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: A carp is a fish that lives at the bottom of a body of water. It is a very normal-looking fish, but it serves a very unusual purpose. Carp pick up scraps, or impurities, along the bottom of the body of water. This provides the carp with food and the other fish with a clean and safe environment in which to live.
   
   DISCUSS: Just like helpful carp, we can pick up litter and trash so all people can live in a clean and safe environment. Why is it important that we all do our part? During our Earth Day Event what are we doing to promote a clean and safe environment?
    
2. READ: Jamal’s mother asked him to clean out his closet. “It’s so disorganized and such a mess,” she said.
   
   Jamal protested, “When you shut the door no one can see it!” He thought that by using the old “out of sight, out of mind” argument he could avoid doing what his mother asked.
   
   But his mother insisted. “Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist,” she said.
   
   DISCUSS: In our environment, what are some “bad” things that might exist even though we are not able to see them? Why is it important that we “clean out” our environment from time to time? What are some things we could do during our Earth Day Event to “organize” our world?
3. READ: Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”
   
   DISCUSS: What do you think Mr. Ford meant by this statement? During our Earth Day Event we may have to convert some “I can’t” thinkers to “I can” thinkers. What are some things we might be able to do to help convince those who think they have nothing to offer to think differently? Why is “I can” thinking so important to the success of our Event?
4. READ: Carissa had many things to do on the day of her class’s Earth Day project. She had piano lessons and play practice in the morning. She had also promised her aunt that she would babysit her three-and-a-half-year-old cousin in the afternoon. Carissa felt badly. She wanted to help. She wanted to be a part of the project even though she couldn’t actually work on the designated day.
   
   DISCUSS: Do you think some people in our class will be unable to help on the day we designate for our Earth Day Event? What are some things they can do if they still want to participate? Why is it important to have as many people involved as possible doing a variety of things?
5. READ: I watched as a squirrel surveyed the big parking lot. It was looking for scraps of food carelessly left by hurried shoppers. Finding what looked like a tasty morsel still partially wrapped in paper, the squirrel began eating away at the treat. I noticed that it ate some of the wrapper along with the food. It made me think of something our science teacher had told us about pollution. She told us that many animals and birds die from eating things their stomachs were never intended to digest. I wondered if this squirrel would survive. It made me wish I could do something to save the animals and birds. But what can I do? I’m only eleven years old, and this is a big parking lot.
   
   DISCUSS: What do you think an eleven-year-old can do? What are we doing to care for our environment and the animals and birds in it? What can we say to our classmates who are not sure they want to get involved in our Earth Day Event?
6. READ: Almost everyone is afraid of something. Some people are afraid to ride on roller coasters. Some are afraid to speak in front a group of people. Some are afraid of math or science, while others are afraid of doing something their friends won’t approve of. Some people are afraid to try new things. Others are afraid to stop doing something they’ve always done.
   
   Someone once said that the letters in the word fear stand for “false evidence appearing real.” This means that often the things we fear only appear fearful in our imagination. Fear can be useful when it keeps us safe, but it can also stop us from doing something valuable and fun.
   
   DISCUSS: What are some of the things that we might fear about getting involved in our Earth Day Event? What are some things we might do to overcome our fears? How can we encourage our friends to try something new?
7. READ: If you light a candle in a room where a lot of light already exists, the candle adds very little light. When you light a candle in a dark room, the candle sheds its light all around. It makes the area much brighter. The more candles you light, the brighter the room becomes.
   
   DISCUSS: In what ways might our Earth Day Event be like lighting a candle? How will our efforts in areas that need a lot of work look different from areas that already look pretty good? How is encouraging others to join us like lighting more candles?
8. READ: Helping the Earth isn’t always easy, but you can do a lot to help the Earth without too much difficulty. Did you know your voice can be loud when you're not even talking? Writing a letter is not too difficult, is it? That’s right! A letter from you can help protect animals, water, and air! And the Internet helps you connect to people and spread word fast. Sometimes people in decision-making positions listen more closely when young people make the request.
   
   DISCUSS: How can we use letter writing or email to take action for our Earth Day Event? To whom should letters be sent? What are some ways we can tell others about our project and solicit their help? Why is it important to keep key people informed about what is happening?
9. READ: For their Earth Day project, Jonathan’s class decided they wanted to pick up the trash. They decided to do this along three miles of the ocean beach near their school. The teacher arranged the class into three different groups. Each group was assigned to a stretch of beach. On the day of the event, the groups were given large plastic bags and gloves. With the help of their adult volunteer, they went to work picking up trash.
   
   DISCUSS: How did the teacher and the class prepare for a successful Earth Day Event? Why is it important that we know the “expectations” before we start?
10. READ: Danna’s class learned about energy in science. They learned that energy-saving light bulbs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs. They also last ten times longer, saving not only energy but money as well. Danna decided that for her Earth Day project she would change all the light bulbs in her home to energy-saving bulbs. When she told her mother about her idea, her mother told her how proud she was of her for choosing to do this.
    
    “But,” her mother said, “right now we cannot afford to buy all new light bulbs. Maybe as the old ones burn out we can replace them with energy-saving bulbs. What do you think?”
    
    Danna thought about this and later came back to her mother with a proposal. “How about if I give you the $24.50 I have left from my birthday money and add the $6.50 I collected from the returnable bottles that I’ve found. That will give us $31.00. Mrs. Alfonzo said she’d give me $5.00 if I helped her plant flowers. If you give me an advance on my allowance for whatever else we need, I will repay you every dime you loan me.”
    
    Seeing how determined Danna was about doing this, her mother quickly agreed.
    
    DISCUSS:  What were some of the ways Danna helped the environment? How do we know that she was determined to do this? Will it take determination on our part to make our Earth Day Event successful?