These "LEAGUE Learning Links” provide ten quick and easy 5-minute mini-lessons to help promote The LEAGUE’s vision and scheduled events in your classroom. You can choose from among these mini-lessons and use as many of them as you would like and in whatever order best meets your needs and the interest of your students. The purpose of these mini-lessons is to provide a deeper understanding of philanthropy (the giving of ones, time, talents, and treasures for the common good) and to promote those philanthropic acts that have been identified as supporting The LEAGUE events. These mini-lessons will also help ensure a deeper understanding of character traits, civic engagement, and promote student leadership. It is recommended that students be encouraged to play as much of a role as possible and appropriate in presenting these lessons to their classmates.

1. Read: Mrs. Ingrid’s class of fifth graders had a fun assignment. They had to think of their school supplies and how they could remind them to be kind and considerate of others. April said a pencil would remind her to express thanks to others for things they do for her. Paula said a rubber band would remind her to be flexible. She felt this was important because things don’t always go the way she wants them to. Tasha said that glue would remind her how important it is to stick with things until they are finished. Megan said an eraser would remind her that everyone makes mistakes. But that it’s okay. Chandra said a paper clip would remind her of the importance of teamwork.
   
   Discuss: Can you think of other school supplies? How could they remind us be kind and considerate? What are we doing here at school during our King Day event to show kindness and consideration for other?
2. Read: If you ask most children why they like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone or any of the other books in the series that followed, they'll probably tell you that the books are funny, exciting, or some might describe them as "cool" and scary. Whether we are always aware of it or not Harry Potter both entertains and teaches. What does it teach? Like almost all classic fantasies, the Harry Potter books center on the grand battle between Good and Evil. In essence this is the same battle that rages in Narnia in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, in Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings, and in "a galaxy far, far away" in Star Wars. Harry Potter teaches about life. One twelve year old finds these truths in the stories:
   
   People are different. Some are really cool. Some are really horrible, and you just have to deal with it.
   You have to look past the things you see, past first appearances.
   It's a lot about diversity--social and economic.
   People need second chances.
   Friends are really important. Parents are really important.
   Breaking rules is usually a really bad idea. But if you're a wizard, it's OK.
   
   Discuss: In what ways does our King Day event reflect the truths of Harry Potter as described by this 12 year old? How might our event help the good win the battle? If we accomplish what we set out to accomplish during our King Day event, what will it look like? How might our event be funny, exciting, and “cool”?
3. Read: Do you know what a “mosaic” is? One of the meanings of the word is an assortment or variety of things. You may have made mosaic pictures in art class using bits of different colored paper or tile. What do you think the word “diversity” means? It means an assortment or variety of people! A woman named Lara Mendel started a children’s camp in California called the Mosaic Project. They wanted to help children learn to get along and respect an assortment of different people. Some children have never played with children who were different from them. Sometimes when this happens, people are afraid of the differences.
   
   A member of the Mosaic Project said, "It's hard to learn about diversity if everyone's the same.”
   
   Discuss: What do you think this person meant by what he said? Why do you think they named their project the Mosaic Project? What about our plans for our King Day will help us get to know people better who are different from ourselves? Why is this important?
   http://www.mosaicproject.org/
4. Read: When you think of heroes or heroines do you think of Super Man, Spiderman, Wonder Woman; Batman, Ironman, Phantom Girl, or Marvel Girl? Yes, these are all heroes or heroines, but they are heroes and heroines of TV or comic books. They are not real people. A real hero or heroine is someone who is not afraid to make an unpleasant situation better even if it means having to face danger or others poking fun at them. So when you stand up for a friend who is being teased or when you include someone in your game who others don’t want to play with, or when you help someone who is need of help, you are being a real hero/heroine.
   
   Discuss: Is it always easy to be a hero or heroine? Why or why not? In what ways can we be a hero or heroine as we participate in our King Day event? How can we convince others to be a hero or heroine in our classroom? In our school? In our Community?
5. Read: All boys are stupid! All girls are silly! All teenagers play their music too loud! All teachers are mean! All parents are too strict! These are just some of the things that people say and think about other people. Because these statements include the word all, they are not true. They are statements of prejudice. Being prejudice means making statements that are not true about people or situations. People who are prejudice judge certain people or groups of people to be ‘all’ the same. We know that fingerprints like snowflakes are all different from each other. Prejudice is an attempt to make everyone the same. There are four things that we can do right now to eliminate our own prejudice. They are: don’t form opinions about people before we get to know them; to treat people the way we want them to treat us; stand up for people who are being treated unfairly regardless of what the crowd is doing or saying; and, to learn all we can about other cultures, countries, and people.
   
   Discuss: In what ways is being prejudice harmful? As we prepare for our King Day event, what can we do to be sure that prejudice does not become a part of how we act toward each other?
6. Read: Linny and Moe believe that “laughter is the best medicine”. They volunteer as clowns in their local hospital. Together they spread laughter and cheer among the patients there. The hospital staff often tell the clowns that what they do helps provide healing. “Helping to make people happy makes this a healthier place,” said one of the floor nurses while watching Linny and Moe perform. Comedian Victor Borge once said, Laughter is the closest distance between two people.
   
   Discuss: Is there a role for laughter in our King Day event? What will we be doing to help “heal” our school, community, and/or world during this event? How can what we plan to do help lessen the distance between people?
7. Read: Mr. Kruger is almost 84 years old. That’s probably a lot older than any of our grandparents. He should be taking it easy - fishing or playing golf- but not Mr. Kruger. He’s always looking for ways to help. While he does enjoy reading, he even does that to help. Mr. Kruger is a retired meat cutter. For the past 21 years he has volunteered his eyes and voice to the Triangle Radio Reading Service. One day a week, for a couple of hours, he reads news from newspapers over the radio to those who find it hard to see. “You can never be too young or too old to be of service,” said one spokesperson the radio station.
   
   Discuss: What do you think the person meant when she said “You can never be too young or too old to be of service”? What kindness did Mr. Kruger offer to those who were in need of help? During our King Day event what kindness are we offering to people? In what ways might we volunteer our eyes and voices to make the world a better place?
8. Read: Each day, all across America, many children repeat the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of their school day. It’s easy to say. Most children learn it very quickly. But not everyone what it means. A pledge is like a promise. If you make a promise to someone that you will do something you are making a pledge that you will do it. Allegiance is being loyal to something. We can show loyalty to our soccer team by being a good team player. We can show loyalty to our team by being on time, playing fair, and always doing our best. When we repeat the Pledge of Allegiance in our school each day we are promising our support to the idea of democracy. We are promising our country that we will do our best to be good citizens.
   
   Discuss: King Day is a celebration and living out our pledge and allegiance to the ideas of democracy. What words in the Pledge of Allegiance might best speak to what we are hoping to accomplish during this event? If you said, “one nation” “indivisible” and/or “with liberty and justice for all” you are correct. If we say that will we participate in our King Day event why is it important that we keep our promise? How are we showing loyalty to our class or school by keeping our promise?
9. Read: When Nadia Campbell was just eleven years old, her grandmother came to live with Nadia and her family. Nadia would help care for her Grandmother. She combed her hair, read to her, and sometimes just talked with her. One evening they were watching a TV program together. The reporter was sharing how older people are often ignored or forgotten by their family and the community. This made Nadia very uncomfortable. She knew this wasn’t right. She had always been taught to respect everyone. She felt that everyone deserved to be loved and cared for. Nadia didn’t forget about what she saw on that TV show. She decided to do something to help. Nadia rode a bus for almost an hour on Sundays to visit the people living in a nursing home. She would spend her day talking or playing games with people living there. Nadia wanted to do even more to help. She wanted to get her friends involved in helping the elderly. Nadia was able to get a dozen of her school friends and classmates to promise to go to the nursing homes and visit people living there. Later she was interviewed by the newspaper. When asked why she was doing what she was doing, she said, “They (senior citizens) just want someone to listen to them. Everyone needs to feel respected and be loved.”
   
   Discuss: Why do you think it’s important that people feel respected and loved by others? How are we planning to show respect and love for others through our King Day event? Why do you think that it is important that we keep doing this even after our King Day event is finished? 
10. Read: A few years ago, at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but all with the desire to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the track, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back... every one of them. One girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, "This will make it better." Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood. The cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story.
    
    Discuss: Most sporting events are about competition, how was this event about cooperation? How is our King Day event about cooperation? Why do you think the people in the stands stood and cheered? What stories would you like people tell about our King Day event?

Reflection plays a very important role in promoting student learning. The following suggested activities are ways to help students reflect on their learning after they have participated in a service event.  Choose one or more of the activities most appropriate to the service event and your students.

ACTIVITY ONE: Have each student write a paragraph about his or her personal LEAGUE Event experience using one of these prompt analogies:

This LEAGUE Event was:
Like baking a cake, because…
Like hugging a friend, because…a
Like reading a good book, because…
Like running a race, because
Like planting a flower, because

ACTIVITY TWO: Holding one end of the yarn, toss the yarn ball to a student and have that student use one word or phrase, describe/summarize his or her personal LEAGUE Event experience.  After the student has responded, have that student hold the end of the yarn and toss the yarn ball to another student--continuing to unravel the yarn ball-- repeating the process until everyone is part of the web created by the yarn.  Passing is permissible. (Note: Point out to the students that the web represents the interconnectedness of people and their experiences.)  If time permits, have the students “retrace” the yarn ball tosses.  This time the student with the yarn ball rewinds the yarn onto the ball while sharing what he or she feels might be the effects of the event or what more they would like to do before tossing it back to the student who originally tossed it to him/her. Continue this process until the yarn ball is back in your hands.

ACTIVITY THREE: Collect a bag of inexpensive small toys.  (These could be borrowed from a Kindergarten classroom.)  Place these toys in a large brown bag.  Assign students to groups of four or five.  Have a member of each group select from the bag, without looking at any of the toys.  Have each group explain to the other groups how this toy might represent what they did, how they felt, or suggest in some way what impact they might have had as a result of the event project. Allow the groups time to meet and brainstorm together for a few minutes before making their presentation.

ACTIVITY FOUR: Have the class determine how much money they “saved” others by offering their volunteer service(s) or donations during this Event. To calculate the volunteer services amount, have each student identify the number of hours they were involved in the activity and multiply this number by the minimum wage for your State. (The Federal minimum wage can also be used which is approximately $7.00 per hour.) To calculate the donations amount, have the students count the total amount of money raised during the fundraiser. Celebrate the grand total savings to others that the students have provided during this Event.