The Essential Elements of Service-Learning Practice

Correlation of The Giraffe Heroes Program and

I. Background

Service-learning is an educational method that involves students in challenging tasks that meet genuine community needs and requires the application of knowledge, skills and systematic reflection on the experience.

The Essential Elements of Service-Learning Practice were proposed and written with the support and input of the National Service-Learning Cooperative, a group of thirteen organizations funded by the Corporation for National Service to provide technical assistance across every region of the United States in the area of service-learning. This initiative was conducted by the National Youth Leadership Council which is the coordinating organization for the Cooperative. The Essential Elements were first published in April 1998.

The Essential Elements were identified by teachers, community educators, school administrators, community-based personnel and state Learn and Serve directors who had extensive personal and system wide experience with teaching and implementing service-learning. Their objective was to define the purposes, conditions and techniques under which service-leaning can best contribute to a quality education—one rich in skills, knowledge, meaning and long-term benefits both to individuals and to the community.

The Giraffe Heroes Program is a national K-12 service-learning and character development program, created by the nonprofit Giraffe Project, based in Langley WA. The Program comes in editions for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12. The first three editions come as one-per-classroom Teachers’ Guides. The 10-12 edition consists of a Resource Guide for the facilitator plus individual copies of a book for students titled It’s Up to Us.

The Giraffe Heroes Program may be ordered from the Project’s Website at <www.giraffe.org> or telephone the office 1 800 853 7550 west coast business hours.

As demonstrated by the following correlation, the Giraffe Heroes Program, in all editions, meets or exceeds the standards of The Essential Elements of Service-Learning Practice.

II. The Essential Elements of Service-Learning Practice

Cluster I: Learning

1. Effective service-learning establishes clear educational goals that require the application of concepts, content and skills from the academic disciplines and involve students in the construction of their own knowledge.

2. In effective service-learning, students are engaged in tasks that challenge and stretch them cognitively and developmentally.

3. In effective service-learning, assessment is used as a way to enhance student learning as well as to document and evaluate how well students have met content and skill standards.

Cluster II: Service

4. Students are engaged in service tasks that have clear goals, meet genuine needs in the school or community, and have significant consequences for themselves and others.

5. Effective service-learning employs formative and summative evaluation in a systematic evaluation of the service effort and its outcome.

Cluster III: Critical Components That Support Learning and Service

6. Effective service-learning seeks to maximize student voice in selecting, designing, implementing and evaluating the service project.

7. Effective service-learning values diversity through its participants, its practice and its outcomes.

8. Effective service-learning promotes communication and interaction with the community, and encourages partnerships and collaboration.

9. Students are prepared for all aspects of their service work including a clear understanding of task and role, the skills and information required by the task, awareness of safety precautions, as well as knowledge about and sensitivity to the people with whom they will be working.

10. Student reflection takes place before, during and after service, uses multiple methods that encourage critical thinking, and is a central force in the design and fulfillment of curricular objectives.

11. Multiple methods are designed to acknowledge, celebrate and further validate students’ service work.

III. Legend

The notations K-2, 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12 refer to the corresponding grade-level edition of the Giraffe Heroes Program. “S” means “Stage” in the K-2 edition and “Section” in the 3-5 and 6-9 editions. “L” means “Lesson,” “Ch.” means “Chapter,” and “N” means “Neckbone”—a name used in place of “Chapter” in the final section of the K-2, 3-5 and 6-9 editions.

IV. The Correlation

Cluster I: Learning

1-A. Outcomes are clear and linked to curricular objectives.

All editions—the educational goals/desired outcomes of the Giraffe Heroes Program are:

1. Life Skills—students gain insights, confidence and skills for leading meaningful and productive lives.

2. Academic Learning—students gain motivation for learning, and they learn and practice skills in language arts, social studies, civics, visual arts, health, and behavioral studies. Depending on the nature of the service project undertaken, other academic goals met can include those for mathematics, science and technology.

3. Citizenship—students absorb values of courageous compassion and active citizenship.

4. Prevention—students gain the self-confidence to make sound decisions about their own lives, by hearing stories of role models, by learning qualities of character they can say “Yes” to, and by succeeding in service activities that they can see make a difference.

5. Community-building—by going into their communities to assess local needs and to design and implement service projects that help meet them, students become stakeholders in the community; they learn to care about what happens there. They gain pride in where they live—a pride that can rub off on teachers, parents and anyone else exposed to the program. Adults who see kids working in the community this way gain a deeper respect for what young people can do.

K-2, 3-5 and 6-9—a introductory section discusses educational goals and desired outcomes. A “Purpose and Strategy” page begins each subsequent section. Each lesson in each section begins with a one-sentence statement of “Objectives” and includes a list of skills to be learned and practiced in that lesson.

10-12—goals and desired outcomes are given in a teacher’s Resource Guide. They are also discussed, in summary form, in the introduction to It’s Up to Us, the one-per-student book on which the 10-12 edition is based.

All editions—the Giraffe Heroes Program is linked to academic objectives using the McRel Standards Database, a coherent compendium of educational standards for primary, intermediate, middle and high school grades, based on work sponsored by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement of the

1-B. Activities stimulate the acquisition and application of course concepts and skills.

All editions—the Giraffe Heroes Program is activity-based, and it motivates students to acquire academic concepts and skills.

K-2 (S1 and S2)—students learn about heroes and heroic qualities by actively building their definitions with the help of puppet friends, Stan and Bea.

3-5 and 6-9 (S1 and S2)—students learn about heroes and heroic qualities, and they learn how to differentiate heroes from celebrities. Then they affirm that knowledge by actively searching for heroes in their studies and in their communities, then telling their stories in class. In that process, students do research, read, do interviews, make presentations, and use critical judgment.

K-2, 3-5, and 6-9 (S3) and 10-12 (entire book)—students implement the qualities of courage, caring and responsibility they’ve identified in heroes by designing and carrying out a service project that calls forth those qualities in themselves. In the course of implementing their project, students practice writing, researching, reading, communicating through the visual arts, listening, speaking, brainstorming, thinking critically and making decisions, taking responsibility, setting and managing goals, making and carrying out plans, assessing risks, solving problems, persisting, working with others and resolving conflicts. They learn the importance of public participation, and of honoring diverse views. Older students may learn and practice the formation of public policy, working with media, leadership skills, and the assessment of competing ideas and rights in a democracy.

Experience shows that students can become so intent on achieving the real-world results of their project that even those with a long record of academic failure find themselves doing research, writing letters, speaking in public, doing calculations—whatever it takes to get the job done. They find themselves acquiring and using such skills not as ends in themselves, but as the means for doing what they want to do.

1-C. Promotes high levels of thinking and the construction of knowledge.

All editions—inspired by the stories of heroes in the text, students learn who is a hero and what are heroic qualities. Motivated to become heroes themselves, they evaluate needs in their communities, decide what they care about, then decide on and carry out a service project that applies what they have learned and helps meet the needs they have identified.

K-2 (S2L2)—learning the qualities of Giraffes.

K-2 (S2L3) and 3-5 (S1 Add’l. Activity)—defining Giraffes and their opposites.

3-5 (S2L2)—defining Giraffes and analyzing Giraffe qualities; (S2L4)—searching for Giraffes.

3-5 (S1L2, 3)—comparing and contrasting animal giraffes and human Giraffes.

3-5 (S2L1), 6-9 (S1L3) and 10-12 (Ch. 5)—comparing and contrasting heroes and celebrities.

3-5 and 6-9 (S1)—learning about heroes and heroic qualities: brainstorming, analysis and synthesis; developing definitions of heroes.

3-5 and 6-9 (S2)—finding heroes: analysis and evaluation.

3-5 and 6-9 (S3N6)—evaluating the role of risk.

K-2 (S3N1,2 and 3), 3-5 and 6-9 (S3N1) and 10-12 (Ch. 2)—brainstorming; choosing an issue, then researching and choosing a project through discussion, analysis and logical argument;

K-2 ; 3-5 and 6-9 (S3) and 10-12 (Ch. 6 onwards)— carrying out a service project, including making decisions, surmounting obstacles and risks, evaluating progress and reflecting on the results.

10-12 (Ch. 1)—analyzing what creates a meaningful life.

1-D. Requires students to communicate information and ideas.

K-2 (S2L3, 5)—making oral presentations as part of defining Giraffe qualities; (S3)—discussions and presentations as part of choosing and implementing a service project.

3-5 (S1L4)—telling the stories of Giraffes; (S2L2)—making oral presentations; (S2L5)—presenting interview results.

6-9 (S1L1, 2, 4, and 5)—oral presentations; (S2L1,3)— telling stories of Giraffes; (S2L2)—learning interviewing techniques.

3-5 and 6-9 (S3N1)—choosing an issue and a service project; discussions and brainstorming; (S3N6)—oral presentations as part of implementing a service project.

10-12 (Ch. 2)—choosing an issue and a service project; discussion and brainstorming; (Ch. 3)—creating a group vision; (Ch. 6)—making oral presentations as part of creating and implementing an action plan; (Ch. 8)— learning to make public presentations.

1-E. Connects to state or local standards

All editions—as noted above, a formal correlation has been completed between the Giraffe Heroes Program and the McRel Standards Database, a coherent compendium of educational standards for primary, intermediate, middle and high school grades. The McRel Standards Database is now widely used by educators nationwide as a guide for the development of state-specific standards. Correlations between the Giraffe Heroes Program and individual state or local standards are done as needed.

2. In effective service-learning, students are engaged in tasks that challenge and stretch them cognitively and developmentally.

All editions—students follow a guide for implementing their service project which, for all editions but the 10-12, is called the Seven Neckbones. As the name implies, students must “stick their necks out” to complete their project, taking on significant cognitive and developmental challenges. The Seven Neckbones are:

1. Choose Your Project—students decide as a group what they care about, then choose a service project that helps meet that need. While the text guides the teacher to nudge the kids away from a project whose goals are completely out of reach, it also emphasizes that what kids can accomplish can be phenomenal, and that they should be encouraged to take on tasks that daunt them.

2. Create a Vision of the Results You Want—students learn to use their hearts as well as their heads in creating a vision of intended results they then use as a motivator and guide.

3. Study the Obstacles and Resources—students realistically assess what they are getting into.

4. Accept the Risks and Make the Commitment— students look hard at the risks of the project they’ve chosen. They understand that accepting those risks means taking on significant responsibilities, and that everybody will be depending on everybody else to get the job done.

5. Make a Plan—students learn the discipline and skills necessary to define goals and objectives, draw timelines and budgets, and assign responsibilities.

6. Take Action—students create and carry out a work schedule, including regular intervals for assessment, reflection and course corrections

7. Reflect, Celebrate and Begin Again—when they’ve finished, students do a final reflection of their work, celebrate their accomplishment, then start thinking of what they can take on next.

The Seven Neckbones for the K-2 edition are slightly different than those given above. The 10-12 edition doesn’t explicitly use the “Neckbone” structure but covers the same material in ways more suitable for older students.

3. In effective service-learning, assessment is used as a way to enhance student learning as well as to document and evaluate how well students have met content and skill standards. Assessment is integrated with instruction.

K-2, 3-5 and 6-9 (S1 and S2)—as a way of enhancing their understanding of heroic qualities, students assess their own candidates for heroes and Giraffes.

K-2, 3-5 and 6-9 (S3N6) and 10-12 (Ch. 6)—the class schedules regular assessment meetings to discuss implementation of their project as it is taking place, asking questions such as:

• Are the jobs easier or harder than you thought? Why?

• Is the work on each step going forward on schedule?

• Is everyone completing the steps they’ve taken responsibility for?

• If there are problems or delays, what help is needed?

• Are the obstacles and resources turning out as you expected?

• Have the risks been about what you expected?

• Is your vision too small? Too large? About right? Do you need to make any changes in your vision?

• Were the goals you set the right ones? Do any of them need to be adjusted? New ones added?

K-2 (S1L1 and onward)—making a scrapbook provides another basis for assessment, as do:

3-5 (S1L1 and onward)—keeping a journal; and

3-5 and 6-9 (S3)—recording service project actions and reflections in a Class Project Scrapbook.

Cluster II: Service

4. Students are engaged in service tasks that have clear goals, meet genuine needs in the school or community, and have significant consequences for themselves and others.

K-2 (S3N4), 3-5 and 6-9 (S3N2) and 10-12 (Ch. 2)— students learn to create a vision of intended results, and use it as a consistent guide for the more detailed planning that follows.

K-2, 3-5 and 6-9 (S3N5) and 10-12 (Ch. 6)—students create plans for their service project. While the level of plan detail and complexity varies with the age of the students, all editions teach students how to establish clear goals, then to break those goals down into more detailed steps and tasks. Students learn to establish timelines for each component of their plan, and to assign and accept responsibilities for carrying out each part of the action. They meet regularly to assess progress, reflect and make any necessary course corrections.

All editions—through visits, research, brainstorming and discussion, students carefully assess needs in their communities (or beyond), then meet to discuss and decide what they care enough about to serve as the basis for a class service project. When they do pick an issue they care most about, and a project to work on, the choices reflect considerable thought and the conviction that what they are about to do meets genuine needs in the community, and has significant consequences for themselves and for the people they will be working with.

In preparing for and carrying out their project, students reflect on what service means to them, and deepen personal qualities of courage, responsibility, self-esteem and caring for others.

5. Effective service-learning employs formative and summative evaluation in a systematic evaluation of the service effort and its outcome.

All editions—pre and post-use questionnaires are available.

As a final step in their service project, students meet to assess the entire effort. How did their actual results compare with their original vision for the project? What did they learn about their class? About their community? About themselves? What did they do they thought they couldn’t do? What scared them, and how did they handle that fear? What surprised them? What would they do differently next time? Students are invited to write a summary of what they’ve accomplished and send it to the Giraffe Project, so that other groups and classes might learn from it.

Cluster III: Critical Components That Support Learning and Service

6. Effective service-learning seeks to maximize student voice in selecting, designing, implementing and evaluating the service project.

All editions—students decide what they care most about as the basis for a service project, then they decide on and design the specific project they will tackle. This gives them, when they reach their goal, a sense of responsibility, accountability and satisfaction they wouldn’t have if they were simply told what project to take on.

The service project itself is not the main objective; what the Giraffe Heroes Program seeks to do—what has breadth and staying power—is to build students’ confidence and capacity for making self-directed choices that change their world for the better.

When kids choose their own service project— something that helps meet a need they’ve identified—and are responsible for assessing their own progress, they put a lot more energy and commitment into it, and the lessons they learn and the sense of satisfaction they gain are greater than if they’re simply told to show up at the soup kitchen at 6:00.

Throughout the Giraffe Heroes Program students are repeatedly given opportunities to make choices about their actions, helping them become committed to their service project. It becomes their work, not an arbitrary assignment, and they become determined to achieve the goals they set.

Especially for the older students in the Giraffe Heroes Program, the teacher becomes more a coach and facilitator, guiding students as they explore the nature of heroes and heroic qualities, and offering suggestions and general guidance—but not controlling authority—as they decide on the issues they care most about and then choose the service projects they think will best meet those needs.

In the K-2, 3-5 and 6-9 editions, the guidance for this task is given in an Introductory section and by suggestions throughout each Teaching Guide. The 10-12 Resource Guide provides the same kind of guidance for those working with older students. Six-hour trainings in implementing the Giraffe Heroes Program are available from our website www.giraffe.org/ed_cor.html

7. Effective service-learning values diversity through its participants, its practice and its outcomes.

K-2 (S3N1-3), 3-5 and 6-9 (S3N1) and 10-12 (Ch.2)— learning to value others’ points of view.

10-12 (Ch. 9)—learning how to find common ground.

All editions—the Giraffe-heroes whose stories appear throughout the Giraffe Heroes program represent a wide range of racial, ethnic and economic and social backgrounds. For stories specifically on diversity issues, see:

K-2—Giraffe stories on pp. G15 and G45

3-5—Giraffe stories on pp. 89, 95, 106, 113 and 133.

6-9—Giraffe stories on pp. 89, 117.

10-12—Giraffe stories on pp. 9 and 150.

8. Effective service-learning promotes communication and interaction with the community, and encourages partnerships and collaboration.

8-A. Teachers and students are knowledgeable about community resources.

Contact with community resources or partners is cultivated.

All editions—the Giraffe Heroes Program focuses on the impact individuals and groups can have on communities and the wider world and shows students how to have that impact.

K-2 (S3N2-3), 3-5 and 6-9 (S3N3) and 10-12 (Ch. 6)— identifying resources in the community as a key part of initial research for a service project. Students also determine who else might be working on the same problem, and, if so, what their results have been and whether joining forces might make sense.

8-B. Communication, clear roles and outcomes are established among partners.

8-C. Students establish effective contacts with the community

K-2, 3-5 and 6-9 (S3) and 10-12 (Ch. 6)—students

create a detailed plan for their service project, in which tasks, roles and responsibilities for each participant and partner are clearly identified. In carrying out their project, students may develop partnerships in the community. Students meet regularly to assess the progress of their project, to share observations and feelings and to improve communications as necessary.

3-5 (S2L4) and 6-9 (S2L2)—learning interview techniques.

3-5 and 6-9 (S3N6)—writing press releases.

10-12 (Ch. 8)—dealing effectively with all forms of media, including creating media strategies, writing press releases, creating visual displays, and giving interviews and other public presentations; (Ch. 9)—students learn to negotiate, resolve conflicts and find common ground; (Ch. 12)—political persuasion and lobbying.

9-A. Students gain a clear understanding of task and role.

9-B. Students gain the skills and information required by the task.

K-2, 3-5 and 6-9 (S3) and 10-12 (Ch. 3)—students create a clear, concrete vision of the results they want for their project.

K-2, 3-5 and 6-9 (S3) and 10-12 (Ch. 6)—students create a detailed plan for their service project, in which tasks, roles and responsibilities for each participant and partner are clearly identified.

All editions—in the course of implementing their service project, students learn and practice the skills they need to succeed at it, including writing, researching, reading, communicating through the visual arts, listening, speaking, brainstorming, thinking critically and making decisions, taking responsibility, setting and managing goals, making and carrying out plans, assessing risks, solving problems, persisting, working with others and resolving conflicts. They learn the importance of public participation, and of honoring diverse views. Older students may learn and practice the formation of public policy, working with media, leadership skills, and the assessment of competing ideas and rights in a democracy.

9-C. Students gain an awareness of necessary safety precautions.

9-D. Students gain knowledge about and sensitivity to the people with whom they will be working.

The 10-12 edition includes explicit skill-building chapters on taking responsibility and making decisions (Ch. 7); communicating and dealing with the media (Ch. 8); negotiating, resolving conflict and finding common ground (Ch. 9); and leading (Ch. 10-11).

K-2 (S3N2-5); 3-5 and 6-9 (S3N3-5)) and 10-12 (Ch. 6)—as part of assessing risks and obstacles and

forming a plan, students research, become aware of, and implement necessary safety precautions.

K-2 (S3N2-5); 3-5 and 6-9 (S3N3-5)) and 10-12 (Ch. 6)—as part of their basic research prior to starting work on a service project, students assess community resources and obstacles, as well as the general public environment in which they will be working. Before and during implementation of their project, they become aware of, and take into account, community attitudes and sensitivities, especially those that might be directly affected by their project.

10-A. Reflection occurs before, during and after service.

All editions—reflection is a core, consistent component of the Giraffe Heroes program. Students first reflect on heroes and heroic qualities—then on those qualities in themselves. In carrying out a service project, students observe and evaluate their actions and feelings and connect them with results. As they reflect on choices made or not made, and on the meaningfulness of their actions—they gain lessons that will serve them throughout their lives. As they analyze what works and what doesn’t, they become more adept at avoiding and solving problems, and at improving their performance in the future.

K-2, 3-5 and 6-9 (S3) and 10-12 (entire book)—before starting a service project, students reflect on what they care about, and on what specific problems concern them most in their community. During the course of their service project, they meet regularly to assess progress, and to reflect on their service experience.

K-2, 3-5 and 6-9 (S3N7); 10-12 (Ch. 12)—the final stage of the service project is to reflect, celebrate and plan next steps.

10-B. Multiple methods of reflection are used and all participants engage in reflection.

10-C. Reflection encourages critical thinking, and is a central force in the design and fulfillment of curricular objectives.

3-5 and 6-9—Reflection Questions follow every section.

K-2 and 10-12—Reflection Questions appear throughout the text.

3-5 (S2L6) and 6-9 (S2L4)—“What Would You Do?” prompts reflection on personal qualities and priorities.

3-5 and 6-9 (S3N1)—taking an “awareness walk” through their community helps students determine what they care about.

K-2, 3-5 and 6-9 (S1 and S2)—every story of a “Giraffe” hero is accompanied by reflection questions.

K-2 (S1L1 and onward)—making a reflection scrapbook; (S1) Ideas for Reflection; (S2L1) Multimedia ideas for reflection.

3-5 (S1L4) and 6-9 (Resource Section)—Multimedia Presentation Ideas prompt reflection.

3-5 (S1L1 and onward)—keeping a journal.

3-5 and 6-9 (S1 and S2)—making a Giraffe Bulletin Board as a prompt for reflecting on heroic qualities; (S1L4) answering “Questions About Giraffes” deepens student reflection on heroic qualities; (S3N6)—“What Happens if We Fail?” sheet helps students explore the nature of success and failure; (S3)—recording actions and reflections in carrying out their service project in a Class Project Scrapbook.

All editions—students learn and reflect that “sticking their necks out” to help solve public problems not only helps solve the problems, but also makes them feel competent and valued. They focus on the impact individuals and groups can have on communities. In carrying out a service project students regularly assess their progress, and reflect on what they’re doing. See the correlation to Standard #3, above.

Throughout the Giraffe Heroes Program, systematic reflection encourages the exercise of logic and reasoning, hypothesis testing and inquiry, presenting an argument, brainstorming, analysis and synthesis, identifying similarities and differences, and solving problems.

K-2 (S2); 3-5 and 6-9 (S1 and S2)—reflecting on heroes and heroic qualities and on finding those qualities in themselves.

3-5 and 6-9 (S3N6)—reflecting on the role of risk.

K-2 (S3N1, 2 and 3); 3-5 and 6-9 (S3N1) and

10-12 (Ch. 2)—choosing an issue and a project, and reflecting on the choice.

3-5, and 6-9 (S3), and 10-12 (entire book)—depending on the type of service project they choose, students may assess public policies that effect the problem they see, learn how such policies are formed, and even challenge them. Students may also assess challenges to the rights of themselves or others, and evaluate conflicts among rights.

K-2 (S3N6) and 3-5 and 6-9 (S3N4, 6)— reflecting on, and making a commitment.

10-12 (Ch. 1)—examining what creates a meaningful life; (Ch. 5)—reflecting on courage and risktaking; (Ch. 7)—reflecting on taking responsibility and making decisions; (Ch. 10 and 11)—reflecting on leadership and on the qualities of leaders.

11. Multiple methods are designed to acknowledge, celebrate and further validate students’ service work.

All editions—in the Giraffe Heroes Program, the public has opportunities to recognize the positive contributions of youth to the community, and to gain a deeper respect for what young people can do. And when kids design and implement a service project outside the class, especially one they’ve chosen themselves, they not only create community among themselves, they become stakeholders in the larger community; they learn to care about what happens there. They become part of the civic core who care about the common good.

The Giraffe Heroes Program can bring the larger community into the school. Community volunteers can, for example, share their own experiences of service and citizenship with students; work with the students in carrying out the service project, and honor them and celebrate with them when their project has been completed.

K-2, 3-5 and 6-9 (S3N7)—the final stage of the service project is to “Reflect, Celebrate and Plan Next Steps.” Includes materials for planning a celebration, making displays, inviting guests and giving presentations.

K-2 (S1L1 and onward)—making a scrapbook.

3-5 (S1L1 and onward)—keeping a journal.

K-2 (S2L1); 3-5 (S1L4) and 6-9 (Resource Section)—Multimedia Ideas help students record and validate their work.

3-5 and 6-9 (S1 and S2)—making a Giraffe Bulletin Board allows students to keep a running account of what they are learning and doing.

3-5 and 6-9 (S3)—recording service project actions and reflections in a Class Project Scrapbook.