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Grade Level: 6-8
Academic Areas: Science
Duration of service: Year long
Character Virtues: Responsibility, Respect
Service Areas: Environmental
Service Learning Project:
The Adopt-a-Hallway project requires students to collect waste
in their school hallways over a period of one year. Students will
research the rates of decomposition of various matter and how
this process affects the ecosystem. Students will need to be familiar
with soil tests and affect of acidity on the breakdown of matter
over time. Students will learn how to properly analyze/graph collected
data and share the results with others. This year long project
will take place within the school and will be run by the students
with teacher facilitation. Students will demonstrate responsibility
through the creation and performance of their duties on a daily
basis. Students will learn to respect the environment value the
importance of their role in maintaining that environment. Students
will develop an anti-littering program for their community. The
character virtues of respect and responsibility will exemplified
by this project .
Goals and Objectives
Academic
Learning Goal: To identify decomposition time table for a variety
of materials found in the environment.
Learning Goal: To collect data and perform soil acid tests during
the period of decomposition of the polluted material.
Learning Goal: To analyze and interpret data form this hallway
clean-up.
Standard: MST #1, 4; H,PE,FCS #2
Standard: H,PE,FCS #2
Service
Community need: Pollution and littering have become a safety
and health issue in the school community. Students need to understand
the importance of respecting the environment beginning in the
school hallways and extending this virtue into the community.
Possible Community Partners: Students and Staff
Objective: Students will acquire knowledge and ability necessary
to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment.
Objective: Utilizing the data collected to inform others of the
need to cultivate a clean and healthy environment.
Character
Virtue: Respect
Objective: Students will value the importance of a clean environment
through their own actions.
Virtue: Responsibility
Objective: Students will take ownership of keeping a clean and
safe hallway.
Key Activities
Key Planning Activities
1. Students will research the affects of decomposed matter on
the environment. Students will need to be familiar with soil tests
and affect of acidity on the breakdown of matter over time.
2. Students will develop time management and data collection template
to be used throughout the year. Students will communicate this
data through journals and graphs to other members of the team.
3. Students will augment data collecting skills through the use
of proper graph preparation for accurate analysis.
4. Students and staff will collaborate on the appropriate time
for waste collection and data analysis.
Key Service Activities
1. Students create and perform their duties and plans of action
for data collection and clean-up. (Responsibility and Civic duty)
2. Students will develop a means to inform their school and community
of the results of their service project. For example, students
may choose to produce a school video or public service announcement
related to their findings.
3. Students will create a brochure to be shared with their town
on the benefits of respecting the environment.
4. Student teams will present to the school / town board their
data and share their experiences while participating in this Adopt-A-Hallway
project.
Key Reflection Activities
1. (oral) Students will meet and discuss how respect for a clean
environment is their responsibility and how the school community
will be impacted by this project.
2. (written) Students will reflect each week in their journals
on ways they’ve been responsible and could be more respectful
by reviewing the time management and data collection templates.
3. (performance) Students will be able to reflect in a creative
form (song, diorama, map, etc.)on how this small contribution
can be applied to the larger community.
Celebration Activity
Inform local media of student achievement, certificates of recognition
for all student/teacher participants will be given out at the
School/Town Board meeting. Parents and friends will be invited
to come to the presentation of certificate ceremony . A Public
official will be invited to present these certificates to the
students. County environmental officers will be invited to attend.
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