Service Learning Project - Kirsten Allen and Meredith Grant

Grade Level:
1st and 3rd
Content - Learning About:
-Compassion for others
-Involvement in the community
-Generosity
Service Need:
The Children's Hospital needs toys, games, and clothing for patients. Allowing students to make donations and write letters will provide them with a sense of purpose within their own community.
Service Idea:
Collect needed materials to donate to the Children's Hospital.
Preparation:
Share literature with students in order to encourage them to make connections between the service project and their own lives and allow students to share personal stories.
Action:
Send a parent letter home with information regarding donations, provide each classroom with a box to store donated items, create a goal charting thermometer for each classroom, explain project to students, and write letters to patients.
Reflection:
Daily discussion of topic during mini-lesson of writer's workshop.
Demonstration:
Classroom representatives will share about their community contributions over the school wide news show.
Youth Voice and Choice:
A student in 3rd grade was hospitalized in December at the Medical Center. Her younger sister is in 1st grade. After seeing the positive impact of the cards sent to her during her time in the hospital, the students decided it was important to do the same for other children that were patients at the hospital.
Curricular Connections:
Language Arts- Students will demonstrate knowledge of letter writing by writing encouraging and positive letters to the patients at the Children's Hospital.
Art- Students will design cards with encouraging messages to send to patients at the Children's Hospital.
Skill Development:
-Letter Writing
Community Contacts:
-Samie Griffis (Child Life Specialist Intern at Children's Hospital at the Medical Center of Central Georgia)
Notes:
This activity began in one 1st grade and one 3rd grade classroom, but spread to include both grade levels.