Service learning is a powerful experience for students and an importantcomponent of global education.Global education must open eyes and minds to justice and empathy. In service learning, students get involved in the local or wider community as they try to make the world a better place. I created this list of 18 service learning projects for classrooms and schools to bring service into the classroom.
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As our students learn more about children around the world, these types of statistics can become personal: with greater familiarity with diverse environments, histories and ways of life, especially as they begin to communicate with real people in new places, his sense of justice emerges. . With encouragement and guidance, increased awareness and connection lead children to want to do something about immediate crises such as natural disasters and book shortages, or more systemic challenges such as access to education, water and nutrition.
In my opinion, the most comprehensive definition of global competence is the EdSteps Global Competence Matrix (in association with theAssociation of the Asian Society for Global Learning), composed of four key ideas to be used at any level, in any subject area:
- investigate the world
- recognize perspective
- communicate ideas
- To act
This final component, "Take Action", is the core project, where students respond to the needs of their community (be it their local community or the global community). This is where service learning comes in.
After writing the extremely popular list ofMore than 35 service projects for children,I have been repeatedly asked to proposeservice learning projects for classes.don't lose the handlelist of service projectsMany of them would work well for classes too! The following service learning projects are appropriate for classrooms of various ages and subjects. We've heard from many teachers who run their school's “Clube de Kindeza” or “Club de Voluntários” suggest many of the following ideas.
These service learning projects include certain essential elements:
- Related to learning: they should cognitively stretch children.
- Authentic Service: They must address a genuine need in the community they serve.
- Student-led: Students should be involved in the implementation and participation in the project.
Decide what type of charitable project best fits your goals,values, preferences and resource capacity:
- Will you be fundraising or collecting items to donate?
- Will the whole school participate or just certain grades, classes or clubs?
- Would you like the organization you support to focus on a specific need? For example, collecting cups or sports equipment, building a well and learning about clean water initiatives, or raising money to fight hunger or help victims of a natural disaster.
- Is it important that the causes or geography relate to existing curriculum priorities (for example, if a grade is studying in Mexico, do you want the service activity to take place there?), or will these options remain separate?
- If you are picking up items, will someone coordinate delivery, storage, shipping, and payment for shipping to the intended recipients? This step often makes asset collection prohibitively more difficult than fundraising.
- How many adults (teachers or volunteers) are committed to the project and how much time can they invest per week or per month? Make sure expectations are aligned with human and financial resource capacity. If the projects are too ambitious, this can result in burnout or disappointment and not be repeated in the coming years. It is often preferable to start small so that schools can continue with the project and go from strength to strength.
Finally, rate charities.guide starprovides users with financial information and analysis by people familiar with the agency;charity navigatoroffers unbiased reviews on thousands of charities.
1. Project Bracelet.Project Pulsera is a non-profit organization that educates, trains and connects Central American artists with students in more than 2,100 US schools through the sale of colorful handmade bracelets or “pulseras” in Spanish.
2. Free rice.Do you have 3 minutes left in class? Project this in front of your class. Choose the topic you'd like to be asked about, then answer as many questions as you can. For every correct answer, we donate 10 grains of rice through the World Food Program to help end hunger. They even have world language quizzes! (Spanish, German, French, Italian and Latin!).
3. The Lunch Project.In Tanzania, many children go to school hungry. Starving children struggle to stay awake and concentrate at school. A hot lunch during the school day means children will have at least one nutritious meal and will be better equipped to learn. Just nine cents will get you a hot meal and $100 will get you a full school of 900 kids with lunch. Las clases eligen como recaudar el dinero: whether through lemonade tickets, dog walks, pastry sales, sports tournaments or any of the many fundraising ideas that have occurred to children, are making a difference in the world.
4. Kiva.Kiva is a not-for-profit microfinance organization. By borrowing just $25 on Kiva, anyone can help a borrower start or grow a business, go to school, access clean energy, or fulfill their potential. First, readBeatrice goat,by Paige McBrier orA Chicken: How a Small Loan Made a Big Differenceby Kate Smith Milway. Both are TRUE stories, telling stories of children turning a small loan into a thriving farm and livelihood for many.
5. Walk through the water.The lack of potable water is a prevalent problem in much of the underdeveloped world. Schools can hold a “Water Walk” to raise money to buy a well and use the activity to learn about the need for clean water with classes.like these downloadable lessons from WE.The schools I spoke with hold the event outdoors and have students pledge how many steps or distance they walk. Another activity is to bring gallons of water for the students to hold as they walk, to get an idea of the difficulty that children and women around the world have in bringing clean water home.
6. Children's fabrics.By knitting KidKnits, her students are helping to support 35 women in Rwanda and 16 women in Chile with jobs and skills to improve their lives. You buy fair trade yarn, while learning about the communities and women who produce the yarn. Children learn to knit a hat and can keep it or donate it.
7. Chemotherapy grants.This project was cited by a school, which had a student who beat cancer. The fight against cancer was a cause that affected this class a lot, so they decided to make chemotherapy bags to donate to the local cancer hospital (MD Andersonin this case). The link provides examples of items needed in a chemotherapy treatment bag.
8. Empty bowls.This project requires some organization and cooperation between departments. The art class will make clay soup bowls (or take bowl donations). Families bring pots of soup and pay a fixed price ($5, $10, or $20, whatever their community pays) to eat a bowl of soup and take the bowl home. Proceeds go towards fighting local hunger problems.
9. Bandas Yuda. The popular hand-carved coconut and leather bracelets (called Yuda Bands) are sold in US high schools as a service project. It is led by a project leader, under the direction of a school board, classroom or club. Money raised from the sale of the $7 bracelet is used to send young people from developing countries to school.
10. Special Olympics.At one of the high schools where I worked, we had a club called PALS that supported our kids participating in Special Olympics (among many other things). They often participated in basketball games, track and field competitions, swimming competitions, etc. A school track team volunteered to operate the water stations at Special Olympics races.
11. Leveling the playing field.Children can organize their own sports equipment units used in their schools or sports leagues. The LPF will provide donation containers, marketing materials and hands-on assistance to any interested collector. Collectors will place donation containers, inventory equipment, and provide tax receipts to donors upon request.
12. Books for Africa.This is yet another organization that is collecting items, in this case books. As they state, “Education is the great leveler of the world, and books are the foundation of a sound educational system. For many children in Africa, the gift of books is really a gift of hope." As a side note, my children's school has a sister school in a very poor neighborhood (in our town). Our student council runs an all book drive over the years to help them build their school library. We focus on collecting books that have multiple main characters, as well as books in Spanish.
13. Translations for Head Start.A Spanish teacher mentioned a project that I thought was great. She has her students translate the newsletter for the local Head Start (preschool) program. They have a community of many native Spanish speakers and this opportunity helps parents and students alike.
14. Save water.This idea comes fromNational Geography.one is thisonline toolto help start a school-wide campaign encouraging everyone to use less water. Spread the word with persuasive writing through posters or skits. Challenge your peers to a video public service announcement (PSA) contest. With drought conditions affecting many states, helping save water in your community will be a step in the right direction.
15. Bicycles for the World.Organizing a bicycle collection keeps bicycles out of landfills and in the hands of children abroad. Children are more likely to go to school when they have reliable transportation to get there.
16. Nothing but networks.Did you know that every 2 minutes, a child dies of malaria? But since the year 2000, 6.8 million lives have been saved from malaria through the use of bed nets. Nothing But Nets works with UN partners to buy life-saving mosquito nets and distribute them to families. Schools have created amazing fundraisers to buy bed nets, like partnering with basketball teams to donate a portion of the ticket price, hosting sports tournaments, or even the hilarious Notre Dame dorm that cuts hair for a $10 donation. during his "Mullets Against Malaria".\
17. Meatless Monday.We know that eating more plant-based foods is good for the planet. Schools across the country are organizing and promoting Meatless Mondays as a simple way for families and diners to support our environment. Meatless Monday projects demonstrate commitment to studentshealth,features a leadership role in promoting sustainable food and encourages collaboration among students, faculty, and foodservice personnel.
18. Sleepover / Homeless Challenge / A Homeless Night.Definitely better suited for high school students, students sleep outside for one night. Sleep outs simulate only a small part of these experiences, but teach participants that homelessness is more than statistics or stereotypes. Homelessness has many causes, many obstacles and many faces. Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is an opportunity for people across the country to come together and bring political and social attention to the impacts of mass poverty and homelessness.
19. Only Hope.The gang collects used jeans and cuts up pieces of the recycled jeans that will be used to make children's shoes in Uganda, preventing infections from sand-dwelling jiggers. When purchasing the kit with insoles and instructions, you get a DVD that teaches children about the project and the importance of footwear. My kids really learned a lot from this one!
Volunteers and service projects helpteach children empathyand instilling compassion, two essential characteristics of the world's little citizens!EUI hope this list has inspired you and perhaps helped you generate even more service learning project ideas for your lessons! Leave additional projects in the comments and I'll add them as soon as I get them. Remember, as you work with your students, consider even simple acts of kindness, like Valentine's Day for seniors or protein bars for the military. Teaching our students about empathy and generosity is giving them the soft skills to make the world a better place.