Lesson 10
MOTIVATION: Reflection and Celebration
About this Lesson:
Reflecting upon the Reach Your Peak and NYSD experience lends
depth and ceremony to the event. Sharing stories and recognizing
a participant is fun and can pave the way for continued participation
in service by young people and community volunteers. It is also
important to recognize young people for their local and national
contributions and showcase youth as positive assets to their communities.
Organizations can recognize youth who qualify through the President’s
Student Service Award at www.student-service-awards.org.
You can also enter the Reach Your Peak Essay contest. For more
information about the topics addressed in this lesson, please
refer to Chapter 3 of the RYP/National Youth Service Day Tool
Kit. The Appendix also provides Curriculum Connections for this
lesson.
Learning Objective:
Students will recognize the contributions of everyone involved
in their project. Students will identify skills and knowledge
they have gained through participation in their event. Students
will reflect on their project to identify areas of personal growth.
Curricular Connection:
- English/LA "Write in a variety of forms and for a variety
of purposes Communicating, Speaking, Listening, and use of critical
thinking skills
- Social Studies: Understanding of culture, analyze
conditions to develop understanding, understand mechanisms to
meet needs of citizens; analyze events
- Fine arts " Understand and apply art media
- Health " Understand emotional & intellectual dimensions
of human growth and development
- Mathematics - Understanding and utilizing technology;
problem solving
"The best effect of fine
persons is felt after we have left their presence."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Author
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SERVE HOUSTON, a program linking AmeriCorps members and
young volunteers in after school activities, held a citywide
celebration of youth service on National Youth Service Day
1999. Over 200 students received the President’s Student
Service Award, and 43 students received the President’s
Student Service Scholarship. This celebration brought together
young volunteers and community leaders, including the Lieutenant
Governor and the media, to highlight and honor the contributions
of young people in the Houston area.
Organizers of the SERVE HOUSTON stressed. "take the time
to thank the youth individually through an award ceremony
or it’s even as simple as a personal thank you." Visit www.Reach
YourPeak.org to read about other recognition events.
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"WRAP UP"
Materials Needed:
- Sheets of colored construction paper, blank lined paper and
other materials you would want to use for thank you notes
- Markers, pens, crayon and other art supplies
Facilitating the Lesson:
There are a variety of ways in which you can wrap up the event.
It is important to celebrate the students’ work and encourage
continued participation in community service and goal setting.
Brainstorm potential celebration options such as a party or public
awards ceremony. The following activities can be completed in
class.
- Place the desks in a circle so students are facing each other.
Ask them each to stand up and complete the following three sentences
(you may want to write them on the board or repeat them as each
student takes their turn):
- "I expected..."
- "I got..."
- "I learned..."
An example may be "I expected to meet a lot of new people
during the event. I got to help out in ways I never had
before. I learned that it takes a lot of work to clean up
a playground!"
- Research on the web: Check out all the tools and resources
to get involved in an ongoing basis at www.ReachYourPeak.org.
Students can post their service-learning project and read about
other RYP and NYSD activities across the country. Discuss the
other projects you discover. www.SERVEnet.org
and www.Helping.org also
has a wide array of volunteer opportunities to check out.
- Create "Thank You" cards and letters for those who
were involved, including community volunteers, site coordinators,
funders and others who contributed to the event. A sample letter
can be found at the end of this lesson.
- Develop a list of "awards" you would like to present
to students and community members who were involved in your
project. Make the awards with art supplies and present them
at an awards ceremony.
- Keep track of your volunteer hours: You may be able
to apply for the President’s Service Award.
- Apply for the Reach Your Peak Essay Contest at www.ReachYourPeak.org
Students should reflect with pride and constructive
commentary on their service project. Recognizing community members
and others involved is a key factor in wrapping up the event,
so be sure to arrange the opportunity to do so.
Reflection
To accommodate multiple learning styles, select several of the
following suggested reflection activities.
WRITING
- Write an Essay about What Reach Your Peak meant to you and
how you achieved your goal. Submit it at www.ReachYourPeak.org
- Respond to some of the following questions in a journal:
- Describe how you felt about taking on these projects and
what you thought you might be able to accomplish
- Describe how the community reacted to your project.
- Do you think that your project made a difference in how
you feel about helping others?
- Do you think your project made a difference to your community?
- Do you think your project made difference to your life
- What have you learned from participating in these projects?
- What obstacles did you overcome?
READING
- Read about other projects that took place on National Youth
Service Day at www.reachyourpeak.org or www.SERVEnet.org.
Go to Do Something’s website (for your young people: www.dosomething.org;
for educators: http://coach.dosomething.org)
for more ideas, resources and interactive tools that can help
you learn more about service learning and community building.
- Read articles about other service-learning projects or community
service being done in the community.
TELLING
- Tell your classmates the one thing you would do differently
next time
- Talk to local organizations about future service opportunities
DOING
- Create a poster-seize plan of other activities you can do
to help your community’s need after your project is finished.
- Make a scrapbook about your project to share with other
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