These "LEAGUE Learning Links” provide ten quick and easy 5-minute mini-lessons to help promote The LEAGUE 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 to 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 is possible and appropriate in presenting these lessons to their classmates.

 

1. Read:  Volunteers are people who help others. They help others because they want to help. They do this without expecting to be paid. Most volunteers would agree that they are paid!  Let’s listen in on what one volunteer had to say about being paid.
   “Oh I don’t get any actual money for volunteering.  I am paid in other ways, all right! I learn new skills. I am getting to know more people. I feel good about myself because I am making a difference. Best of all, I never get bored because there is always plenty to do.”
   
   Discuss: In what ways is participating in our school’s Drive event like volunteering? While we won’t be paid actual money for what we do during our Drive, how might we be “paid” in other ways? Is it okay to feel good about ourselves for volunteering our time, talent or treasure? Why or why not?
   
    
2. Read: Listen to these lines from a Harvest Poem:
   
   Harvest
   Dennis VanHaitsma
   A circle is formed by the seasons:
   Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.
   Round and round they always go,
   Ever changing on this terrestrial ball.
   Spring bursts from winter’s rested seed,
   While orchard and field yield their summer fare.
   Just as the fall’s harvest offers us its bounty,
   We too are given opportunities to share.
   So that our harvest may be bountiful,
   Come let us plant and tend to the seed.
   Let us join in the circle of the seasons;
   And commit to a caring deed.
   
   Discuss: What do you think it means when the author of this poem wrote, “Just as the fall harvest offers us its bounty, we too are given opportunities to share”? How is our Drive event like “join(-ing) in the circle of the seasons”? How can we encourage everyone to join us in a commitment to care and share during our Drive?
   
    
3. Read:  When Mrs. Strong, a noon lunch helper saw Amy and Aaron walking toward her down the hallway carrying a can of peas and vegetable soup. She stopped them.  “What are you two up to?” she asked.
   
   “We’re bringing these to our food-drive table,” Amy replied. She showed Mrs. Strong her can of vegetable soup.
   
   “Why would you want to do that?” Mrs. Strong asked.
   
   “Because if everyone brings at least one can of something, we get an extra recess!” Aaron chimed in.
   
   “Mmmm... is that the only reason you’re bringing a can of peas?” Mrs. Strong asked. She looked directly at Aaron.
   
   “Well not exactly. I don’t like peas anyway,” Aaron confessed.
   
   “Mmmm… is that the only reason you’re bringing a can of peas?” Mrs. Strong asked again.
   
   Aaron thought for a minute. He nodded in agreement as Amy said, “There are people who do not have enough to eat. We want to give them some of our food.”
   
   Discuss:  How is our Drive event going to help people in need? Why would someone want to participate in our Drive? Do you think those who receive the canned goods given by Amy and Aaron would care why Amy and Aaron chose to give them? Why or why not? What are some other things we could collect to help people in need during a future Drive events?
   
    
4. Read: In a certain barnyard on a certain farm there lived Max. He was a big red rooster. He crowed all day and night it seemed. He made so much noise that it was hard for the others in the yard to pay attention to what they had to do. One day the animals from a nearby farm challenged Max’s barnyard to a game of kick ball. Max called together all his fellow barnyard friends and told them of the challenge. The animals were excited. They began to practice day and night to be ready for the big game, all except Max of course. He just went around crowing how his team was going to win and how he planned to be the star of the contest.
   
   The day came for the big game. Everybody showed up to play or watch. There was a lot of excitement in the yard that day. Max’s team took an early lead, but the animals from the other farm were not going to give up easily. In their last inning of play they tied the score. Then they took the lead by three runs. Max’s team had their last kicks. With two quick outs and things looking a bit hopeless for Max’s team, Henny the hen walked. This was followed by a single off the hoof of Carrie the cow and another walk to Davey, the duck. With the bases loaded and two outs, it was Max’s turn at the plate. The home crowd cheered while the visiting fans chewed on their nails and claws. And then Max did something really strange… do you know what he did…..he turned and walked off the field muttering to himself, “This is just a stupid game…I don’t need this.”
   
   Discuss: Why do you think Max did what he did? How do you think Max’s team felt about him leaving and not finishing the game when it was his turn to step up to the plate? Why is it important that everyone steps up to the plate and participates in some way in our Drive?
   
    
5. Read: Carrie lived in the city. This city did not allow people to beg for money from people walking by on the streets. Her mother told her that these people did not have places to live. They lived in the street and under bridges. They are called “homeless” people. When Carrie would walk down the city streets next to her mom or dad, she would try not to look at these people. Even though she felt sorry for them and wanted to help, she didn’t know how. Once she asked her mom if she could put some money in one of their tin cups. Her mom told her no. She told Carrie that in their city what these people were doing was against the law.
   
   Back at school when Carrie’s teacher announced that this year’s school-wide Drive contributions would go to The Homeless Shelter, she knew that this was one way she could help. The Shelter was a place in her town where “homeless” people were offered a meal and allowed to stay over-night.
   
   Discuss: Sometimes, just like Carrie, we want to help but don’t know how. What are some things that make it hard for us to help others? In what ways might our Drive be a way we can “help” in our community?
   
    
6. Read: The class assignment was to think of a way to help find food for the local Food Bank. Magglio lived near the Brasher’s vegetable farm. One day on his way Magglio noticed the workers in one of the fields cutting and harvesting cabbage.  He remembered thinking aloud “There certainly are a lot of cabbages to be picked!” He noticed the workers bending over to look closely at each plant. Sometimes they would cut the cabbage and place it in a crate. Sometimes they would just move on without cutting anything. And sometimes they would cut the cabbage, look at and then toss it on the ground. Magglio knew that his grandfather had worked in those same fields when he was a much younger man. So he asked his grandfather at dinner one night about the workers and their way of cutting cabbage.  Grandfather said that sometimes the cabbage was not quite ready to be cut. The workers would then go on to the next plant. If it was ready to be cut, they would cut it and put in the crates to be shipped to the stores. Sometimes the workers would cut a cabbage and after carefully looking they would see that it didn’t look good enough to ship. They would then toss the cabbage away.
   
   “But the cabbage was still good wasn’t it, “asked Magglio.
   
   “Yes it usually is still good but no one wants to buy something that doesn’t look good,” Grandfather answered. Magglio had his idea how to find food for the local food bank. He would write a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Brasher and ask them to donate some of the cabbage that would not be shipped to the stores to the food bank.
   
   Discuss: How could Magglio’s letter-writing help some people who might not have enough food to eat? What are some other ways Magglio could find food for the local food bank? How is our Drive helping get things to those in need of them?
   
    
7. Read: There is a tiny nut that fits on the bolt that holds the wheel to the front axle of all bicycles. The one on Timmy’s bike must have come loose and fallen off. It happened when he was riding his bike down the sidewalk in front of his home. The front wheel became wobbly. Timmy wasn’t sure what the problem was. But before he could stop and investigate, the front wheel of his bike fell off. Timmy lost his balance and he fell to the sidewalk. X-rays revealed that he had a broken arm.  Who could image that all this happened because of one tiny missing nut.
   
   Discuss: Sometimes it’s the little things that are really important. Why might our contribution to our Drive event, though we think it’s “tiny” be really important?  Why might it be really important that as a class we all “hold together” during our Drive event?
   
    
8. Read: Lynn’s grandfather often used the phrase “so far so good, knock on wood”. Lynn liked the rhyme. But she didn’t know why her grandfather used it so often. One day while helping her grandmother do the dishes, Lynn asked, “Grandma, why does Papa say that rhyme all the time?”
   Grandma chuckled. “Well, when things are going well you hope that they will continue going that way. Long ago people believed that good spirits lived in the trees. So it was believed that if someone wanted to avoid bad things happening they would knock on anything made of wood. I guess knocking on wood sort of “wakes up” the good spirits so they will continue doing good things.”
   
   Discuss: Lynn’s grandfather used this rhyme as a way of saying that he hoped good things would happen or continue to happen. For our Drive event to be successful why do we have to do more than just knock on wood? What good things are we working to make happen during our Drive event?
   
    
9. Read: Think back to the last time you ate lunch at school. Do you recall if you threw anything in the trash? Was it just wrappers or did you throw away some food too? Doctors tell us that most people put too much food on their plates. While it is important not to over eat it is also important not to waste food. When people throw good food away they are not thinking about those who might not have enough food to eat. Some students sitting in this room might not have enough food to eat. But they don’t want you to know that their family cannot afford to buy a lot of food.  Imagine how they must feel when they see someone throwing away food.
   
   Discuss: If you knew that a person in the school was hungry would you think differently about throwing food away?  In what ways can we work together to help those that don’t have as much as we do?  How do you think our Drive event will help others?
   
    
10. Read:  Gonzo was a brown snake. He was not very big, but everybody in the animal school seemed to be afraid of him. No one really wanted to play with him. Those who did play with him only did so because their teacher told them that they had to. One noon recess, Gonzo was standing on the sidelines watching a soccer game between the rabbits and the squirrels. He noticed something lurking in the bushes. Curious, he went to investigate. He discovered a wolf hiding behind the hedge. The wolf looked very hungry. Wolves tended to scare Gonzo but he slithered up to the wolf anyway. He asked wolf what he was doing there. “I’m so hungry,” the wolf said licking his lips. He looked longingly at those playing the game.
    “I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich I didn’t eat, how about eating that?” Gonzo offered.
    The wolf thought for a moment. “Yeah, I could go for that,” he said. And so it was that Gonzo shared his food with someone he didn’t really know and who scared him just a little bit. But by sharing what little he had, Gonzo helped make it possible for everyone to live happily ever after.
    
    Discuss:  Like the rabbits and squirrels in this story we get so busy we don’t always know that there are hungry people out there. And even if we did know they are there, we assume that someone else will give them food to eat. Why do you think Gonzo would chose to share his sandwich with the wolf, someone he didn’t even know and even a little afraid of? Why would we choose to share “what little food we have” with someone we don’t even know? How might our Drive event help to make someone’s life happier and healthier ever after?