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Day in the Life of a Nonprofit (A) (3-5)
  1. Strand PHIL.II Philanthropy and Civil Society
    1. Standard PCS 02. Diverse Cultures
      1. Benchmark E.4 Demonstrate listening skills.
    2. Standard PCS 03. Philanthropy and Economics
      1. Benchmark E.10 Identify local people who have jobs in the civil society sector.
    3. Standard PCS 04. Philanthropy and Geography
      1. Benchmark E.1 Name examples of civil society organizations in the community.
      2. Benchmark E.2 Identify and describe how civil society organizations help the community.
    4. Standard PCS 07. Skills of Civic Engagement
      1. Benchmark E.4 Analyze information to differentiate fact from opinion based on the investigation of issues related to the common good.
Students will interview a representative from a local nonprofit organization and share the learned information with the class.
Duration: 
PrintTwo Fifty-Minute Class Periods
Objectives: 
The learner will:
  • gain information from a local nonprofit organization's representative.
  • describe work in the nonprofit sector.
Materials: 
Recording sheet used during the previous lesson to record interview sequence and questions.
Instructions: 
Print

  1. Anticipatory Set:

    The class will begin with the teacher introducing each group of students to the representative from the nonprofit they have been studying. Allow students twenty minutes to interview their representative and take notes for their presentation.

  2. Day One: Following the interview, give all students five minutes to prepare their presentation to the rest of the group. Instruct students to focus on the daily life of someone working in a nonprofit, the realities of a career in a nonprofit, as well as the daily highs and lows of nonprofit work. These presentations should last approximately three minutes each.
  3. Call groups to the front of the room to introduce their representative. They will need to give basic information regarding the work of the nonprofit, and then speak to the class about some of the highlights they learned during the interview. This process should last for the rest of the hour. If there are more groups that need to present their information, they can lead off Day Two with their presentations.
  4. Day Two: Guide students in a discussion of what they discovered during the research and interviewing process. It is expected that students will have a lot of reflection to do, as this experience is unique and eye opening. It would be preferable if some of the nonprofit representatives could attend the reflection session. They would offer good insight into the process also. It is not required, but would certainly provide a more complete picture of the process. Some potential reflection questions include:
    • How did your research differ from the interview process? How was what you learned different through each process?
    • What did you learn about your nonprofit that you did not know before this unit?
    • Does this unit help you to consider other career options for your own future? Why or why not?
    • What did you learn about careers in nonprofits? Do you think that you would be good at a job like this? Why or why not?
  5. After a lengthy discussion, ask students to respond on paper to the following question: "How has this experience, researching and interviewing local nonprofit employees changed your impressions of nonprofits and their place in our community?" Students should write approximately a one-page response to this question.
Assessment: 
Teachers will be able to assess students based on a variety of activities. Teachers can assess the quality of the interview, the quality of the presentations to the class, and an overall response to the question at the end of the reflection. Scoring Rubric Points Description For five points: Students should incorporate a reflection from each lesson presented in this unit, have well-thought out ideas and reflections, and make striking applications to their communities and lives. For four points: Students should have discussed three of the four lessons, have fairly well-thought out ideas and made some applications to their communities and lives. For three points: Students should have discussed two of the four lessons, have some ideas and reflection, and barely applied this lesson to their communities and lives. For two points: Students should have discussed one of the four lessons, have one idea of reflection, and likely not applied the information to their communities and/or lives. For one point: Students have not discussed any lessons but attempted to apply this lesson to their lives and communities in some manner. For zero points: Students did not complete the assignment.