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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.
Goals and Objectives
Academic
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.
Standard: MST 2, 5, 7
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
Service
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
Key Activities
Key Planning Activities
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.
Key Reflection Activities
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.
Demonstration Activity
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.
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