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Grade Level: 9-12
Academic Areas: Language Arts
Duration of service: 1-2 Months
Character Virtues: Caring, Civic Virtue and Citizenship, Respect
Service Areas: Human Services, Education/Tutoring
Service Learning Project:
Students will be partnered with residents who may have compelling
stories to tell about the history and present day community life,
for example long-term residents, business owners, local historians
and artists. They will interview these residents and draft an
article based on the information they gather. This partnership
experience will be designed to introduce students to the interview
process as well as capture the interview material to reflect the
components of factual writing. If possible, photographs can be
included. Student articles will appear weekly in the local newspaper.
The purpose of these articles is to infuse community pride in
local residents and business owners.
Goals and Objectives
Academic
Learning Goal: Students will learn the important components of
the interview process.
Standard: ELA #1 and #4
Learning Goal: Students will learn the components of factual writing.
Standard: ELA #1 and #4
Service
Community need: There is a lack of community pride due to an
increase in unemployment and decrease of local businesses in the
area.
Possible Community Partners: long-time residents, business owners,
artists, local newspaper, rotary club, Chamber of Commerce, local
government offices
Objective: Students will promote positive qualities of the community.
Objective: Students will break down barriers that exist between
themselves and other generations.
Character
Virtue: respect
Objective: Students will increase their regard and value of their
community.
Virtue: civic virtue and citizenship
Objective: Students will have an increased feeling of belonging,
empowerment, and ownership due to their hard work as a result
of being advocates for the community.
Key Activities
Key Planning Activities
1. The teacher will reach out to the community in search of residents
who may have compelling stories to tell about the history and
present day community life, for example long-term residents, business
owners, local historians and artists.
2. The teacher will contact the local newspaper in order to have
a weekly column published in the paper featuring stories of local
residents and to invite an editor or reporter into the classroom
to teach the students about article writing.
3. Students will learn/review the components of the interview
process and Students will learn/review the process of writing
a newspaper article.
Key Service Activities
1. Students will be partnered with residents who may have compelling
stories to tell about the history and present day community life.
They will interview these residents.
2. Students will draft, edit and revise an article based on the
information they gather that will appear weekly in the local newspaper..
If possible, photographs can be included.
Key Reflection Activities
1. (oral) Students will brainstorm the changes in the community
that they are aware of/have heard about that are causing deterioration
in the local community. Students will brainstorm positive aspects
of community life that need to be promoted in order to increase
community pride.
2. (oral) Students will share the articles they wrote with each
other. Based on what they learn about the community through these
articles, they will discuss actions they can take to further improve
the community. Responsibility/civic virtue and citizenship
3. (written) Based on what students learn, they will compose a
creative piece in which they take on the voice of one of the interviewees.
Caring/respect
4. (performance) Students will perform or act out their creative
piece. Giving/caring/respect/civic virtue and citizenship
Celebration Activity
Students’ articles will appear in the local paper. A wall
of fame will be created in a public venue featuring a collection
of historical pride: the newspaper articles and photographs that
the students created as they appear in the local paper. The students
will then be able to view others’ work. Students will host
a reception for interviewed participants to view the wall of fame.
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