2018-19 Kids Action Team Program Commences
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December marked the commencement of the Service in Schools (SIS) Kids Action Team program. During session one, the participants learned about the foundations of service-learning and engaging techniques and activities for connecting service to academic learning. The Kids Action Team participants then went on to explore service-learning for elementary students.
In the coming weeks, participants will receive on-the-ground supports from the SIS team to develop investigations of community needs with their students and begin planning for action in their school and local communities. At the end of the year, the students will present their work at the Celebration of Service. We are looking forward to seeing how each Kids Action Team helps their communities!
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Service-Learning Institute Session 2
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This month, the Service-Learning Institute 2018-19 cohort met at the
Paley Center for Media
to explore media for use in service-learning investigations and to develop public service announcements (PSAs) of their own. Bekah Fisk, Education Director, showed the participants a wide variety of PSAs and tools for creating effective media campaigns with powerful messaging with their students. Each educator left ready to harness the power of media to change the world! The SIS team would like to thank the Paley Center for hosting and facilitating a wonderful session.
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P.S. 46 Arthur Tappan, Manhattan
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Project Summary:
Social studies and writing teacher Ms. Angela Soto’s grade 5 homeroom is developing a newspaper to spread awareness about social justice issues.
Investigation:
First, the students brainstormed issues they cared about and had seen in the news recently. They narrowed them down to pollution, insect and rodent infestation, violence, and maintenance problems in NYCHA buildings, and then small groups did action research on each topic. They are currently designing surveys and will interview experts to learn more. Soon, the students will work with their school librarian to use databases and dig deeper into each issue.
Preparation:
After winter break, the students will work together to write, edit, photograph, and publish their newspaper.
Action:
When the newspapers are published, the students will deliver them to students, teachers, parents, and local officials in the hopes that their articles can inspire action to fight insect and rodent infestation, violence, and pollution, and to bring attention to maintenance issues in NYCHA buildings.
Reflection:
At the beginning of this project, students created a thankfulness quilt to reflect on what they are grateful for and how their ideal society would look. This influenced their topic choices. Because this project is in progress, the students will continue reflecting throughout the service-learning process and on the impact of the finished project this winter.
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Current and Upcoming Opportunities
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MLK Day of Service
Opportunity for grades K-12
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IndyKids Kid Reporter Camp
Workshop Registration Deadline: Tuesday, January 8, for students ages 9-14
IndyKids
is a newspaper written by and for kids. Available in print and online, IndyKids engages youth in current events and social justice issues. As part of the IndyKids Kid Reporter Program, writers ages 9-14 work one-on-one with media professionals to pitch, research, write, edit, and submit news and feature articles, book or movie reviews, and more. The newspaper is then distributed and read in classrooms and libraries nationwide. Each issue is paired with a free Teacher’s Guide full of lessons and activities specific to the articles in that issue. Email
workshops@indykids.org
to register for the
Kids Report Program workshops
and
find out how to get IndyKids delivered to you
.
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Getting Smart
Online Resources for Educators
Getting Smart
is a community for news, stories, and leadership on innovations in learning and teaching. This website features a blog written by and for education professionals and offers information on youth empowerment and engaging teaching. One of our favorite articles on the site is “Service Learning: Think Global, Act Local” by Michael Niehoff. This article is a case study on how service-learning can bring people together despite differences in cultures and abilities.
Read the article
and browse Getting Smart’s other resources today.
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EarthEcho Action Guides
Action Guides for Educators
EarthEcho International
provides high-quality educator resources to inspire middle and high school students to take action now for a sustainable future. EarthEcho’s free resources range from EarthEcho Expeditions video resources that explore global environmental challenges to service-learning action guides that equip young people to explore and protect their local natural resources. Action guides are available on a variety of topics including storm water, waste stream, water quality, and more. These comprehensive guides, co-written with service-learning expert Cathryn Berger Kaye, not only incorporate best practices for service-learning but also satisfy Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards.
Access action guides and other resources
and direct questions to
education@earthecho.org
.
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Contact the Service in Schools Team
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Invite the Service in Schools team to visit your service project. We want to see your students and school community in action. Email the Service in Schools team at
ServiceinSchools@schools.nyc.gov
with two weeks’ notice, and we’ll schedule a visit to your school to learn about your project and see the impact you’re making on the community.
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Follow
@ServicenSchools
to receive program updates, upcoming service opportunities, resources, and more. We encourage students who use Twitter and are interested in service opportunities to follow us.
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Mission:
Service in Schools
strives to expand the number of NYC students engaged in transformative community service and service-learning experiences that enable them to use their voice, skills, and critical thinking to strengthen communities.
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