Curriculum Support, Lesson Plans and Project Ideas

Looking for lessons plans or project ideas? Check out the library of curricula, lesson plans designed for educators. We can work with you to develop your own Service Learning lessons for a small fee. For more information, contact Bette Weinberg at 714-953-5757 ext. 135 or bweinberg@volunteercenter.org

If you have a successful Service Learning lesson to share, or project you, your family, class or group have done please send to bweinberg@volunteercenter.org so we share you good ideas right here on our website.
Links to project ideas, sample lesson plans and project planning tools

Project Ideas & Tools

High School Activity Guide to Upper Newport Bay -
Our Wetlands, Our World provides information and activities to help high school students learn about the importance of wetlands and to become involved in the restoration of these valuable, unique environments. It also helps bring State Content Standards to life by linking science concepts to local resources. The focus of the guide is on Upper Newport Bay in Orange County.

SAVY Toolkit - Do you need help planning Service Learning or community service projects? This FREE leadership and service toolkit developed by Volunteer San Diego will guide your students through planning and implementing service projects. Your students experience project based learning while developing and demonstrating character building and leadership skills. This toolkit has many project ideas that are easy for you to start implementing now!

MLK Day Toolkit - Service projects come in all shapes and sizes. This detailed toolkit will provide you with everything from a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., to sample projects and planning tips to make this National Day of Service your own.

Digital Story Toolkit - A unique Service Learning curriculum that pairs high school students with local veterans to create a digital MOVIE - a mini-documentary about the veteran’s experiences. This exciting intergenerational oral history project trains students in valuable 21st century job skills while demonstrating the importance of service to community. This curriculum is ideal for in-or-after school programs and is designed to meet California State standards for History and Social Studies, as well as English Language.

Disaster Preparedness Service Learning Project - 4th - 6th grade students engage as active participants of school safety teams while reinforcing classroom standards. Includes pre-service, service and post service activities. Curriculum was developed by Volunteer Center Orange County in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education, the Costa Mesa Fire Department and the American Red Cross.

Eye-On - Each of these Service Learning briefs from Volunteer San Diego focuses on a different issue - environment, literacy, violence, youth and education, poverty, and technology - providing ideas for service, celebration activities, local contacts and potential partners in Orange County.

Days of Service occur throughout the year and are typically sponsored by a national organization. Each focuses on a theme that targets a specific group. Many Days of Service sponsors produce a toolkit that can provide you with ideas for service projects, tips on funding and ways to promote volunteering. Here are the toolkits for several Days of Service, which you can use to plan your projects year-round:

Cesar Chavez Day
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Family Volunteer Day
Global Youth Service Day

Inclusive Service Learning Manual - The result of a long-term collaboration between the Magellan Foundation and the New York State Education Department Learn and Serve America Program, this manual was designed to provide instruction and technical assistance to school districts who are interested in students with and without disabilities working side-by-side on Service Learning activities. You can download an electronic version of the manual or contact Fran Hollon at the New York State Education Department for a CD-ROM.

California Service Corps - Offers examples for you - students, teachers, parents - of different service projects and where to search for volunteer opportunities.

Examples of Projects Created by Students - These inspiring projects were created by students from around the country. Look for projects by issue (e.g. homelessness, raising money for a cause, etc.) to inspire your next project.

FamilyCares.org - Promotes compassion through hands-on family projects that help others in need.

Idealist.org - Website for youth and teens with tips on different ways to take action in the community. You can also find funding, and other resources.

Kids Care Clubs - This Points of Light Foundation program posts different service projects each month. The collection of project ideas includes step-by-step instructions, compassion and issues education, meeting activities and information on possible partners. These projects are great for groups of students ages 5 -13, but all ages can find the resources very useful.

On-site Project Ideas - Great list of project ideas from Hands On Atlanta, especially if you don’t have transportation to get to a project site, have a large number of volunteers, or have very young volunteers (under 10).

Points of Light Foundation - Offers project ideas and project planning resources appropriate for all ages, groups and individuals.

PBS Kids - Website for youth with ideas on different, age-appropriate service projects.

SAGE (Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship) - Links secondary school student organizations to mentors from local universities and businesses. Its purpose is to advance youth business and social entrepreneurship in an ethical and socially-responsible manner. Check out their resources.

USAWeekend - Project idea generator designed for Make a Difference Day, but you can use these ideas for other projects.

YouthVenture - Searchable database of successful projects organized by Youth Venture Teams.

LAUSD Service Learning - Some of the Service Learning examples from Los Angeles Unified School District. Briefly describes projects, community partners, impact of the Service Learning activity and lessons learned.


Ready to use Curricula & Lesson Plans

• Locally Designed Lesson Plans - Grades K-6
• General K-12 Civic & Social Studies
• Environment
• Health & Nutrition
• Civics & Social Studies
• Film Based
• Conflict Resolution

Locally Designed Lesson Plans
Grades K-6
 
Kindergarten: Social Studies & Science - To teach children to be healthy and safe individuals at home and at school.

Second Grade - Math - Students will raise funds to purchase educational games to donate to a local learning center.

Third Grade - English - Students work with seniors to create an interview using computers.

Third & Fourth Grade - Math - Students create a math carnival to teach younger students math skills.

Fourth & Fifth Grade - Social Studies & Science - Students develop a school-wide recycling project.

Fourth, Fifth & Sixth Grade - Social Studies - Students design project to support our service men & women

Sixth Grade - Math, Language, Arts & Science - Students create a reading garden for their school.

Orange County Coastkeeper (OCCK) W.H.A.L.E.S. - Watershed Heroes- Actions Linking Education to Stewardship. Equipment will be provided for water quality monitoring, biological assessments, and marine life surveys. Links to program description, learning objectives and content standards are on the website.

Specific Subject Lessons grades 10-12 LAUSD - Includes lesson for standards in 10th, 11th & 12th grade Social Studies/History, 12th grade Economics, Science and Environmental education, Art, English, Media and Health.

If you have a successful Service Learning lesson to share, please send to bweinberg@volunteercenter.org so we can add your lesson to our list

General K-12

FREE! Boston Teachnet Service Learning Standards Based Models - Teachers share their Service Learning practices through detailed work plans, related standards, and links to teacher-developed materials (lesson plans, certificates and evaluation forms) and student-created final projects (posters, pamphlets, photography, etc.).

FREE! Community Lessons: Promising Curriculum Practices - These lesson plans have been gathered from K-12 teachers over the last two years. Each includes rationales for connecting academic content to Service Learning activities, ways to assess academic and community outcomes, connections to various Framework Learning Standards, lesson plans, solutions to organizational barriers, timelines, resources and materials, and goals for the future.

Giraffe Heroes Program - The world needs heroes, people with vision and courage, people who are willing to stick their necks out and take responsibility for solving tough problems, on the planet and on the block. This story-based citizenship, character education, and Service Learning program helps get their stories told in the media and in schools. Curriculum available by grade level (K-2, 3-5, 6-9, 10-12).

Roots and Shoots - A program of the Jane Goodall Institute, Roots & Shoots provides kids with a framework for organizing and achieving meaningful projects that promote care and concern for animals, people and the planet. Among other resources, Roots & Shoots offers affordable age-specific lesson plan books and activity guides for classroom and after school educators.

Learning to Give - K-12 lesson plans contain both academic content about philanthropy and skill development activities that engage students in giving and serving in their classrooms, schools and communities. Select a grade level below to browse our collection of lessons. You may also want to visit our custom Lesson Search Engine by Subject Area, Grade Level, Michigan Curriculum Framework Standards, Indiana Academic Standards, Philanthropy Themes, National Key Words/Concepts and Lesson Summaries.

New! Special Olympics - Get Into It - Students learn about the Special Olympics and the athletes' ability to contribute to society through leadership roles both on and off the playing field. They will come to appreciate the critical role of Service Learning. Most important, they will be invited to make a difference themselves.

The Giving Game is based on the principle of kindness. It involves your kind acts, a game card and this web site. The Giving Game was developed by Brien Moakley and based on the concept of Pay It Forward. The game is FREE to play. Lesson plans K-12 are available.
 

Environment

FREE! Kids Gardening Teachers’ Room - This site, which is affiliated with the National Gardening Association, offers classroom stories, articles, project ideas and lesson plans. It also provides links to other school garden projects as well as information about grants and resources for gardening with kids.

Learning to Give - Specific environmental lessons for grades K-12 that can be used for Earth Day.

Disney’s Environmental Challenge - Designed for grades 3-5. Using content standards, students are encouraged to blend the idea of Environmentality – thinking and acting environmentally at school, at home, and in the community – into their daily lives.

Water Quality Service Learning Program - Specific science content standards as the basis for academic learning and incorporates key elements of quality service learning to support educators in the classroom and the afterschool program. Units of study are aligned to California Content Standards and focus on California's growing problem of polluted runoff.

10 Environmental Service/Beautification Projects that you could perform in your community.

Youth Summary of Climate Change - The United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) invites young people to make a short, colorful summary of the Human Development Report (HDR). The HDR is the most widely read document published by the UN every year and through this opportunity, will reach more young people.

Facing the Future - Providing teachers, students, and the public with sustainability and global issues educational materials as well as ideas for action to shape the future. Select curricula is available FREE for download or you can choose to purchase their complete curriculum.

Project SWELL (Stewardship: Water Education for Lifelong Leadership) - is a school-based science curricula that teaches children about the importance of the region's recreational waterways and human-water interaction through a well-balanced, comprehensive, and hands-on water quality and pollution prevention program of study.

Eat Right - Students learn about food groups and meal planning. They also help organize a school wide food drive and decorate the bags in which the food will be delivered.

Kids Care Eat Wise - Exercise! These projects are designed to educate kids about healthy eating and physical activity. They empower kids to make healthy food choices, exercise and mobilize kids to engage in service activities related to nutrition and exercise.

Children Acknowledging Nutrition (CAN) - Students work with local community organizations and individuals to research and compile data supporting good nutrition. This information can be used to share with the community through student created brochures, seminars, videos, and healthy-choice food tasting events throughout the year.

Food Baskets for Nutrition - Students learn about food groups, nutritional meals and the nutritional needs of their community by having representatives from local service agencies visit their class. Students organize a school wide food drive (or penny drive leading to a shopping trip at a local grocery).

Wake Up Call to Fitness and Nutrition - As a way to achieve their own fitness and nutrition plans, high school students keep individual Fitness and Food Diaries and adopt a second grade class at a nearby elementary school. They distribute surveys to the youngsters and follow up with weekly aerobics routines and food pyramid lessons.

Drive Kids to Be Fit - This website is a great resource that offers practical tips and tools on how families can maintain a healthy weight by making smart food choices and increasing physical activity. There are plenty of FREE resources to parents and teachers as well.

Team Nutrition - An integrated, behavior-based, comprehensive plan for promoting the nutritional health of the Nation's school children. The U.S. Department of Agriculture — Food and Nutrition Services developed Team Nutrition in response to the need to improve the nutritional quality of meals served in schools and the school nutrition environment.

Helping Others to Feed Themselves - In conjunction with a unit on nutrition, the students learn what they can do to help people living in poverty provide the necessary nutrition to their own families.

Constitutional Rights Foundation - The foundation seeks to instill in our nation's youth a deeper understanding of citizenship through values expressed in our Constitution and its Bill of Rights and to educate young people to become active and responsible participants in our society. The Foundation offers outstanding civic education curricula.

Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools - This campaign was created to increase the quality and quantity of civic learning in schools, grades K-12. Find lessons & practices, assessment tools and school & district models all on their website.

FREE! Community Classroom - ITVS Classroom is an educational resource providing new documentary video content and accompanying curricular materials, lesson plans and homework assignments to high school and community college instructors and youth-serving, community-based organizations. The program launched in March 2007 with its first film companion guide to HIP HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.

Conflict Resolution

Conflict Resolution Activity Guide - Six conflict resolution activities for use by parents, workshop facilitators, teachers and community educators with middle and high school students. The activities are modular, easy to use, and align with curriculum standards in literature, civics, social studies, art, and more. Each activity focuses on a different aspect of conflict resolution, from community building, social action, and communication to non-violent peace efforts in this country and abroad, racism and bias, and domestic and international aid.


 

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