Good Deeds Project

Grade Level: K-2
Content Area: All
Created By: Kerri Harford, Abu Dhabi, UAE, iEARN Master Teacher

 

Good Deeds Project

 

This plan was designed for the Good Deeds Project but can be adapted for the Students Unlimited or CIVICS projects

Teachers Goals:

I am going to tie this project into the literacy part of the curriculum. I want to find a picture book that deals with doing good deeds and the result of these. I then want students to use this and group discussion to brainstorm good deeds they could do in the school and at home. I am hoping they will impact the school and their families with a poster or other creative projects.

Student goals:

I want my students to use a piece of literature and each other as tools to investigate good deeds. I want them to choose one good deed and present their idea in a creative way. I want them to use this project to discuss good deeds at school and in their community, and how they can accomplish doing them. I want them to listen, investigate, discuss, and apply something in their classroom that is relevant and part of the real world.
What knowledge will students acquire by engaging in this project?
Students will learn cooperative skills.  They will learn how to present their ideas in an effective way. They will learn how to present information. They will be able to look at themselves as a part of a community. They will learn proactive ways of interacting in the world. They will be able to think critically about a topic that is important in their lives and culture.
 

State, Local, and/or National Curriculum Standards that this project addresses 

Approaches to Learning Outcomes:
  • Students participate in group activities
  • Students are able to communicate personal thoughts and feelings. They show awareness of the impact of their actions on the feelings of others
  • Students show concern for the school and classroom environment
  • Students are school community members who participate independently and as a part of a group to care for the school and the classroom environment
Language Arts Outcomes:
  • Seeks to express and idea in writing
  • Shares writing with an audience
  • Uses simple sentences accurately
  • Participates more confidently in discussions

Common Core State Standards

  • R1 - Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
  • R7 - Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
  • W2 - Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
  • SL1 -  Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
  • SL4 - Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
  • SL5 - Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
  • L1 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Timetable 

Week 1: Beginning April 10- Reading stories about good deeds
Week2: Beginning April 17- Discussing good deeds students already do
Week3: Beginning April 24- Revisiting stories and list of good deeds created by students
Week 4: Beginning May 1- Students brainstorming good deeds we could do in the school
Week 5: Beginning May 8- Students choose a good deed they want to perform and create a visual piece of work for this idea. They will decide how they we can do this good deed in school.
Week 6: Beginning May 15- students will present their ideas at morning assembly in front of the school, sharing their ideas with the rest of their peers.
 
How many times a week will you be involved in the project?
I will be implementing this about three times in the week during their English block.

Introduction

How will you present this project to your students? 
      I will use books and their ideas to start the brainstorming. I want to connect it to their lives, so I will allow them to come up with ways to do good deeds in school.
 
How will you tie it into their curricular studies? 
     The books and discussion will link to their targets for English. Creating ideas to use in school will connect with the social/emotional part of their targets in school.
 
How will you get them interested in the topic? 
      I will use stories with lots of pictures, which always pulls them in. The discussion part will let them share ideas and become the driving force for the project. I will also give them an end goal of using it in school. Making sure that they have a purpose will engage them.
 
What background knowledge do your students bring to the project?
      They come from a community that prides itself on good deeds. We have also been working a lot on how to be a learner in the classroom and how to help each other do this. This work in the classroom should be a good springboard to do similar things throughout the school.

Productivity of work

Will your students need to do research for their project?
     They will do ‘research’ through the books we read in the classroom. I will also be doing a homework assignment where the students ask their parents to talk with them about good deeds they have done.
 
How will they be organized to gather information?
     The first week they will be whole group. The second week they will be in small groups (5-6), and will look at more books that show good deeds. They will use these to make a list of good deeds.

Collaboration

How and when will your students collaborate or communicate with other students in the iEARN network?
     I talked to my administration and she said posting student work on iEARN is fine, but not the students themselves (i.e. pictures, videos). I will be posting to the forum about Good Deeds.  I will be posting a scrapbook of our project using pictures of things my girls did during the project.  It will chronicle their days from start to finish on the project.
Assessment of Student Work
How will the appropriateness of student work be evaluated?
     I really like the rubric idea. It allows me to pick certain aspects, but allows the student to have the freedom to choose how to present the information I am looking for.
How will you assess the student work?
     I will use different assessments for the project, but I will be using the rubric I have created to help keep me on track for the whole project.
  • in the introduction stage of the project? I will use a checklist during our discussion time to see who is involved in the making our list of good deeds.
  • in the implementation of the project? I will use informal observations during their group work. I will also use their pictures and sentences they make during small group to assess if students are staying on track.
  • in conclusion of the project? I will use the rubric. I am going to give them a version of the one I used, but at their level (smiley faces will be used), to use as a self assessment.

Conclusion of activity

When does your participation in the project end?
     I think for my students it will end when they have talked about it and given the assembly to the school. But I am hoping we will continue the discussion of good deeds and the ideas that came out of the project for the rest of the year.
How will the students draw their projects to a conclusion?
     They will give individual presentations to the class. As a whole group they will give an assembly presentation to the whole school.

Identify technological and material requirements

  • Technological requirements (e.g., software programs, Internet access): I would like them to be able to look at other schools and students doing this. I would like them to be able to chat or email other schools about the project. You need internet and computers which our school does not.
  • Material requirement: The biggest material for me was finding age appropriate books on my topic. I used our school’s library to help me do this. Consumables: Chart paper, crayons, glue, paper, card stock, colored paper, paint and brushes
 

Filed in: All, K-2

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