Learning to Give, Curriculum Division of The LEAGUE

The LEAGUE

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Common Good

Lesson 2:

From Unit Philanthropy in Literature

Lesson

Handouts

Academic Standards

Philanthropy Framework

3rd-5th Grade

Subjects:

Language Arts, Philanthropy and Social Studies

Key Words/Concepts click to view

ELA:	Character Perception; Compare/Contrast; Constructing Meaning; Group Discussions; Inferences/Generalizations; Literary Devices; Literary Forms/Genre; Media Genres; Plot Development; Presentations; Reading; Research; Response to Text/Others; Summarizing/Paraphrasing; Theme
Selflessness; Time/Talent/Treasure
PHIL:	Selflessness; Time/Talent/Treasure
SOC:	Citizenship/Civic Engagement; Common Good; Inquiry; Volunteerism; Wants/Needs

Purpose:

Through reading their story, learners will define “philanthropy” as “private citizens sharing or giving of their time, talent or treasure for the common good.”

Duration:

Two Thirty-Minute Class Periods

Objectives:

The learner will:

identify the main characters.
state the problem in the story.
summarize the solution to the problem.
make a connection with the story and his/her understanding of philanthropy as developed and defined in class.

Materials:

Teacher may choose one or all of these books for the lesson (see Bibliographical References):

Kids Random Acts of Kindness
Sisters in Strength
The Garden of Happiness

Instructional Procedure(s):

Anticipatory Set:

Ask learners to list all the things that they share in common and place their responses on the board. Have the students give reasons why all the things they share promote the “common good.” After the discussion, display the definition of “common good.”

Common good

(n) Resources shared for the collective benefit of the whole group of people.

Remind students that in all genre of literature one can recognize acts of philanthropy. Simply put, if one is aware, one can recognize.

Read the story aloud.

As the story is read, display the following questions as a reminder to the reader of the purpose of the reading:

What is the need?
Who has the need?
Who is in the community?
Who fills the need?
What talent or treasure was given or shared? What did it cost to fill the need?
What action was done for the common good?
What does the community experience from that giving or sharing?
What is the reward for the one who shared?
What would have happened if the need had not been met?

Discuss the questions as a group.

Assessment:

Students will develop a chart with the column headings being:

What is the Need?	Who fills the Need?	Who is the Community?	Time, Talent and Treasure	Action for the Common Need

Bibliographical References:

Carter, Rosalyn. Kids Random Acts of Kindness. Conari Press, 1994. ISBN:0943233623
McDonough. Yona Zeldes. Sisters in Strength. Henry Holt and Co., New York, 2000. ISBN:0-8050-6102-9
Tamar, Erika. The Garden of Happiness. Harcourt Brace and Co., New York, 1996. ISBN: 0-15-230582

Lesson Developed and Piloted by:

Joyce Rogers
Kentwood Public Schools
Meadowlawn Elementary School
Kentwood, MI 49508

Michael Pickard
Kentwood Public Schools
Meadowlawn Elementary School
Kentwood, MI 49508

Handouts:

Academic Standards:

State:

Philanthropy Framework:

Comments

Tom, Teacher – Muskegon, MI9/24/2007 4:34:10 PM

This lesson helped students realize that a community has needs. This works nicely with our year long study of the Twin Lake Muskegon community.

Randy, Teacher – Saginaw, SK9/25/2007 8:40:02 AM

Good discussion and we used our mapping skills to outline words for our poems. Students have now written acrostic poems in other areas.

Unit Contents:

Overview:Philanthropy in Literature Summary

Lessons:

1.: Definition of Terms
2.: Common Good
3.: Enhancing Our Understanding of The Common Good Through Literature
4.: Trilogy (The)
5.: House of Dies Drear (The)
6.: Too Big a Task