Showing Hope

One of my goals in teaching has always been to give every child a sense that they are making a difference. This will be my third year that my students will donate to the following charities: Tom's Shoes, Central Asia Institute, Heifer, and BloodWaterMission. What I have discovered in my class is that all kids can learn to be giving, and not surprising is that the poorest students are often the most charitable. I believe it is those with little that can most relate with those that have even less. The way my students have been giving to the first three organizations is by earning money through spelling. Here is a brief layout of how it works (WARNING: This will cost you! It's worth it though!)
1. My class has a weekly spelling list of 15 words.
2. At the end of each week the students are tested on SpellingCity.
3. After all the tests are done and printed, I then give three oral bonus words.
4. These bonus words are usually connected to other things we are learning in class. The bonus words are used to replace any word they have wrong. (Example: -1 Spelling Word + 1 Correct Bonus Word= 100%). Anything correct bonus words over 100% are banked (I keep a list with a running record for each kid).
5. Anytime a student reaches 10 saved bonus words, they are given $5 to donate to one of the first three charities. We keep a graph in the room that shows the goals we are working towards. ($55 for Toms, $120 to buy a goat from Heifer, and CAI is an open goal).
6. When we reach a goal, we send the money out and usually get back a certificate. The kids love it, and it gives legs to their knowledge.

The other organization, BloodWaterMission is collected by keeping a big empty water jug in our room all year that the kids can toss money into. It usually collects about $140 dollars over the school year. ($1 = 1 year of water for 1 African. Astonishing Fact!) We also tried putting the jug in the hall this past year to get the rest of the school involved. This year we will be looking for new ways to get more school involvement.

I also found some Toms videos, read some books related to giving a goat (Beatrice's Goat, Give a Goat), and read Listen to the Wind to my students. The more ways you connect the kids to resources, people, and other classes, the more the kids will take ownership.

Feel free to adapt and improve. Find what works with your students and let them run with it. If you already are doing something that connects your students with giving, please share.

Keep Showing Hope!