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: Hoping to improve the air quality in the Philippines, volunteers planted more than 500,000 trees in one day. One volunteer admitted to being tired at the end of the day, but said she felt she had made a difference; made the world a better place. “We couldn’t have done it without everyone here volunteering to help,” she said looking over the group of volunteers. “Critics said it couldn’t be done, but we proved them wrong. It’s true; ‘many hands do make light work.’”
   
   DISCUSS: In what ways are we hoping to make the world a better place during our Earth Day Event? Is there anyone who thinks we aren’t capable of making a difference? Why is it important that as many hands as possible help us in this event?
2. READ: On the South Pacific Islands of Tonga (also known as the Friendly Islands), there is only one golf course. It is a small nine-hole course, and visitors say there is a course rule on the clubhouse wall that reads, “There shall be no penalty stroke assessed if a monkey steals your golf ball while playing.”One golfer said with a laugh, ”We have to adjust our game to be sensitive to our environment.”
   
   DISCUSS:  What are some ways we are trying to be more sensitive to our environment, especially during our Earth Day Event? What are some good “rules” to follow during our event?
3. READ In 1942 the National Hockey League was made up of six teams: the Montreal Canadians, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Boston Bruins, the Detroit Red Wings, the Chicago Blackhawks, and the New York Rangers. It wasn’t until twenty-five years later, in 1967, that the league expanded. “We discovered there were many new and talented players who were unable to play because there was no room for them on the existing rosters,” reported one NHL owner. “By expanding our vision and inviting them to play, we have so much more talent and excitement now playing the game than we never knew existed.”
   
   DISCUSS: As we anticipate our upcoming Earth Day Event, how can we get more of our classmates involved? How might this result in a possible discovery as well as a better use of talent? How might this “expansion” create more excitement in our event?
4. READ: Ru Hartwell is taking action to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment. Several years ago, Ru was on a flight and thinking about the pollutants the jet was putting into the air. He wished he didn’t have to fly, but sometimes it couldn’t be avoided. Looking down at the trees from above, Mr. Hartwell had a creative idea. Trees are very good at absorbing carbon dioxide. He decided he would plant a tree every time he was required to fly. He refers to this as Treeflights. Soon, Ru Hartwell started a website to share this idea with other travelers. Today, people who book a flight can sponsor planting a tree to absorb some of the carbon produced in their flight. Mr. Hartwell knows that many people must fly. “But,” he says, “Treeflights is one way we can lessen the damage being done."
   
   DISCUSS: Sometimes our lifestyle conflicts with what is best for the environment. Can you name other things we “have to do” that negatively affect our world? How is our Earth Day Event an effort to lessen the damage being done to our environment? What are some things we can do to have a positive effect on our environment long after our Earth Day Event is completed?
5. READ: Dr. Albert Schweitzer was a doctor who dedicated his life to tending to the sick in equatorial Africa. Dr. Schweitzer was once a child who was very aware of what the other children thought of him. He refused to wear an overcoat in the cold winter because the other children didn’t have coats and he didn’t want to be teased for being the rich boy in town. One day he and his friend were shooting pebbles with slingshots. His friend started to shoot at the birds. Albert loved nature and did not want to hurt animals, but he was afraid his friend would tease him for being too sensitive if he didn’t shoot at the birds. Luckily, the church bells chimed and reminded him of his beliefs. Instead of shooting at the birds, he ran out and shooed the birds away to protect them from his friend. From then on, he never feared what others thought of him and always tried to do what was right.
   
   DISCUSS: Why do you think the young Albert Schweitzer was willing to be teased for doing something he believed in? What can we say to someone who teases others because they volunteer for our Earth Day Event? What can we say to someone who is being teased because they choose to volunteer to be a part of our event? How is participating in our Earth Day Event showing respect for our environment?
6. READ: Desert travelers are often fooled by mirages. A mirage is an optical illusion in which water appears to be resting on the sand up ahead. This illusion is caused by refracted light in air of varying density. You may see the same thing up ahead on the highway when you are traveling in a car. Travelers think they see something on the horizon that looks like water. But, what they think they see does not actually exist.
   
   It is also possible to not see something that does exist. We refer to this as an oversight, a denial, or a blind spot. You may get used to seeing trash and litter around your school or pollution in the air. After awhile, you can look right at it and not “see” it anymore.
   
   DISCUSS: During our Earth Day Event why is it particularly important that we avoid mirages or denials? How can we take a better look at our school and community environments and determine what is real and what is not?
7. READ: Carrie’s homeroom teacher asked the class for service project suggestions for their Earth Day Event. Carrie thought they should pick up trash on the campus. Daniel said they could plant flowers at the school entrance. Liam wanted to help clean up the area around the trash bins in the cafeteria. Amelia said the class should start a paper recycling project. Kyle and Kari wanted to make posters to place in local stores to remind people to help conserve the Earth’s natural resources. Carlos asked the teacher if they could do all of these things.
   
   DISCUSS: What are some of your ideas for Earth Day projects? How can a class decide which is the best choice? What might happen if we have too many projects?
8. READ: We were studying the Earth in science class today, but our teacher told us that participating in our school’s Earth Day Event was also good math. She said, “If we can multiply the number of voices and hands to do what needs to be done, it will help to divide up the work so we can easily take away the things that harm our Earth. Then we can add the things that make it safer and more beautiful. Pretty simple math I’d say!”
   
   DISCUSS: What are some ways to get more “hands” to help us during our Earth Day Event? Why is it important to have as many of our classmates help us as possible? What are we taking away and adding to our environment that will help make our Earth a safer and more beautiful place?
9. READ: A 120-year-old oak tree in Auburndale, Florida, was uprooted and moved 500 yards from its original setting in order to make room for a new retail store. The 353 ton tree was the largest tree ever transplanted. The tree-removal company took six weeks to prepare the tree before they could move it by trailer to its new home. The retailer spent more than $100,000 to have the tree transplanted safely to its new home in a wetland preservation area.
   
   DISCUSS: Why do you think the retail store owners didn’t cut the tree down? It would have been cheaper, faster, and easier. In what ways do we take the difficult path in order to be sensitive to our environment during our Earth Day Event? Why is it important to take care of our environment even if it isn’t always easy?
10. READ: Phillipe and Josh walked home from school together after their science class spent the afternoon volunteering at the community center. They were full of energy and talked about the people and events of the afternoon. “Did you know Nadia very well before this afternoon?” Phillipe asked Josh.
    
    “No, she’s pretty quiet. She’s also in my fourth hour,” said Josh.
    
    “I can’t believe that cool sculpture she made for the garden. That was awesome!” said Phillipe. “And I didn’t know working in the garden would be so much fun. I hope we do something this cool for our next Event.”
    
    “Nadia said she volunteers at the community center once a month. Do you want to see if we can do that too?” said Josh.
    
    “Sure,” said Phillipe. “Let’s ask Nadia how to sign up.”
    
    Discuss: Working on a service project for Earth Day has benefits not just for the environment, but for the people involved. What are some of the benefits to you when you give your time, talent, or treasure for the common good?

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: Give each student 10-12 small sticky notes.  Have the students write a word or phrase on each sticky note that comes to mind as they think about their involvement with the Event.  Allow 2-4 minutes for their writing. (NOTE: Be prepared to hand students additional sticky notes if they ask for them.)  As the students are writing place a four-column grid on the display board and label the columns: Feelings, Activities, Affects/Effects, and Misc. At the end of 2-4 minutes, have the students decide which column their words or phrases best fit and then have them place their sticky notes under the proper heading. When all of the notes have been posted, read the notes under each column to the students. Have them look for similar comments in order to synthesize and condense the number of sticky notes and eliminate duplication. Lead students to draw some conclusions about their LEAGUE Event experiences based on this activity.

ACTIVITY TWO: Have each student draw a Venn Diagram.  In the circle on the left have them place single words that come to mind when they think about how they were feeling during this Event in which they were just involved.  In the circle on the right have the students place single words that come to mind when they think about how they were feeling during earlier Events or involved in similar philanthropic activities that they were part of at an earlier time.  Have the students look for those words that appear in both circles and have them place those words in the “overlap” of the two circles.  Have each of the students, in turn, call out the words found in their “overlap” and place these on the display board for all to see.  Ask the students, “What conclusions might one be able to make about being involved in philanthropic activities as a result of completing this exercise?”

ACTIVITY THREE: Tell the students that they have been selected by a major toy company to come up with a design for an “Action Hero/Heroine” or mascot to be used to “promote” this Event next year. Ask the students, when coming up with their “Action Hero/Heroine” or mascot, to consider what it takes for someone to be involved in an Event like the one they just completed and what types of personal characteristics/ attitudes would it be helpful for someone to be involved in Events like these.  Working in pairs, have the students design and draw their “Action Hero/Heroine” or mascot.  When finished, have each group share their idea for their “Action Hero/Heroine” or mascot. Display the Action Heroes/Heroines or Mascots under the heading “Our Action Heroes/Heroines” or “Our Mascot” or, etc.

ACTIVITY FOUR: Provide each student with three shiny coins (pennies). Play (or tell them) about the song entitled “Three Coins in the Fountain”.  Share the lyrics of the first verse.
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank-sinatra/55254.html.
 

Ask the students what they know about wishing wells.  Ask for volunteers to share how they were involved in this LEAGUE Event: what activity (-ies) they performed, how they felt about this LEAGUE Event, what impact they felt this LEAGUE Event had on those involved, etc. Challenge the students as a class to determine how tossing three coins into a fountain might be a lot like participating in this LEAGUE Event using the following prompts:

Discuss how the author of this song might have felt as he tossed his three coins in the fountain and have the students compare his feelings with their feelings about getting involved in this LEAGUE Event.

Discuss what the author of this song might have been hoping would result from his tossing the coins into the fountain and have the students compare his hopes with their hopes for what might result from their involvement in this LEAGUE Event.

Discuss how the author of this song might have felt as he walked away from the fountain after having tossed his coins into it and have the students compare his feelings with their feelings after having been involved in this LEAGUE Event.

Finally, ask the students if they think they will ever know the end results/impact of what they did during this LEAGUE Event. Have them share why or why not.  Tell the students, if they would like, they could make a wish and drop their three coins into a “wishing well” (box) placed on your desk. Tell them if they prefer not to make a wish and put their three pennies in the “wishing well,” that your wish for them is that they will put the three pennies to good use.