Whitman-Hanson’s
Interdisciplinary
Service-Learning
Garden Project
Step 1: Define Service-Learning
 What
Is It Game?
 “Sally” Citizen
Activity

Connecting
Service-Learning
with Citizenship
& 21st Century
Skills
Step 2: Discover Needs & Problems
 Watched
documentaries
 Informational games
 Reading news articles
Step 3: Investigate the Problems
 Problem:

Affordable, Healthy Food/Produce
Visits to Whitman and Hanson Food Pantries to
learn about local need
Step 3: Investigate the Problems
 Problem:
Affordable, Healthy Food/Produce
 Investigating the problem KWL/Explore the
problem
 Holly Hill Farm (Cohasset)
 Stonehill College Farm
 Grocery Shopping
Step 4: Research the Solutions
 Consider
potential solutions
 Comparing solutions
Step 5: Decide on a Project
 Decision
making matrix
 Discussion and voting
Step 6: Plan the Project
 Project
Description
Dear Mr. Szymaniak,
We are with the program of Growing for Good. It has come to our
attention that our local Whitman and Hanson food pantries are lacking
many necessities. We would like to hold a food drive the 2nd week of
September to collect food to donate to the food pantries for people in
need. We would like to run the food drive the 2nd week in September in
honor of September 11th. We feel that by doing this, we are helping our
community through service and showing respect to those who lost their
lives on September 11th, 2001.
If you let us do this fundraiser, it will be running from September 9th to
September 13th. We plan to have a competition between each seminar,
to see which seminar will collect the most pounds of food. At the end of
each seminar we will collect donated food and weigh it. The seminar that
donates the most pounds of food will win an ice cream social. This would
be great if you let us do this because we want to help people in need but
we can’t do it without your approval. Please contact Ms. Levesque with
any questions you may have.
Thank you,
Growing 4 Good
 Student
planning sheet
Step 7: Implement the Plan
 Prepare
and serve lunch
at Main Spring Homeless
Shelter for 180 people
Step 7: Implement the Plan
 Food
Drive that falls
on the week of
September 11th, to
honor the National
Day of Service

Preceded by PSA
Announcements on
Daily Live Newscast;
visits to student
seminars to educate
on the problem and
need
Step 8: Evaluate
 Mainspring

Student Reflections
 Food



House
Drive
Student Participation
KIDS Checklist for a Successful ServiceLearning Project
Assessing Your Service-Learning Practice
Cloud: Collaborative Environment
 Icebreakers
 Scavenger
Hunt
 Classroom Contract
Cloud: Curriculum,
Instruction & Assessment





Learning the water cycle and making displays to help comprehend the material
Using the garden with lecture to enrich the student’s understanding of
photosynthesis and cellular respiration
Discussing how genetics works for modifying the food and covered transcription,
translation and protein synthesis
Watching “Supersize Me” and discussing nutrition and really seeing how unhealthy
diet affects ones health followed by writing a 3 paragraph persuasive essay
Explained organic and non organic food
Cloud: Curriculum,
Instruction & Assessment
Prepared for ELA MCAS in the following
ways:
 Wrote expository essays
 Wrote persuasive essays
 Reviewed the writing process including
brainstorming, outlining, proofreading,
and creating final drafts
 Vocabulary review
 Reviewed how to organize writing
 Reviewed test taking skills
 Reviewed the MCAS grading rubric for
writing
 Took practice MCAS reading
comprehension test from previous years
Cloud: Curriculum,
Instruction & Assessment
Mean, Median, Mode, and Range
 Definitions review for mean,
median, mode, and range
 Organics variety offered at
competing local markets to find
mean, median, mode, and range
 Lipinski’s farm examples to
determine missing values and
means for crops per year
 Class participation problems on
charts (game)
 Followed up on concepts while
grocery shopping for serving lunch
at the homeless shelter
Cloud: Curriculum,
Instruction & Assessment
 Community-based
learning
 Define servicelearning
 Citizenship
 CSL Project
Cloud: Reflection

Mary Vallancourt I thought we
would have less contact, and
would not be able to “save” or
impact actual people at Main
Spring. I was surprised that so
many
people
looked
“normal”— like people you
would see at the grocery store
or mall. It was impressive to
think we only served one lunch
in
Brockton;
think
of
everywhere else and how
many people are impacted by
hunger.
Cloud: Reflection

Amanda Spaulding. There were
more people than I thought would
be at the homeless shelter in need
of lunch. I was nervous at first and
thought a lot of the stereotypes
we know would be obvious, but
people there knew each other,
seemed less embarrassed, and
definitely said thank you a lot to
us. I wish we learned more about
this at a younger age, like 4th
grade, so we could grow up with it
and make it a common part of our
lives. I hope we have a volunteer
or service “club” when we start
school in the fall. I’m glad we
have a garden at school, too.
Every bit helps!
Cloud: Reflection

Breanna LaGambina When we made
lunch, it was sad making the food
knowing it was going to people who are
hungry and don’t have enough, but I was
happy to know we were making lunch
and helping to make a difference. When
we packed the vans for lunch, I thought
there were so many sandwiches, but
when we arrived at the shelter, I didn’t
think it would be enough after seeing
everyone there. At the food pantry, even
though there is so much food, you don’t
see the connection to the people the
same way you do when you serve them a
meal. I have a greater appreciation for
the food pantry now that I served a meal
at the homeless shelter.
Cloud: Reflection

Marquis Williams-Breese At the end of
serving lunch, it was great to hear
everyone cheering, “W-H, W-H.”
The
program has definitely impacted my
habits. For example, we talked about
how we’re more aware of wasting food,
and only taking as much food at lunch as
we’re going to eat so we don’t throw
away the extra, but can save it for
another person or use.
Cloud: Public Relations
 Press
coverage of summer project
 Growing for Good Look Book- given
to administrators, will be presented
at school committee in the fall
Cloud: Celebration
 Ice
Cream Party
 Wiffle Ball Tournament/
Outside Time
 Blue Hills Field Trip