Title of Project: Changes Over Time

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Time Frame: March – May

Contributed by: Barb Freiermuth & Kelly Durden; Ft. Wright Elementary; Kenton County Schools

Overview/Description of Project: As a part of their regular curriculum, the students will be studying how things change over time. They will interview senior citizens from neighboring nursing homes to see how things today are different than when the residents grew up. They will then create visual aides with the information they gather and will deliver it to the nursing homes as a present. This Service Learning project will fulfill both inter-generational and socialization needs of the senior citizens.

Goals:

- To help students understand generations, and the elderly.

- To solidify the concept of how things change and alter over time.

- Develop better communication skills.

- To develop cooperative classroom behaviors.

- To help students learn the importance of using what they have learned to teach others and to provide a service

Core Content Areas:

-RD-E 1.2: Discuss informational text on topics related to time changes, eras, inventions, etc.

-SS-E 2.16, 2.17: Learning about different problems in society and the values of helping the elderly

-SS-E 2.20: Interviewing senior citizens about events in their lives, which relate to what the students are studying.

-A&H-E 1.13, 2.22, 2.23, 2.24: Visual art through the poster/book created for the nursing home.

-PL/VS-E 2.29: Practical application knowledge through visiting the nursing home and understanding different age groups.

Step 1: Preparation/Planning

-Students have been studying history through literature and discussion to understand and changes over time.

-Students will discuss age and the differences between the elderly and children.

-Students will have a lesson on what Service Learning is, why and how to do it, and understanding how their project is service learning.

-Prior to interviewing the residents, the students will be going to the nursing home to do crafts in order to “get to know” the senior citizens and to get comfortable in the environment.

-Students will prepare questions with the help of the 5th graders, teachers, and parents.

Step 2: Action

-Students will be going to the nursing home to interview the senior citizens with the help of 5th graders and teachers.

-With the information from the interview they will create a poster/book including all the changes they have learned about.

-This poster/book will be presented to the nursing home to display in the common area.

Step 3: Reflection

-Throughout the project, students will be discussing what they’ve learned, how the project has benefited them, how future projects can be implemented smoothly, etc. These will be shared with peers, teachers, and facilitators.

Step 4: Celebration

-While presenting the poster/book to the nursing home, there will be a party to celebrate the students actions and to thank the residents for participating.