ABSTRACT
Students used a compass trail to show how they could perform service to their school. When students performed service learning, they completed a real task that was needed for a grateful audience conjoined with academic content in the lesson. Students worked on the school grounds and used content from their regular curriculum while looking for real-life connections to academic applications. Students became involved in real projects that they found meaningful while making contributions to the community. Students learned about geographic tools and used those tools to accomplish their service projects. The students realized that the experience was real from their preparations, through the execution of the project, and the formative evaluation.
KEYWORDS:
Notes
1. National Council for the Social Studies, National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: A Framework for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (Silver Springs, MD: NCSS, Citation2010).
2. National Council for the Social Studies, The College, Career & Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K–12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Springs, MD: NCSS, Citation2013).
3. National Youth Leadership Council, http://nylc.org/standards/.
4. Fredrick Isele, Ed.D. personal correspondence.
5. Fredrick Isele, Ed.D., personal correspondence.
6. Rosalyn Lenhoff and Lynn Huber, “Young Children Make Maps!” Young Children 55, no. 5 (September Citation2000): 6–12.
7. Debra Sension-Hall, “Compass Games: An Introduction to Orienteering Skills,” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 82, no. 1 (Citation2011): 16–22.
8. Steven A. Henness, Anna L. Ball, and Mary Jo Moncheski, “A Community Development Approach to Service-Learning: Building Social Capital between Rural Youth and Adults,” New Directions for Youth Development no. 138 (Citation2013): 75–95.
9. Kathy R. Fox, “Children Making a Difference: Developing Awareness of Poverty through Service Learning,” Social Studies 101, no. 1 (Citation2010): 1–9.
10. Debby Chessin, Virginia J. Moore, and Becky Theobald, “Exploring Civic Practices and Service Learning through School-Wide Recycling,” Social Studies and the Young Learner 24, no. 2 (Citation2011): 23–27.
11. Sam Steen, Adele Logan O'Keefe, Dana Griffin, and Katherine Routzahn, “Service-Learning and Classroom Guidance: A Program for Elementary Students,” Journal of School Counseling 10, no. 2 (Citation2012): 3–29.
12. Susan Gonsalves, “Connecting Curriculum with Community,” Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review 76, no. 6 (Citation2011): 56–59.
13. Stephanie Serriere, Lori McGarry, David Fuente, and Dana Mitra, “How Service-Learning Can Ignite Thinking,” Social Studies and the Young Learner 24, no. 4 (Citation2012): 6–10.
14. Carol C. Warren, “From Geography Action to Civic Engagement: The Mesa Grande Ruins,” Social Studies and the Young Learner 24, no. 3 (Citation2012): 8–10.
15. Shelley H. Billig, “Support for K–12 Service-Learning Practice: A Brief Review of the Research,” Educational Horizons 80, no. 4 (Summer Citation2002): 184–89.
16. Peter Anthamatten, “Spatial Thinking Concepts in Early Grade-Level Geography Standards,” Journal of Geography 109, no. 5 (Citation2010): 169–80.
17. Margaret Smith Crocco and Michael P. Marino, “Investigating a Neighborhood: An Activity Using the C3 Framework,” Social Studies and the Young Learner 27, no. 1 (Citation2014): 19–24.
18. Rickie Longfellow, “Back in Time: National Road,” U.S. Department of Transportation, Citation2013, http://www.bestoftheroad.com/roadtrip/historic-national-road-indiana/876.
19. United States Department of Agriculture, “Tulip Poplar,” http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_litu.pdf.