Students recognize the value to the community of being philanthropists. They will perform simple acts of kindness for others in their “community” with increasing regularity. They record their acts on a bulletin board and build community capital in the classroom and school (and home).

Anticipatory Set:

Write the word “philanthropist” on the board. Ask the students to define it, or introduce the definition as giving or sharing time, talent or treasure for the common good. Discuss what that means and give examples and non-examples. (A pilgrim who shares a meal with the whole group is a philanthropist. A pilgrim who sells food to the group is not.)

• Explain to the students that even though the Pilgrims had arrived in their new land, their troubles were not over. They had trouble finding a good place to settle. They were afraid of the Native Americans. They didn’t know very much about hunting, fishing and planting. (You may read aloud some of these details from If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620.)

• Explain that the pilgrims were helped by two philanthropists named Samoset and Squanto. Read Squanto’s Journey or summarize information on Samoset and Squanto, explaining how they showed the pilgrims places to fish and hunt and taught them how to plant corn and other crops.

• Ask the children why they think the Native Americans helped the Pilgrims. (Guide them to such answers as the following: They knew that if they didn’t help, the pilgrims would die. They wanted to get along with the new comers. They had to share limited resources. Native Americans had an understanding of the responsibility to do things for the common good—community is very important.)

• Explain that Samoset and Squanto gave their time and talent for the sake of the common good. That is what a philanthropist does. Ask the children what they think Squanto and Samoset got in return for helping the pilgrims. When the Native Americans helped them, they built community capital (“banked” good will in the community, that can be drawn on later to help solve problems) with the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims lost some of their fear of the Native Americans and were also probably more motivated to find ways to cooperate with the Native Americans in the future.

• Ask the students what they think would have happened to the Pilgrims if the Native Americans had not helped them? (Without these acts of kindness, the Pilgrims would not have survived in this new environment.)

• Brainstorm on chart paper acts of kindness that the students can perform (or have performed or have seen other students perform). Encourage them to think of spontaneous helpful actions as simple as letting someone else go first, sharing playground equipment or asking a new friend to play.

• Discuss the concept of community capital in the classroom. When they perform these kind acts, it will generate positive feelings about the students and the classroom, and will make the community a more cooperative, helpful place. Others will be motivated to reciprocate the kindness in the future. Have students reflect on the long-term effects of this.

• Show the students the incomplete bulletin board. Tell them that you want them to fill up the bulletin board with their random acts of kindness. (Explain that random means not specifically planned) Every morning for the next week (or month or year) they will have the opportunity to add to the bulletin board.

• For each kind act performed, a student adds a leaf to the tree. It may be the student who performs the act or receives the act. A student writes a brief description (or drawing) of the kind act on one side of a leaf and writes his or her name on the other side. In the beginning, look at their work before it goes up and conference with the children, as needed, about appropriateness. The writing should be neat and correctly spelled. When neatness and appropriateness are the habit, the teacher can conference less and let the students take control of the bulletin board more.

Teacher Note: I deliberately chose not to end this unit with the Thanksgiving meal. I would also suggest that this unit not be done around Thanksgiving time. I like the students to recognize this as a historical event and to think of its message at other times of the year.

Encourage the students to build up community capital at home with their parents and siblings (and neighbors) by performing acts of kindness at home, too.

• McGovern, Anne. If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620. Scholastic, 1993. ISBN: 0590451618
• Bruchac, Joseph. Squanto’s Journey. Silver White, 2000. ISBN: 0512018174