Students will author and illustrate a collective book to be shared with members of the community as a guide for ways to get involved and to increase awareness of the impact of civic virtue and philanthropy.

Anticipatory Set:
Before reading aloud City Green, show students the cover of the book and discuss what the book may be about. Accept all answers, then proceed to read and discuss how the members of the community came together for the good of all. Discuss how the people felt about their efforts.

• Tell the class to THINK about the difference between selfishness and selflessness. (Write the words on the board.) Have the students PAIR up and talk about the difference between selfishness and selflessness. Then have students SHARE their thoughts and discuss the differences with the whole group. What does selflessness in the community look like? Introduce the term civic virtue. Civic virtues are qualities that contribute to the healthy functioning of a democracy.
  
  
• Ask the group to discuss what responsibility they think people have for the common good of their community. Possible answers: civility, cooperation, respect, feed the hungry, to provide shelter for the homeless, to provide activities for the youth, to keep the city clean.
  
  
• Review the definitions of philanthropy and nonprofit organizations. (Philanthropy—giving of time, talent and treasure for the common good; Nonprofit Organization—an organization whose income is not used for the benefit or private gain of stockholders, directors or any other persons with an interest in the company; not necessarily charitable.)

  Day Two:

• Ask the students to individually write on a piece of paper a list at least five nonprofit organizations. Ask for volunteers to share their list with the class. Discuss which of these organizations reaches out into the community and how they do this. Include music, drama, art and youth groups in the discussion.
  
  
• Brainstorm a list of local philanthropists and discuss how philanthropic organizations bring about change.
  
  
• During these discussions, write on chart paper a list of philanthropic people, organizations and places in THEIR community. After a list of at least three more items than number of students is generated, put all students’ names in a bowl. Using a democratic process, draw names from the bowl and have students choose one entry from list on the chart.

  Day Three:

• Each student will produce a written description of the entry he or she selected, including at least three positive comments and an illustration. The students can gather information from classmates, interviews and Internet research. Tell students that their writing will be shared with members of the community as a guide for ways to get involved and to increase awareness of the impact of civic virtue and philanthropy. The writing should go through the writing process. Give students the same size paper for their final drafts.
  
  
• The first three students finished with their pages will design the book cover with the title, “We the Community.”
  
  
• The completed book may be bound with a binding machine, if possible.

DiSalvo-Ryan, DyAnne. City Green. William Morrow & Company, 1994. ISBN: 068812786X

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