These Learning Links provide ten quick-and-easy, five-minute mini-lessons to promote student thought and dialogue about service and civic engagement. You may use as many of them as you wish, and in whatever order best meets your needs and the interest of your students. The purpose of these mini-lessons is to provide a deeper understanding of philanthropy (the giving of time, talent, and treasure for the common good) and to reinforce the lesson focus. These Learning Links also promote the development of character traits, civic engagement, and student leadership. As appropriate to your grade level, it is recommended that students play an active leadership role in presenting these mini-lessons to their classmates.

1. Read: Have you ever found a penny on the ground? If you did, did you pick it up? If you picked it up, did you notice how it was lying on the ground? Was “heads” facing up or “tails” facing up? Most people don’t look to see if “heads” or “tails” is showing when picking up a coin. But some do! Some people think that if “heads” are showing and you pick it up, you will have good luck. If “tails” are showing these same people won’t pick it up. It’s because they think that by picking up a coin with “tails” showing it will bring them bad luck. We call this a superstition. A superstition is a belief that one thing causes another even though it really doesn’t.
   
   Discuss: Can you think of other things we consider superstitions? (i.e. black cats, the number 13, walking under a ladder, etc), In what ways might picking up a coin and donating that coin to our Penny Drive always bring “good luck” to someone? How is giving our coins to help others really causing the world to be a nicer place?
   
    
2. Read: There is rhyme that says…If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride. It means that if wishing could make things happen, then even those who have very little could have everything they wanted. Do you recognize this Nursery Rhyme?
   
   Star Light, Star Bright,
   First star I’ve seen tonight.
   I wish I may, I wish I might,
   Have the wish I wish tonight.
   
   But we know that just wishing doesn’t make it so. Wishing for something or wanting it is not the same as getting it or having it. We need to use our wishes to guide our actions. We can wish for something, but unless we do something to make it happen, more than likely it’s not going to happen.  Every 41 minutes of every day some child who is very, very sick has their wish come true. Thanks to The Make a Wish Foundation. Wishes like going to Disney World, riding a horse, flying in hot air balloon, getting a puppy are just some of the wishes that come true for these children. To be able to make these wishes come true, this foundation needs people to do something. People need to give them some of their money and volunteer to help them. This Foundation is able to grant these wishes because people do something to make it happen.
   
   Discuss: Wishing that we could help someone and actually helping someone are two different things. What do we wish will happen as a result of our Penny Drive? In what ways might our Penny Drive help make someone’s wish come true? What do we need to do to make our Penny Drive successful?
   
    
3. Read: Nine year old Jennifer tells her story. My mom and dad always taught me to share. Even when I didn’t want to, I had to. Even my teachers would tell me how important sharing is. But it wasn’t until I shared with someone, when I didn’t feel like sharing, that I understood why sharing is so important. My friend Amy and I had the same kind of doll. You really couldn’t tell the difference between them.  We called them our twins. One night Amy’s house caught fire. Many of her things were ruined by the fire, smoke, and water. Among the things that Amy lost in the fire was her doll. I had four other dolls. I guess that’s why my mom suggested that I give Amy my doll. The one that was a twin of the one she lost in the fire. At first I didn’t want to. It was my doll. But mother insisted. Finally I gave in and handed my doll to Amy. I told her that she could keep it. She got the biggest smile on her face! She actually jumped up and down while tears rolled down her cheeks. She was so happy. And do you know what? I had the biggest smile on my face too. I was jumping up and down with Amy. I even wiped a little tear from my eye.
   
   Discuss: Why is it hard to share sometimes? What are we being asked to share during our Penny Drive? What do think might happen if we shared some of our money even if we don’t feel like it? Is it okay to feel good about ourselves when we share with others?
   
    
4. Read:  “Can I have a dollar?” Sean asked his dad.
   
   “What do you plan to do with?” his father returned the question.
   
   “I want to give it to our Penny Drive.” Sean explained.
   
   “If I give you the dollar and you give that dollar to your Penny Drive, who actually is giving that dollar? You or me?” Dad asked.
   
   Sean thought for a minute. He knew his dad was right. His dad would be the one donating the money to the Penny Drive, not him. “Is there something I can do around the house to earn a dollar?” Sean asked.
   
   His father smiled, “I need some help raking leaves this afternoon. That might be worth a dollar and an ice cream cone when the job is done. What do you think?”
   
   “Wow!” Sean exclaimed. “That would really be cool.” When Sean walked up to the Penny Drive collection box the next day, he really felt good about donating his dollar.
   
   Discuss: Wouldn’t it have been easier for Sean just to have his dad give him the money to donate to the Penny Drive? Why might his dad think that would not be a good idea? Why do think Sean felt so good about having donated his own money to the Penny Drive? What are some ways we might be able to raise our own money to give to our Penny Drive?
   
    
5. Read:  One day an elderly man and his young granddaughter were talking. The young girl was asking her grandpa if it would be all right to pick up a coin if she found one on the ground. The grandpa smiled, “Yes it’s all right for you pick it up. In fact you should pick it up.”
   
   “Why should I pick it up?” she asked.
   
   “Because an angel tossed it there just for you,” Grandpa replied.
   
   “Really, why would an angel do that?” the young girl looked puzzled.
   
   “Because the angel knows that it will make you happy when you give it to someone else,” Grandpa smiled. The young girl smiled.
   
   Discuss:  In what ways is our Penny Drive about giving to someone else? A coin may not seem like much but according to the story we just read what happens when a coin is given to someone else?  Why do you think grandpa and the young girl were smiling at the end of the story?  Do you think the people who will receive our coins will smile? Why or why not?
   
    
6. Read: Do you go Trick-or-Treating on Halloween? Many kids trick-or-treat for candy on Halloween. They go door-to-door calling out "Trick-or-Treat”. People who answer the door often give them candy. Almost 60 years ago a group of kids our age went trick-or-treating. They were students from a school in Philadelphia. They did not trick-or-treat for candy. Instead they went door-to-door collecting money. They collected this money in milk cartons they had decorated. They gave the money they collected to help other children in the world. That first year this group of kids collected $17.00! Today, millions of kids all over the world collect money on Halloween. They give this money to help buy medicine, better food, cleaner water, and lots of other things people need. Since it started Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF has raised over $188 million dollars! Those first kids from Philadelphia set an example. They showed other kids one way they can help change the world.
   
   Discuss: How could our Penny Drive change a part of our world? Should we be disappointed if our Penny Drive raises only $17? Why or why not? How might what we are doing be an example to others?
   
    
7. Read: April’s dad brought a humming bird to school. April wanted to show her classmates the humming bird for Show and Tell. Her father told the class that the bird was injured and could not fly very well. He told them that the hummingbird did not actually hum.  But that its wings move so fast they make a humming sound. He also told them that the bee hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world. “A hummingbird may be small,” he said, “but they can do everything that a bigger bird can do and more.” Then he told them something pretty amazing. For one thing, a hummingbird can hover. This means it can flap it wings and fly in one place without moving. But most amazing, the hummingbird can fly backwards! It is the only bird in the world that can do that!
   
   Discuss: Are we considered big or small compared to kids older than we are? What are some amazing things we can do even though we are small? Does our size matter when it comes to what we can do for our Penny Drive? Do you think the money we collect and give to other people will amaze them? Why or why not?
   
    
8. Read: It was Jon’s turn to clean the chalk trays at school. In his class everyone had a job to do at the end of each day. Today was the day that Jon had made plans with some of his friends. They were going to play four-square after school. He already had permission from his mom to stay at school. So did the other boys. Jon was in hurry to get out-of-doors to begin playing four-square. He did not do a very good job of cleaning the chalk trays. He knew that his teacher would say something to him the next day about his not doing a good job. But when he came to school the next day, the chalk trays were perfectly clean. Amy saw him looking at the chalk trays in disbelief. She told Jon that after he left, the teacher cleaned them. Jon felt badly that he had let his teacher down. His teacher never said anything to him about it. But Jon promised himself that from now on he would always do his share and do it well.
   
   Discuss: Jon knew what he should do but he chose to do something else. Sometimes we get distracted. We forget that we have things we should do because we want to do other things that we want to do. Why do you think Jon felt badly when he learned that his teachers cleaned the chalk trays? Some kids may think that they have more important things to do than participate in our Penny Drive. How is bringing some of our money to school to give to our Penny Drive a way of doing our share and doing it well.? How do you think we will feel after we have done our share and done it well?
   
    
9. Read: Shasta’s school decided to donate the money they raised from their Penny Drive to the Jeffersons. Donnie Jefferson was a student in Shasta’s class. Her family’s home had just burned to the ground in a terrible fire. Fortunately the Jefferson’s had some home insurance. But many special things of Donnie’s and her two sisters were lost in the fire. Shasta talked to her parents about giving some of her money to the Penny Drive.”Why do you want to do that,” her mother asked. Shasta listed the following reason: Donnie was a friend. Shasta felt sad that Donnie and her sisters lost all their toys and books. Everybody else was giving some money.  And Donnie had often been kind to her and shared her things with Shasta. “That’s why I think this is the right thing to do.” Shasta conclude.
   
   “They all sound like very good reasons to me!” Shasta’s mother said.
   
   Discuss: What are some reasons we might have for bringing some of our money to give to our Penny Drive? Do you think there are some reasons for giving that are more important than others? Why is it important that we give something to our Penny Drive no matter what our reasons are?
   
    
10. Read: Derrick’s second grade class decided to raise some money for their school’s Penny Drive. They decide to raise money during a Read-a-thon. Each student was to look for sponsors. A sponsor is anyone who would promise to give 25 cents, 50 cents, or even a dollar for every 25 pages that a student read. The students were to read as many pages as they wanted to in one week. When the week was up each of the students would need to go back to their sponsors. They would to tell their sponsors how many pages they were able to read. The sponsor would give the money to the student that he or she had promised they would.  Derrick was pretty proud of his efforts. He raised $27.35!
    
    Discuss: How much money do you think Derrick would have been able to contribute to the Penny Drive if it were not for the Read-a-Thon fund raiser? How did this fund-raiser help Derrick’s class be able to give more money to their Penny Drive?  Why are fund-raisers important? Why do you think Derrick felt proud of his efforts?
     

Reflection plays a very important role in promoting student learning. The following suggested activities are ways to help students reflect on their learning after they have participated in a service event.  Choose one or more of the activities most appropriate to the service event and your students.

ACTIVITY ONE:
Have the students cut out a snowflake. Remind students that no two snowflakes are alike, so all snowflake designs will be acceptable. Have the students, using a crayon or marker; write a word on their snowflake that represents how they felt while participating in the Event activity.  When each student has completed placing their “feeling” word on their snowflake, have them each share their word with the class. After everyone has had an opportunity to share, place all the snowflakes on display to simulate a snowman and titled the display e.g. “Building Together”, “A Magical Snowman”, etc. Share that just as it takes lots of snow flakes to build a snowman it takes a lot of helping hands to make a service project a success.

ACTIVITY TWO:
Give the students an 8 ½” x 11”-sheet of multi-colored construction paper, a pair scissors, a glue stick/paste and a variety of old magazines and newspapers.  Tell them that they will have a designated amount of time to go through these magazines and newspapers to cut out pictures and /or words that could be used to describe their involvement in the recent Event.  Once they have cut out pictures or words, tell them to place their name somewhere on the construction paper and then glue the pictures and/or words they cut out to the construction paper being careful not to cover up their name.  Display these in the classroom and if time allows have each student share the contents of his or her collage with the rest of the class.

ACTIVITY THREE:
Give each student two pop sickle sticks and a cut out of a happy face and a sad face. Have them attach/glue each face to one end of each of the pop sickle sticks.  Tell the students that they are going to be asked to “vote” on a series of questions and they can register their “vote” by holding up one of their two faces.  (NOTE: You may choose to add that the students can hold up both faces, if they are unsure of their answer/or if they feel that their answer could be both a happy face and a sad face.)

Questions:

1. How did you first feel about doing this Event?
2. How did you feel while you were doing this Event?
3. How did you feel after the Event was over?
4. How do you think what you did made other people feel? 
5. How do you think the ‘face of our world’ would look if no one did these things?
6. How do you think the ‘face of our world’ would look if everyone was giving and sharing?

From the student’s votes create a one-dimensional block graph on a display board or use actual building blocks to show how students responded to each of the questions.  Discuss what the graph would tell someone who might be looking at it for information about the Event.

ACTIVITY FOUR:
Arrange the class into four groups. Have one group mime some of the activities they actually did during the Event, while the rest of the class tries to guess the activities.  Have the second group mime how they felt while being involved/working in the Event, while the rest of the class tries to guess their feelings.  Have the third group mime how they would feel if they were the ones being helped/received the cards, etc., while the rest of the class tries to guess their feelings.  And finally, have the fourth group mime different activities they might be able to do the next time that would also be helpful, while the rest of the class tries to guess the activities.  Discuss with the class how well they thought they did in identifying the various mimes and what they learned from doing this activity.