Weaver SeniorService-Learning Project

2011 - 2012

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.

~ Booker T. Washington

Weaver SeniorService-Learning Project

The three components of the WSSLP are as follows:

Service-Learning Project Research Paper Oral Presentation

These three components are designed to be a culmination of the entire high school experience and will reinforce and refine skills and qualities needed for the workplace and/or higher education.

The Service-Learning Project

An independent SLP will be selected by each student.

Volunteering for the SLP must be for a non-profit entity and/or must meet an established need in the community.

Jobs, court-mandated community service, internships, and job shadowing will not be considered as SLPs.

The SLP must be approved by the English teacher.

What is Service-Learning?

Service-Learning combines service to the community – local, state, national or international – with student learning in a way that improves both the student and the community.

Types of Service-Learning Projects

Many Service-Learning projects address community needs related to health, poverty, social issues, or the environment. These projects require that students become familiar with needs of the community and become actively involved in helping to meet these needs.

Types of Service-Learning Projects

A popular type of community-based activity involves partnering with a local non-profit organization or museum to document local history or culture through interviews, archival research, and photography. Projects like these connect the students more deeply to their communities and help the community at large to maintain a sense of history and identity.

Types of Service-Learning Projects

Service-Learning activities may also involve students helping other students through student mentoring and peer or cross age tutoring.  

Hours

A minimum of 20 hours of Service-Learning is required for the Weaver

Senior SLP.

Hours may also be eligible to be applied toward the Service-Learning Diploma and Awards. To do so, students must submit necessary forms to Mrs. Graves in counseling.

For Further Information

Service-Learning Opportunities

The Volunteer Center of Greensboro is an excellent resource. Please note that there are many volunteer opportunities Just for Teens. (Please click links.)

The Volunteer Center of Greensboro is also the first and only North Carolina affiliate of the international Youth Volunteer Corps of America (YVCA).

Benefits of Service-Learning

Helps foster civic responsibility; Is integrated into and enhances the academic

curriculum of the student; Provides structured time for the student to

reflect on the service experience; Blends a student's service and the school's

learning goals in a culminating project that enriches the community, school, and the student;

and finally…

Service-Learning provides authentic learning experiences in which the student learns and applies academic content and skills in a real-life context through which the student develops citizenship, responsibility, and many other positive character virtues.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself

in the service to others.

~Mahatma Gandhi

Getting Started

Service-Learning Planning Form Service-Learning Pre-Approval Form

These forms are found in the

Service-Learning Handbook

SLP Logs, Journals, and Final Reflective Response

SLP Logs verify dates and times spent volunteering and document the stages of Service-Learning.

Reflective Journal entries require the student to articulate what he/she has accomplished and/or learned. These entries demonstrate changing perceptions and growth of awareness.

Following the completion of the SLP, the student will write a five to six paragraph reflective essay.

The Research Paper

Each student will write a formal research paper. The paper will require students to develop and demonstrate proficiency in conducting research and writing proficiently about a chosen in-depth topic which is related to the SLP.

The English teacher will set parameters to guide the length, format, sources, writing style and other characteristics related to acceptable topic selection and research practices.

The Research Paper

The following skills will be taught and/or reinforced:

Evaluating sources Constructing and Supporting a Thesis Writing a Formal Outline Taking Notes Organizing and Developing an Argument Use of Proper Grammar and Punctuation Documenting Properly Using MLA format

SLP Connection to Research Topic

There must be a connection between the Research Paper and the Service-Learning Project.

For example, a student who volunteers at Haw River State Park might write a research paper about the effects of non-native invasive species of plants on the integrity of wetlands.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a serious offense punishable by law. There are personal, academic, and legal

consequences for plagiarism. Students will be taught and tested on exactly what

constitutes plagiarism. Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism

will result in NO CREDIT being given to those portions of the graduation project.

Please refer to http://plagiarism.org/

Oral Presentation

A formal student presentation which includes a PowerPoint Presentation on the volunteer experience and findings presented in the research paper will be required.

Students will present to their peers and invited guests and will be graded by the English teacher.

Grading

Each of the three components – Service-Learning (as verified by logs, journal entries and final reflection), Research Paper, and Presentation -- will be graded using a rubric.

The average of these three grades will constitute the Final Exam grade which counts 20% of the final grade for the course.

Who to Contact for Questions/Concerns/Support

Senior English Teachers – Joan Kimmel & Meredith Newlin

English Department Chairperson – Joan Kimmel

Service-Learning Diploma Coordinator – Mitzi Graves

Curriculum Facilitator – Tresha Layne

Click “Weaver Senior Service-Learning Project” on Weaver Academy home page, or click here to go directly to Weaver Senior Service-Learning Project web page.

You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give.

~Winston Churchill