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: It was usually a done deal when Kelsi Dunne took to the mound to pitch her high school softball team, Port Orange Spruce Creek in Central Florida, to victory. Dunne completed her senior year with a 26-1 record which included 20 shutouts, 11 no-hitters and five perfect games. In her team’s only loss, she pitched a no-hitter, a 1-0 game against Miramar Everglades in a Class 6A state semifinal.  With a baffling assortment of breaking pitches, Dunne struck out 446 of 580 batters faced for an average of 17.3 per seven innings. She allowed only 21 hits, 15 walks and four earned runs all year and as a clean-up hitter, she hit .505 with three home runs, 29 RBI and 11 game-winning hits. Twice named Florida high school softball Player of the Year, Kelsi Dunne recently added the ultimate honor. The Port Orange Spruce Creek star learned she has been named National Player of the Year by EA Sports and StudentSportsSoftball.com. During her interview she openly praised her teammates.” I really focus on the team aspect. Without the team behind me, I could not have accomplished what I have done. Personal achievements are great but you have to have a team behind you to get those.” http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_highschool_varsity/2007/07/spruce-creeks-k.html
   
   Discuss: Why might someone with all the skills of a Kelsi Dunne talk about the importance of team? What are we trying to achieve during our Penny Drive? In what ways is this event intended to be a team effort? Why might our Penny Drive event not be as successful as if could be if everyone does not participate?
   
    
2. Read: The Second Harvest Food Bank is the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization. It is a network of more than 200 member food banks and food-rescue organizations, serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. It distributes more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products each year to people in need. Recently, during their annual Thanksgiving Drive campaign, Second Harvest announced that for a mere 100 cents they would be able to provide a Thanksgiving meal to 32 people!
   
   Discuss: Some people feel a “penny” is hardly worth the effort. How might sharing this information help these people rethink this idea? Why is it important that we all contribute what we can? It is said, “Often it is the little things that make a big difference.” Give us some examples of experiences you’ve had or heard about where this has been true. How might it be true for our Penny Drive?
   
    
3. Read: A typical light bulb gives off enough light to adequately light up a wide area, like a room. A typical flashlight narrows the focus of light enough to allow someone to follow a path through a dark wooded area, for example; or find things in a dimly lit area. When laser lights were invented in 1960, they were called "a solution looking for a problem”. Since then, laser usage has found usefulness in thousands of applications in every section of modern society. The most widespread use of lasers is in optical storage devices such as compact disc and DVD players. The laser (a few millimeters in size) scans the surface of the disc. Other common applications of lasers are bar code readers and laser printers. The concentration of light is so strong that lasers are now even being used in industry for cutting steel and other metals. They are also used in the medical field.
   
   Discuss: A light from a light bulb and the light from a flashlight still have purposeful uses in spite of the discovery and invention of laser light. What the laser light has taught us is concentrated light can have even more powerful and useful purposes. Each of us can decide to do our own thing to bring about change; to be a solution to a problem, but as we plan for and carry out our Penny Drive event, how might we produce a more powerful result by concentrating and focusing our efforts?  What are some ways we can do that?
   
    
4. Read: You’ve seen them, machines that will take a penny and as a result of numerous turns of a crank, change that penny into a “keepsake”. Perhaps you have seen or heard of people who have illegally placed a penny on a railroad track only to have the penny flattened beyond recognition. Have you ever wondered what a penny would look like if it were dropped from a tall skyscraper? This too is against the law to do. How about those fountains in parks, stores, and other locations. Have you ever given any thought to reaching or wading into the water to gather up some of that money? We tend to view our pennies as “small change” hardly worth the effort of bending over and picking one up. One city health official tells of his little game of picking up coins while walking for exercise. “I typically find between $2.00 and $3.00 in change a year just walking my dog. One year I found over $15.00, but that was because I found a $10.00 bill I presume someone lost!” he admits. When asked what he does with the money he finds, this city official readily admits that he just puts it in his pocket and it gets lost somewhere amongst his other change. “But the $10.00 bill I gave to the office collection for toys for children during the holiday season.” he hastily added  with a big grin.
   
   Discuss: Why do you think Americans are typically disinterested in “small change”? If everyone in our school were to find and donate $2.00 to $3.00 to our Penny Drive, how much money do you think that would that amount to? Why do you think this city official donated the $10.00 bill he found to a worthy cause and not the “small change” ? How can we help impress upon people  that it all adds up, even the “small change”?
   
    
5. Read: During the 2007 Make a Difference Day event held each year on the fourth Saturday in October 11 year old J.T Robertson and his seven year old friend, Josh wanted to do something. They decided to collect cans and exchange them for the deposit. Together they collected almost 30,000 cans. With some additional donations, they raised enough money to have over 400 passengers, mostly disadvantaged or disabled kids, take a 90 minute ride on a train. But it was not just any old train. It was a ride on the historic 140 year old Arcade and Attica Railway in New York. When asked why the boys did this, J.T.’s response was, “I did this because it shows other kids how much they can do.”  J.T and his friend later received an award from USA Weekend for helping make this possible for so many kids. Together, the boys decided to use their award money to create a grant program that would encourage other children to volunteer.
   
   Discuss: What can we learn from J.T. and Josh about doing things that help other people? How can we use this story to inspire us to donate to our Penny Drive?  What are some ways we might be able to raise additional money to contribute to our Penny Drive? During this event, why is it important that each of us participate? What are some other things we might be able to do to encourage others to participate now and during future events?
   
    
6. Read: Do you ever wonder why the word “drive” is used in phrases like: a Canned Goods Drive, a Blood Drive, a Cancer Drive, a Penny Drive? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers a variety of definitions for the word “drive”. Drive is defined as 1) movement in a desired direction; like getting everyone to do something to reach a desired goal or destination. 2) Doing something with energy, like feeling a deep desire to perform well, being driven to complete a project. 3) Navigating from one place to another, perhaps through obstacles as one would drive an automobile 4) propelling something in a desired direction like hitting a golf ball or nail.
   
   Discuss: Given these definitions of the word “drive” how can our Penny Drive help move everyone in a desired direction? How might we use our “drive” to result in a successful Penny Drive? What might be some obstacles that we will have to “drive” around during our Penny Drive if we are to accomplish our goals and reach our destination? How can our encouragement help “drive” our classmate’s support of this event?
   
    
7. Read: Danita was asked to consider participating in her school’s Penny Drive. Unfortunately, like most of us, she was on a pretty tight budget. She was fortunate enough to receive an allowance from her parents for things she was responsible for doing around the house and she also had a pretty steady job of baby-sitting for her aunt’s two-year old at least once a week. But as she considered making a donation to the Penny Drive, she wasn’t sure how she’d be able to stretch her budget to allow for a donation. In her Life Style’s class at school she had learned about budgeting; the typical spend, save, and donate approach to budgeting was still pretty clear in her head. She felt some pressure to participate in the Drive so she thought about how she typically spent her money hoping to find a way to set some aside for her donation.
   
   Danita thought about how she had fallen into the routine of “rewarding” herself for sticking to her self-imposed diet. Every Friday after school she would stop off at the local Latte and Coffee Shop and buy one of those $3.25 specialty cappuccinos with loads of whip cream. It was something she looked forward too even though she knew that it sort of undid her “diet”. Unable to think of any other way to squeeze out a contribution from her budget, Danita decided rather than purchase a cappuccino on one Friday’s she would put that money toward the Penny Drive. That one Friday turned into a almost a month of Fridays and when her school’s Penny Drive ended, not only did she contribute over $20.00, she also had lost an additional three pounds! “It was a ‘win-win’ situation! Well… maybe it was a win-lose situation. Whatever, it was good for my diet!” she chuckled, sipping on her first creamy cappuccino in over a month.
   
   Discuss: Sometimes donations are made from “left-over” money. Was this true for Danita? What sacrifice might someone have to make in order to participate in our Penny Drive? How might this sacrifice turn into a “win-win” situation for everyone.
   
    
8. Read: Hup one, two, three….Hup one, two, three….Do you know why soldiers when marching in cadence are commanded to break their cadence while crossing bridges? If you said it is because the movement of a troop of soldiers walk across a bridge can cause the bridge to start to vibrate, you are correct.  If the soldiers are in step and if the frequency of their step is the same as the natural vibration of the bridge, the bridge could collapse. This is because each step that the troop makes in unison will cause the amplitude (size) of the bridge's vibrations to become higher and higher. If the amplitude of the vibrations becomes high enough, the bridge can collapse. To prevent this, soldiers purposely march out of step when crossing a bridge.
   
   Discuss: While some scientists are not convinced that this was ever the case and certainly convinced that today’s modern bridges would withstand such a test, so far no one is willing to test it. So we are left with what appears to be “a possibility”. What we do know for sure is that more often than not the power of the masses certainly exceeds that of the individual. Said another way, it is far more likely that a bridge is capable of collapsing with many soldiers walking across it in cadence, than it is with one cadet walking across it. As we approach our Penny Drive how can we convince others that our “possibilities” lie in everyone getting “in step” with this event? While we certainly aren’t interested in collapsing any bridges, why is it important to “stay in step” as a way to create bridges for those for whom we are collecting our money?
   
    
9. Read: We have probably all seen the Red Kettles. They routinely show up around the holiday season. They are often found at store entrances and similar high trafficked areas. Usually they are accompanied by an individual ringing a bell and wishing people a happy holiday as well as extending a friendly “Thank You” and “Season’s Best Wishes” to those who drop coins into the bucket. These Red Kettles belong to The Salvation Army and this American tradition has been around since 1891, when Captain Joseph McFee from San Francisco resolved in December of that year to provide a free Christmas dinner to the area's poor people. But how would he pay for the food? As he went about his daily tasks, the question stayed in his mind. Suddenly, his thoughts went back to his days as a sailor in Liverpool, England. In one port he saw a large pot, called "Simpson's pot" into which charitable donations were thrown by passers-by. Little did McFee know that he would launch a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but also around the world. While money collected in these kettles is used to provide seasonal dinners for those less fortunate, they have since also been used to provide food, clothing, shelter, and disaster relief throughout the world. Even though the Red Kettle Program has gone high tech, in that contributions can now be made on-line, the “Sharing is Caring” slogan still rings true today.
   
   Discuss: What do think motivates people to drop their coins in a Red Kettle during the holiday season? What might we do to encourage our classmates to make a contribution to our Penny Drive? In what ways are we showing that we care by involving ourselves in our Penny Drive event?
   www.salvationarmydfw.org/redkettle_history.asp

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 each student write a one or two sentence response to at least three of the following prompts:

1. During this service project, I learned how to…
2. During this service project, changed my mind about…
3. During this service project, I was feeling…
4. During this service project I thought ….
5. During this service project I was hoping that…
6. During this service project I became convinced of…

Encourage the students to share their responses to the prompts they selected and have them look for similarities and differences in the responses of others. Conclude this activity by having students come up with three or four single words that reflect the majority of responses given to each prompt.  Write these words on the display board. Have the students share why it might be difficult to ‘put into words’ what they experienced during this service project.

ACTIVITY TWO: 
Provide the students with the following questionnaire. Using a Likert scale rating 0-5 with 0 meaning “not at all” to 5 meaning “very much so”, have them circle their responses. Instruct the students not to place there name on the questionnaire.

	Not at All > Very Much So
1. I was fully prepared to participate in this service project.	0   1   2   3   4   5
2. What I expected would happen during this service project happened.	0   1   2   3   4   5
3. The feelings I had about participating in this service project, remained the same from start to finish.	0   1   2   3   4   5
4. I think the service project had positive impacts.	0   1   2   3   4   5
5. I felt that everyone worked together to make this service project the success that it was.	0   1   2   3   4   5
6. I have given some consideration to how I might be able to be involved in other service events in our school/community.	0   1   2   3   4   5
7. Should participation in this service project be required of all 9th graders next year?	0   1   2   3   4   5

 
When each student has completed their questionnaire, have them exchange their questionnaires with another student. Do this exchange two additional times. Now have the students call out the response numbers to each of the questions as you record hash marks (IIII) for each question on a display area for all to see.  Engage the students in a discussion of what the class responses to these questions tell them about this service project?

ACTIVITY THREE:

Place the following slogans on the display board:

1. Diamonds are forever (DeBeers)
2. Just do it (Nike)
3. The pause that refreshes (Coca-Cola)
4. We try harder (Avis)
5. Good to the last drop (Maxwell House)
6. Breakfast of champions (Wheaties)
7. Does she ... or doesn't she? (Clairol)
8. When it rains it pours (Morton Salt)
9. Where's the beef? (Wendy's)

Tell the students that these slogans have been identified as the Top Ten Slogans of the Century.  Have each student decide which of these slogans (or one that they come up with on their own/or one that is more contemporary) he/she thinks might best represent their personal over all feeling about their involvement in this service project.  Encourage the students to share their selected slogan and their reason for selecting it.  Discuss how slogans could be used to promote future service project.

ACTIVITY FOUR:
Pair the students and provide them with a “Person in the Street” Interview form (see below). Indicate that each student will take turns interviewing and being interviewed using this form as a guide.  Each interviewer is responsible for recording the information he/she obtains from their interviewee during the interview.  The interviewer should “read back” to the interviewee what it is that he/she recorded/heard them say in response to the interview questions.  Once the interviewee agrees that what he/she said was accurately recorded, the interviewer is responsible to write a one-page newspaper article about the interviewee and his/her experiences during the Event.

“Person in the Streets” Interview:

1. What is you name?
2. What was your role in this service project? What did you do during this service project?
3. How did you feel the night before this service project?
4. How did you feel during this service project?
5. How did you feel after this service project?
6. Do you think you did your best during this service project?
7. If you had it to do over again, are there some things you would do differently? If so, what things would you change?
8. Do you feel that this was a worthwhile service project? Why or Why Not?
9. Any recommendations/suggestions for next year’s service project?
   
    

Pair the students and provide them with a “Man in the Street” Interview form (see below). Indicate that each student will take turns interviewing and being interviewed using this form as a guide.  Each interviewer is responsible for recording the information he/she obtains from their interviewee during the interview.  The interviewer should “read back” to the interviewee what it is that he/she recorded/heard them say in response to the interview questions.  Once the interviewee agrees that what he/she said was accurately recorded, the interviewer is responsible to write a one-page newspaper article about the interviewee and his/her experiences during the Event.

“Person in the Streets” Interview:

1. What is you name?
2. What was your role in this service project?
3. What did you do during this service project?
4. How did you feel the night before this service project?
5. How did you feel during this service project?
6. How did you feel after this service project?
7. Do you think you did your best during this service project?
8. If you had it to do over again, are there some things you would do differently? If so, what things would you change?
9. Do you feel that this was a worthwhile service project? Why or Why Not?
10. Any recommendations/suggestions for next year’s service project?