Sixth grade students will spearhead a school-wide school drive to aid families in Little Egg. After initial lessons in nutrition and civic responsibility and visiting the local food pantry, they will put together a video to be aired over announcements to kick off a food drive at the school. These students will also visit the local Acme to provide a mental comparison of full shelves to the food pantry’s sparse shelves. After this, the food collection within the school will take place for the next four weeks; this drive will be reinforced by posters made by the sixth graders, flyers sent home to parents, and by the airing of the initial video on the morning announcements. At the end of the four week drive, the students will go to the pantry to drop off the food, which will be videotaped to add to the initial taping. Soon after, memory books of pictures, taken as a diary of the whole process, will be distributed to the students so that they can write beneath them meaningful reflections.
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Comprehensive Health & PE, Language Arts Literacy, Social Studies, Consumer, Family, & Life Skills
Spearheading a School-wide Food Pantry Drive
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By:
Mary Bonanno, Robbin Soller, Bill Hart, John McGrath
Teaching Team: Mary Bonanno-School Social Worker/SAC.
Grade Levels: Grade 6, as well as 3, 4, and 5 Academic Focus/ Comprehensive Health and Physical Education 2.1, 2.2
Language Arts Literacy 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
Social Studies 6.2
Consumer, Family & Life Skills 9.2D Core Ethical Values: Empathy, Responsibility, Teamwork, Compassion, Citizenship |
Project Description:
Sixth grade students will spearhead a school-wide school drive to aid families in Little Egg. After initial lessons in nutrition and civic responsibility and visiting the local food pantry, they will put together a video to be aired over announcements to kick off a food drive at the school. These students will also visit the local Acme to provide a mental comparison of full shelves to the food pantry’s sparse shelves. After this, the food collection within the school will take place for the next four weeks; this drive will be reinforced by posters made by the sixth graders, flyers sent home to parents, and by the airing of the initial video on the morning announcements. At the end of the four week drive, the students will go to the pantry to drop off the food, which will be videotaped to add to the initial taping. Soon after, memory books of pictures, taken as a diary of the whole process, will be distributed to the students so that they can write beneath them meaningful reflections. Target Audience: The community of Little Egg will benefit from the donated food. Timeline:
Six weeks divided into one week for the preparing of the initial video, four weeks to host the food drive, and a week thereafter to put together the final video and complete the memory books. Project Scheduling:
Lessons in class; most likely students will go in the morning (first few periods) to visit the pantry and the Acme on both occasions. Equipment Needed:
Video Camera, editing software, binder/paper for memory books, poster boards and markers for posters advertising drive, paper for flyers sent home to parents Academic Focus:
Comprehensive Health & Physical Education: Students will become inherently aware of wellness and nutrition seeing the stark difference between the Acme and the pantry; They will also be able to demonstrate skills such as leadership and advocacy by pushing the food drive to all members of the school and their families. Language Arts Literacy: Sixth graders will develop writing and speaking skills through their creation of the videptape and writing reflections. Social Studies: Students will not only become aware of, but practice civic responsibility Consumer, Family & Life Skills: Students will develop strong skills in interpersonal communication through spreading the word about the food drive to their school. |
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Hurdles Encountered: Hurdles
Finding someone who is knowledgeable in videotaping and editing. Solution
Found sixth graders who have taping and editing experience to assist in the process. |
Educational Strategies:
Performance-based Education: Students are involved from the beginning to the end of the project, collecting as well as motivating the collection of food for the pantry. Cooperative Learning: Sixth grade students work together to implement the drive, while the whole school works together towards one common goal.
Interdisciplinary Approach : Many disciplines involved. Personal Growth Outcomes:
Students practice and develop empathy and compassion through recognizing the impact of socioeconomic differences; they will learn the value of teamwork as well as developing personal and civic responsibility. |
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Celebration:
Pizza party, handing out memory books to complete reflection. Recognition:
Video of whole process to be played on morning announcements Key Findings:
Although this will be determined on completion, it is assumed that this experience will foster continued civic responsibility through the clear benefits students see their action produced. |
Community Involvement:
The local Food Pantry serves as the vehicle for the project. Parents and Volunteer Involvement:
Parents will be called on to help send food in for the drive. Reflection Activities: (Link with core ethical values)
The students will receive a memory book of pictures of themselves throughout the project and asked to comment below them. They will get a chance to express their feelings, and develop a clearer idea of what their efforts produced. Means of Assessment:
Teacher commentary as well as student self-assessment in the memory books. |