Meets a Real Community Need
(Note: Academic content standards adopted by the State Board of Education are shown in italics.)
Students will understand how the needs of the community are identified or, when appropriate, will conduct their own community needs assessment. On the basis of their demonstrated understanding of the needs of the community gained through this process, students will actively participate in service that is thoughtfully organized to address community needs. Note that the school may be defined as the community.
Example: Third graders, with help from their teacher, have determined that a school beautification project is needed to build a sense of community pride and to improve the physical surroundings of the neighborhood. The class designs and distributes an opinion survey to other students and to the other teachers. (English-Language Arts Content Standards, Grade Three, Writing 1.1—Create a single paragraph: 1.1a—Develop a topic sentence; 1.1b Include simple supporting facts and details.)
The students are responsible for tabulating the results of the survey. (Mathematics Content Standards, Grade Three, Mathematical Reasoning 3.0—Students move beyond a particular problem by generalizing to other situations.) On the basis of survey information, the class designs, plans, establishes, and maintains a garden at the school. (Science Content Standards, Grade Three, Life Sciences 3.a—Students know plants and animals have structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.) Flowers grown in the garden are used to beautify the school.
