Lesson 4
My Values and Place in the World
Teacher Resources
| Resource | Description |
| Teacher Resource 4.1 | Guide: Volunteering |
| Teacher Resource 4.2 | Assessment Criteria: People Who Love What They Do |
| Teacher Resource 4.3 | Key Vocabulary: My Values and Place in the World |
| Teacher Resource 4.4 | Bibliography: My Values and Place in the World |
Teacher Resource 4.1
Guide: Volunteering
This resource will help you to prepare the necessary resources and opportunities for your students to participate in a volunteer activity. Volunteering is a key component of this course, and you are encouraged to adjust the suggestions in order to make this a successful experience for your students.
Step One: Choosing Volunteer Options
Ideally, students should have multiple volunteer opportunities from which they can choose based on their schedules and interests. However, finding opportunities that are appropriate for students can be difficult. For that reason, many schools have adopted an “on-campus volunteering” approach, as described below.
Developing an On-Campus Volunteer Opportunity
Some students may have difficulty arranging an off-campus volunteer opportunity because of their schedules or transportation issues. English learners may face additional challenges because of potential communication issues with outside volunteer organizations. For that reason, offering an on-campus volunteer opportunity can help students complete this assignment. It can also be a powerful experience to help students recognize the impact they can have on their school community.
Some schools have successfully implemented a “school clean-up day”; identified another class they can “adopt”—for example, a class at a local elementary school; or tackled a particular on-campus task, such as repainting the bleachers. Working in a school garden or serving as volunteer tutors to struggling students are other good on-campus choices.
Depending on the school’s location, a field trip within the community can be another successful approach—for example, a beach or trail clean-up day.
Consider teaming up with other teachers to coordinate one or more on-campus volunteer events; depending on the number of students involved, you may need additional adult supervision. Make sure to get permission from the principal or school administrators before promoting these events. You can also consult with your principal to find out what needs the school has that the students could address.
Off-Campus Opportunities
There are many volunteer opportunities throughout the United States. With a little research, you should be able to find some local opportunities that are appropriate for your students. Use the websites listed below, explore local resources, or ask parents and colleagues for suggestions.
Online Volunteer Resources
– Do Something ( http://www.dosomething.org/volunteer )
– “Volunteer Opportunities for Teens” at About.com ( http://teenadvice.about.com/cs/volunteering/ )
– “10 Great Volunteer Ideas for Teens” at FamilyEducation.com ( http://life.familyeducation.com/slideshow/volunteer-work/29594.html )
– Serve.gov ( http://www.serve.gov/ )
Step Two: Determine Assessment
The volunteer assignment is more effective when it is assessed. That communicates to students that this is an important component of the course, rather than something optional that can be skipped. However, different teachers prefer to assess the volunteer activities in different ways. Here are things to consider when determining how to assess your students’ volunteer activities:
– Time commitment (e.g., a three-hour beach clean-up on one day vs. an ongoing, three-hours-per-week commitment to tutoring elementary school students)
– Effort (e.g., did the student show up on time? Participate fully in the activity?)
– Reflection of personal values (e.g., did the student choose something that is meaningful to him? Or did he just sign up for the easiest option?)
– Proof of participation (e.g., did you see the student complete the activity? If not, what proof does the student offer—a note from a supervisor, photographs, etc.?)
Many teachers find it helpful to have students complete a post-volunteer report. This could range from a simple worksheet with questions on it to having students write a reflective essay. In any case, the post-volunteer report should guide students to think about what they learned from the experience as well as how they might be able to see volunteering play a role in their future lives.
Some teachers prefer to assess students solely on the basis of the post-volunteer report, while other teachers give one grade for completing the volunteer work and a second grade for the report. You can give a letter grade, provide assessment criteria, or grade on a credit/no credit basis, depending on your students and your circumstances.
In any case, it is important to make these decisions about assessment before introducing the assignment to students. If you do plan to grade using assessment criteria, make sure to show those to students during this lesson.
Step Three: Create a Student Resource
Before this lesson begins, create a student resource, to be distributed during Class Period 1. Make sure to include the following information:
– A description of each volunteer opportunity
– Contact information/how to sign up
– Location (address, etc.)
– Date/Time/Schedule
– Any specific guidelines (for example, some opportunities may require permission slips, students may need to meet a minimum age requirement, or students may need to have a certain academic standing in order to miss class or serve as a tutor)
Also make sure to tell students:
– How their work will be assessed/how this will affect their grades
– A final due date (when they need to have completed their volunteer work and/or written their report)
Teacher Resource 4.2
Assessment Criteria: People Who Love What
They Do
Student Names:___________________________________________________________________
Date:____________________________________________________________________________
Using the following criteria, assess whether students met each one.
| Met | Partially Met | Didn’t Meet | ||
| The responses are based on a careful reading of each profile. | □ | □ | □ | |
| The responses indicate a good understanding of what each character values. | □ | □ | □ | |
| The responses clearly describe the connection between the character’s values and choice of work. | □ | □ | □ | |
| All responses are neat and use proper spelling and grammar. | □ | □ | □ |
Additional Comments:
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Teacher Resource 4.3
Key Vocabulary: My Values and Place in the World
These are terms to be introduced or reinforced in this lesson.
| Term | Definition |
| adaptable | Able to change to fit the situation. |
| attribute | A personal characteristic or quality. |
| cause | A series of actions toward a particular goal; something that a group supports or fights for. |
| charity | An institution or an organization set up to help those in need. |
| collaboration | Working with someone else or other people to produce or create something. |
| community | A group of people living in the same area; can also mean a group of nations or a group with the same interests, as in “global community.” |
| community service | An act by a person or people that benefits a community. |
| cooperative | Willing to adjust to differences with others in order to obtain agreement. |
| curious | Inquisitive; prone to investigating; searching. |
| decisive | Characterized by the ability to make decisions quickly, firmly, and clearly. |
| devoted | Characterized by the giving of one’s time or committing oneself for, on, or to a certain matter (e.g., “devoted to a cause”). |
| donation | A voluntary gift, usually of money or service, to a cause. |
| efficient | Skilled in making good use of time and avoiding wasted time and effort. |
| empathic | Showing understanding for another’s emotions and feelings. |
| entrepreneurial | Having the qualities of a person with new business ideas and the willingness to take risks to launch them. |
| flexible | Able to adjust easily to new conditions. |
| frugal | Economical; avoids wasting money and other resources. |
| give back | To do something to help a community or a cause. |
| indecisive | Characterized by the inability to make decisions easily. |
| introspective | Thoughtfulness about your own situation and feelings; characterized by inward-looking, quiet manner. |
| motivated | Energized and goal-oriented. |
| mural | Artwork painted directly on a wall, ceiling, or other large permanent surface. |
| novelty | Something that is new, fresh, unusual, or original. |
| nurturing | Caregiving and protective of others. |
| observant | Able to pay close attention, especially to details. |
| open-minded | Willing to consider new and different ideas or opinions. |
| optimistic | Expecting the best in all situations. |
| organic | Grown or raised without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or hormones. |
| permaculture | A system of sustainable agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems. |
| persistent | Characterized by a refusal to give up; determined. |
| personality | The set of traits and characteristics that describe an individual’s temperament and typical way of being in the world. |
| prosthetic | An artificial body part. |
| punctual | Prompt or consistently on time. |
| random acts of service | Informal, unprompted, and usually anonymous efforts to help individuals or to improve the community. |
| reliable | Trustworthy; can be counted on. |
| self-esteem | How a person feels about or values himself or herself. |
| spiritual | Concerned with sacred matters or deeper issues of the soul; sometimes refers to religiousness. |
| studious | Enjoys pursuit of academic learning; diligent. |
| talent | A natural ability in some field or activity. |
| values | What a person holds dear, such as beliefs, ideas, certain possessions; ideals in which one is emotionally invested or uses as a guiding principle for behavior. |
| volunteer | Unpaid service or assistance to help a cause. |
| volunteerism | The practice of people working on behalf of others without being motivated by financial or material gain. |
Teacher Resource 4.4
Bibliography: My Values and Place in the World
The following sources were used in the preparation of this lesson and may be useful for your reference or as classroom resources. We check and update the URLs annually to ensure that they continue to be useful.
Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York: Fireside, 1998.
Kelley, Bruce, and Nan Wiener. “In Good We Trust: 19 Righteous Ideas for Rotten Times.” San Francisco Magazine, June 2009.
Lore, Nicholas. Now What? The Young Person’s Guide to Choosing the Perfect Career. New York: Fireside, 2008.
Online
“Idol Gives Back.” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idol_Gives_Back (accessed July 5, 2013).
MacDonald, G. Jeffrey. “Teens Try to Change the World, One Purchase at a Time.” Christian Science Monitor, March 22, 2006, http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0327/p13s02-lifo.html (accessed July 5, 2013).
“More Teens Volunteer than Work Part Time.” MSNBC, February 24, 2009, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29371988/ (accessed July 5, 2013).
“United We Serve.” Serve.com, http://www.serve.gov/ (accessed July 5, 2013).
Based on the Plan Ahead educational materials made available by Gap Inc. at www.whatsyourplana.com and developed in partnership with the Pearson Foundation. Such materials are copyright © 2010–2013 Gap Inc. and all rights are reserved. The Plan Ahead educational materials are provided “AS IS”; Gap Inc. and the Pearson Foundation are not responsible for any modifications made to such materials.