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: Berni and Marni are teenage sisters. Five years ago, they founded an organization called Kid Flicks. This organization collects new and used DVDs to donate to children's hospitals and pediatric departments across the United States. To date, Kid Flicks has donated 23,300 movies to 230 different hospitals in all 50 states.  Each hospital receives a "movie library" of 100 assorted films that appeal to toddlers through teenagers. Berni and Marni came up with the idea for Kid Flicks when they realized they had many movies they had either outgrown or no longer watched.  A friend of theirs had been treated for Leukemia and they knew she watched movies when she was in the hospital. The movies helped cheer her up and pass the time. They took their old movies to the hospital where their friend had been treated. When they got there, the Child Life Specialist told them, "movies are the first thing kids ask for when they are in the hospital."  That day, they decided to collect as many movies as possible to donate to as many hospitals as possible. They wrote letters to family and friends asking for movies that they no longer wanted. They organized movie collection drives at their schools and through their pediatrician's office.  They also contacted movie studios and production companies.  Movie donations came pouring in and have been continuing to do so for the past five years.  Hardly a week goes by that they don't receive movie donations. Their goal is to provide every children's hospital and pediatric department in the country with their own Kid Flicks "movie library."
   
   Discuss: A sign in a local second-hand store reads Twice Nice. How is what Berni and Marni are doing, twice nice? How is collecting and donating items no longer wanted by their original owner a way of sharing art?  Who do we hope will benefit from our Art from the Heart event? Kids Flicks help cheer up people and pass the time. What impact are we hoping our Art from the Heart event will have?
   http://kidflicks.org/
   
    
2. Read: The Florida based Orlando Magic (the men’s team) and the Orlando Miracle Makers (the women’s team) of the National Basketball Association have teamed up to provide community service in the central Florida area. They established Orlando Magic Youth in 1988. It expanded it to include the Miracle Makers in 1999. The focus of these two programs is to help every child in central Florida realize their full potential. The main focus is on those who are “most at risk". It also supports programs and partnerships that empower families and changes lives. The Read to Achieve program is an example of their efforts. Another is players hosting youth groups at various games during the season. Season ticket holders are also encouraged to donate unused tickets for a charitable youth organizations to use. The teams have helped promote the Magic Wheels program. Partnered with Florida Hospital Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine, members of the teams work with wheelchair basketball teams. They also work closely with local businesses to promote job shadowing and encourage Orlando youth to take advantage of the opportunities available to them.”It’s a great way to share our talent with those who are less fortunate and who could use a hand to help lift them up and give them a fresh start.” said one of the basketball players.
   
   Discuss: Why do you think successful athletes, like those who play for the Orlando Magic and the Orlando Miracle, take time out of their busy day to share their talents in these ways? Our Art from the Heart event gives us an opportunity to share some of our talents. Like both of these teams, we too have “full time jobs”; ours is being a student. Why is it important that we still take time out of our busy day to share our talents with others? In what ways might our “teaming up” with our fellow classmates be helpful in making our event a successful one? 
   www.nwba.org/modules/gallery/album14
   
    
3. Read: Something happened during the 1988 Winter Olympics that shocked the world. Jamaica entered a team in the bobsled competition! Bobsleighing is a winter sport in which teams make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled. In a country that knows no snow, how is this possible? It all began when George B. Fitch and William Maloney of the United States were in Jamaica on business. They had seen a pushcart race and realized that it was very similar to bobsledding. Determined to achieve what most dismissed as impossible, they decided to try it. The sport of Bobsledding requires a fast start. They decided to use sprinters, who are plentiful on the island nation of Jamaica. They soon found however, that Olympic-type sprinters were not interested. They turned to the Jamaican military. The men shared their idea with Colonel Ken Barnes. It wasn’t long before they had their first four man team. Three members of the team were officers in the military.
   
   In their first year of Olympic competition there was a violent crash during their final run that dashed their hopes. But in the next Winter Olympics (1992) in France, the Jamaicans stunned many of their critics by finishing in 14th place, ahead of the United States, Russian, French and Italian teams. This success inspired the Disney film, Cool Runnings.
   
   Discuss: As we plan our Art from the Heart event, it may appear at first that “this is not possible”. After all we’re not sure that we have the talent for it, and even if we had some talent this is not something we do every day here at school. How might the story of the Jamaican bobsled team be used to inspire participation in our event? In what ways might we “stun the critics”? In what ways might we be an inspiration to those who are considering being involved in this event?
   
    
4. Read: When we think of therapy we tend to think of something people have to do after an injury or operation in order for them to get back to normal. The medical journals list over 55 different types of therapy. One of those listed is Art Therapy. It isn’t the aim of art therapy to create a work of art or a masterpiece on canvas. In fact, a person doesn’t even need to be able to draw or paint.  This type of therapy focuses on helping people express themselves in a safe environment. They use art materials in a way that will have a positive effect on personal growth and development. Many Art therapists are convinced that art does have some healing effects. Art allows and encourages people to express their emotions. They believe that art can be used to encourage creativity. It can help build self-confidence, and help control anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. They also believe that art can help take their mind off their own pain or discomfort. No one can honestly look at a piece of creative work and say, “Now that is art!’ to the exclusion of all others pieces of creative work.” But everyone can look at a piece of art they have created and say, “That’s me!”
   
   Discuss: As we involve ourselves in our Art from the Heart event, how can we personally benefit? How can those who receive our cards and letters personally benefit? Why might it be important that everyone express themselves as individuals and not try to copy other works? Why is it so easy to look at the work of others and declare, “Now that is art!”? Why do some students fine it hard to say of their work? “That’s me!”? What are some things we can do to help everyone feel comfortable about their contributions to our Art from the Heart event?
   
    
5. Read: Jake Burton Carpenter owns and operates the world's largest snowboard- equipment company, Burton Snowboards. As an avid skier, Jake chose to attend the University of Colorado in Boulder. He hoped to be able to join the university's ski team. His competitive skiing career ended when he broke his collarbone in a car accident. After college, his interests in the slopes returned. He began working out of a barn adapting and improving on a toy snowboard called the snurfer. It featured a rope to allow its rider some basic control on the slopes. In 1979, the adaptations and improvements to the snurfer featured bentwood laminate and a rigid binding that would hold the board firmly to the wearer's feet. The rest is history! When asked about his business success, Jake admits, “...my success comes down to being there at the beginning, working ridiculously hard and applying creative solutions to problems and challenges. If you do all of that, surround yourself with good people and treat them well, it'll be alright.”
   
   Discuss: Jake had one of his talents taken from him as a result of the accident, but he did not let that keep him from his passion. Sometimes we want so much to do something or be involved in something but we hold back fearing that we are “not talented enough.” What can we learn from Jake about persevering? What can we learn from Jake about what it takes to be successful and apply it during our Art from the Heart event? What do you think Jake meant by surround yourself with good people? How might working ridiculously hard and applying creative solutions to problems and challenges help us to be successful during our Art from the Heart event?
   
    
6. Read: You certainly don’t need to know much about basketball to recognize the name Michael Jordan. Born on February 17 1963 in Brooklyn New York, Michael is arguably the world's greatest basketball player. Growing up, Michael's parents were supportive of all their children. They always encouraged them to make things happen by hard work. As a child, Michael was not particularly interested in any one sport but in a variety of sports. When Michael was playing JV basketball at Laney High School, it became known that the varsity team needed an extra player. Jordan's team mate, Leroy Smith, was chosen for his seven-inch height advantage over Jordan. Fortunately for the sport of basketball, additions were not over yet. When the student manager got sick, Jordan was allowed on the bus with the team. He did not play but instead handed out towels on the bench. Afterward, Jordan made the decision to concentrate on basketball. He did not want to be stuck on the sidelines again. Michael began working on his shooting, passing, and jumping every day after school and remarkably sprouted from 5'10" to 6'3" between his sophomore and junior years. His career was launched and before he knew it, he found himself in the pros. There, Nike® made him 'Air Jordan' and encouraged youngsters to “be like Mike”, The company made millions upon millions of dollars because of this slogan. Other companies that have reaped the benefits of having Jordan endorse their products as well. Perhaps Jordan's most memorable and entertaining advertising moment was the nothing but net TV commercial. He and Larry Bird (a Hall-of-Fame player from the Boston Celtics) attempted to make impossible shots. Jordan receives a lot of money for these endorsements, but he donates most of it to charities. Some of the charities he supports include Ronald McDonald House and the Jordan Institute for Families in North Carolina. He also hosts a golf tournament for charity: The Michael Jordan Celebrity International… and the rest is Hall of Fame history!!
   
   Discuss: How important do you think the encouragement from Michael’s parents to make things happen by hard work was to his career? How has it paid off for so many others? Michael’s talent was not always clear growing up, what does this have to say to us about finding our talent? How can doing our best and persevering result in something good happening for everyone? How might we make the best use of the talent we now have during our Art from the Heart event? Why it important to be encourage others?
   
    
7. Read: Artists, Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh were both relatively latecomers to art. By the time they met in the autumn of 1887, both men were well into their thirties (Gauguin 39, van Gogh 34). Each had several failed careers behind him. Gauguin had worked as a merchant marine, stockbroker, tarpaulin salesperson, and hanger of street posters before taking up painting in the summer of 1873. Van Gogh- “Vincent” -as he preferred to be known- had also tried and failed at several professions, including art dealer, tutor, and preacher. He began committing himself to his art in 1881. Both of these master artists came to their artist talent later in life. Both sensed a passion to portray life as peasants in rural themes. They typically painted in the dark earth-tones. Both of these artists used their paintings to make social comments on issues of their day and age. They hoped by painting life as it really was for the elderly and the poor, their paintings might help bring about a positive change in their world.
   
   Discuss: Despite our past “failures” or our errant thinking that we do not have anything to offer, what positive changes can we hope to bring about as a result of our Art from the Heart event? In what ways will our art be different than that of Gauguin and Van Gogh and yet keeping a similar goal?
   
    
8. Read: Did you know that Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages? Lovers said or sang their Valentine Day greetings. There was no way to produce mass greeting cards. The use of a printing press for this purpose was still a dream in someone’s mind.
   
   When Esther Allen Howland received her first English valentine, the idea of making similar valentines came to her. It was this inspiration that began her career as a pioneer in the American Valentine Card manufacturing industry. Importing the necessary paper lace and floral decorations from England, Ms. Howland soon began taking orders for valentines. She was surprised to discover a demand for more cards than she could make by herself.  She recruited friends to help her. Her first advertisement, in a Worcester, Massachusetts paper, The Daily Spy, was on Feb. 5, 1850. The assembly line operation began in her home. It eventually led to a thriving business grossing $100,000 a year.  She sold her business and retired in 1881.
   
   In 1910 along came Joyce Clyde Hall. He came to Kansas City, Missouri on a train with nothing but two shoeboxes of postcards under his arm. Five years later he and his brother, Rollie, made there “mark” in the business world by starting a company, known at that time as the Hall Brothers. Today that company prides itself on sending the very best and you know the rest of the story.
   
   Discuss: How can our Art from the Heart event truly be an expression of “art-from-the heart? How could Ester Allen Howland’s discovery that there was more of a demand than one person could handle also be true for our event? How should, we go about recruiting more help and more involvement in this event? What are some ways that we can encourage everyone to take pride in sending their very best?
   
    
9. Read: Jewell James is an artist whose tools typically include 500 year old Western Red Cedar trees, chisels, and a heart for healing. Mr. James is a carver of Totem Poles. He lives on the Lummi Indian Reservation near Bellingham, Washington. Mr. James and his fellow carvers have constructed over 60 totems. The purpose of this is to reawaken native culture and promote healing for families, communities, and the nation. Three of his most famous works honor the victims of September 11, 2001. Historically totems are typically all about family ancestry, spiritual and creation stories and clan achievements. Mr. James’ totems convey stories about human and environmental relationships. His hope is that his totems will help promote peace and healing in the world.
   
   Discuss: Mr. James uses his art to convey a message to the world. In what ways might our efforts during our Art from the Heart event also be used to convey a message? In what ways might our involvement help bring about human and environmental relationships that promote peace and healing in the world? What are some visuals we could use in our art that could serve as symbols of peace and healing in the world?
   
    
10. Read: In the movie entitled The Emperor’s Club, Mr. Hundert is a Western Civilization teacher at St. Benedict’s private school for boys. Mr. Hundert believed that not only was educating his students in the classical studies of Greek and Roman scholars his responsibility but he also believed that his ultimate responsibility as an educator was to mold the character of his students.
    
    There is a scene in the movie where he asks the class, “Who was Shutruk Nuhante?” As they furiously scanned their history books for the answer, Mr. Hundert tells them that they will not find Nuhante there. Shutruk Nuhante was king of Elam from 1185 to 1155. He amassed a huge empire that included most of Mesopotamia and western Iran, but his name would not be in the history books.
    
    Mr. Hundert shared with his students that this once famous conqueror is virtually unknown today because history has concluded that "great ambition and conquest without contribution is without significance." He posed this question to the class, “How will history remember you?"
    
    Discuss: What do you think Mr. Hundert’s comment: "Great ambition and conquest without contribution is without significance” means? What do you think he meant by the word contribution?  In what ways might our efforts during our Art from the Heart event be considered a contribution? How can our involvement in this event serve as a part of our remembered history?

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 write down some of their thoughts and ideas about their involvement in this most recent service project.  Assign them to groups of three or four. Have each group listen to the thoughts and ideas of each of its members.  Using words and phrases representative of the individuals in the group, have each group create a rap, a poem, a song, or a skit that represents the combined thoughts and ideas of the group. Conclude the class with a performance of each composition and a brief discussion of what was learned as a result of these performances. (Note: Groups that perform their composition could be “rewarded/recognized” in some way. An “Oscar” Award could be given to the group whose performance receives the most votes from their classmates, and/or other categorical awards could be given etc.)

ACTIVITY TWO:
Review the service project with the students asking them to share their experiences: what they did, how they felt, and what impact they think they had. When everyone has had an opportunity to contribute to the discussion, share this scenario with the class: An Assistant Principal in another school district is experiencing some frustration over the lack of interest and involvement by the 9th graders in their service project.  We are being asked, as a class, having been 9th graders last year, if we would discuss what might be done to involve more 9th grade students in upcoming service projects.

Assign students to groups of three and give them a number to represent their group. Have them complete the following work sheet:
GROUP #__________

1. Names of the students in our group
    
2. The problem as we see it.
    
3. Some solutions we have considered.
    
4. The solution that we think might work best and why we think so.

Collect each group’s worksheet. Read these worksheets to the class indicating only the group number. As the students listen to each group’s recommendation/suggestion, have them rank (See Below) each group’s recommendation/suggestion based on how effective their recommendation/suggestion might be in motivating more 9th graders to be involved in a service project.

Solution Ranking	No Way...It’s Possible ...This Will Work
Group 1	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 2	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 3	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 4	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 5	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 6	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 7	0        1       2        3        4        5
Group 8	0        1       2        3        4        5

Tally the results and conclude this reflection with a brief discussion as to why the recommendations/suggestions receiving the most points might be a good way to motivate 9th graders to become involved in service projects.

ACTIVITY THREE:
Ask the students if they have ever seen the TV reality program entitled Extreme Makeover  (A show that features groups of architects, designers, carpenters, decorators and painters selecting a house, usually too small or run down for the families who live in them, and completely remodeling them into wonderful places in which to live. The families who live in these homes are away so that they do not see what is going on.  After a specified period of time, the work is completed and the owners return to their home to discover an almost unbelievable transformation.)  For those who have seen the show, encourage them to share something about the show that impresses them.  Talk about what might be the motivations of the people who work on these houses.  Discuss why companies might be willing to donate thousands of dollars of free equipment and building materials. Consider how someone might react returning to their “new” home and why. Discuss any similarities and differences between this TV show and what they were thinking, feeling and doing during this service project. Talk about the motivations they felt as they became involved; how they donated “dollars” (time equals money); and how they might feel if they were the recipients/benefactors of this service activity. Discuss how this event could become the next “reality show.”

ACTIVITY FOUR:
Have students think about who, in their lives, has made the biggest impression on them so far.  Have them consider why they think this is so.  Encourage students to expand their thinking to consider whether this big impression was because of a one-time action or something that occurred over time and/or possibly is still occurring in their lives.  Challenge them to consider whether this “big impression” had more to do with time, talent, or treasure or a combination of these.  Ask them if this “big impression” came about as a result of something someone had done/is doing for them or did it have more to do with who that person is (personality and traits), or possibly a combination of both.  Open the discussion by asking the students to share some of the things they did during this service project. Have them consider the possibility that they too may have made a “big impression”. 

Conclude this reflection by giving students an option to:

1. Write a letter to the person identified as the one who has made the biggest impression in their lives to date, thanking them for what they did/are doing for them.  (Note: Students may not feel comfortable sharing names, so names need not be included.)  Encourage students to consider the impact of their letter if they were to send them and challenge them to do so.
2. Write a description of this service project and describe any ‘lasting impressions’ that it had on them as participants.