class members discuss this question, then listen to Alberto Rios reading his poem, "When Giving Is All We Have." Finally, the class considers what the poet says about the question.
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Preparing the Soil
Middle schoolers explore philanthropy through literature. In this service learning lesson, students consider character traits as they read Seedfolks. Middle schoolers record their notes regarding the characters in the story of a...
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Service Learning
Students explore the value in helping others. In this ethics lesson, students use videos, worksheets, Internet articles and group discussion to develop a personal perspective on what it means to help others.
Learning to Give
Closing Ceremonies
Promote volunteerism in your art or writing classes. In this service learning lesson plan, middle schoolers create promotional materials that include photographs and newspaper articles based on their personal service experiences in local...
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Phil's Garden of Good
Students read "The Rainbow Fish" and discuss how the fish benefited by giving others. In this sharing lesson, students prepare plants and letters for senior citizens. Students present their letters and plants at a visit to a senior...
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Graphing the Annual Food Drive
Learners graph the number of items contributed to the food drive. They compare daily results to other days or to an overall goal and answer questions based on the graph.
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Jet Delivers Books to Kids Overseas
Students identify the function of organizations, then read a news article about an organization called Room to Read that is sending books to poor countries. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a...
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A Visit To The Station
Students discuss the role of the firefighter. In this firefighter lesson, students visit a fire station and see the equipment that firefighters use. They complete a math page on numbers and write a journal entry describing their fire...
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Purchasing Power
Students participate in a lemonade sale and record their sales in a journal. In this fundraising lesson, students donate money they have raised from a lemonade sale and make a plan for how the money should be spent.
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Cultural Connections
Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson plan, students examine the impact of the works of Cesar Chavez, George Washington Carver, Sunderlal Buhuguna, and Abdul Sattar Edhi.
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Cultural Music Festival
Young scholars participate in planning a multi-cultural community event. In this cultural music lesson, parents, community members, and teachers provide time, music, advertisement, and refreshments to create a community multi-cultural...
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Community Evolution: Putting the Puzzle Together
Young scholars, working in groups, to study on aspect of their community history. They put their research together in one story about their community.
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This Ain't No Tea Party!
Create food-safe bowls with your class, then organize a meal for the community using the class's bowls to serve. This lesson is based on the Empty Bowels Project, where school kids gain an understanding of global hunger through community...
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Teens Making a Difference
Is your opinion significant? Help your class discover the influence their opinions hold and encourage them to make a positive change in their community. To start, they get in teams and brainstorm why their school should have more healthy...
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A Passage Through Time
Young learners research and present information about a chosen subject to their peers, parents, instructors, and community. This lesson has a strong research and public speaking component, and would be ideal for your higher level students.
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Keep America Beautiful: Thinking Green in the Classroom
Stress the importance of community involvement to preserve the beauty of our Earth with these great ideas.
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Recruiting Help to Attain Personal Goals
At one time or another, people with physical disabilities may require the assistance of others in the community. Here, they engage in one-on-one role-playing sessions to practice recruiting assistance in the community. They practice...
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Learning to Interview
An authentic and engaging way to practice literacy skills, this lesson calls for young language arts pupils to conduct interviews with classmates and family members. First, pupils watch as the teacher models the interview process with a...
Peace Corps
Introducing Culture
Growing up within a culture leaves a lot of ideas and values unspoken. Take a closer look at the cultures in which your learners live with a discussion activity that addresses cultural identity and traits of those living within the...
US Institute of Peace
Becoming a Peacebuilder
"Be the change you wish to see in the world!" The 15th and final lesson in a peacebuilding series uses this quote from Gandhi to prepare pupils for their own action projects. Individuals research a global issue, then brainstorm a method...
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Dividing the Philanthropic Shares
Pupils define who volunteers are the and the types of jobs that they do. They identify various groups who volunteer in their community, and locate them on a city map.
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Making Connections
Students reflect on their experiences and interest in volunteer service. They develop service plans for communities in need around the world and connect them to virtual volunteers.
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Community Involvement: I Can Help
Students investigate volunteer opportunities in their community. They draw picture of themselves helping in each situation pictured on the worksheet.
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I Know I Can
Students explore the concept of philanthropy, and identify specific philanthropic agencies in their community. They participate in philanthropic opportunities, and develop persuasive arguments to encourage others to give of their own...