A Gift That Keeps on Giving

by Jo Anna Kloster,
Baird Elementary School
Green Bay, Wisconsin

This story originates at Baird Elementary school in Green Bay, WI.  School demographics: mostly middle/working class Caucasian, but with growing diversity as we have an ESL teacher part of the time for our expanding Hispanic and Hmong (who are a group of people near Laos and Vietnam) population.  This is my second year at Baird.  Prior to this position I have taught in Green Bay in specialized positions: Special Education Resource Room instructor and Reading Recovery one-on-one teaching.  Last year was the first time I was a full-day general education classroom teacher.

Ever since I entered teaching my goal has been to inspire students to recognize that they can make a difference in the world.  I strive to create real world experiences that allow my students to use their learning in new and exciting ways.  Since my school district is implementing the TRIBES process of cooperative learning, I am also seeking to promote projects that encourage students to lift each other’s learning as they undertake cooperative group work.   Last year, my class of 21 first and second graders and I embarked on a project that grew exponentially as it took us to new and wonderful arenas of learning through the TRIBES cooperative learning process. 

During November’s social studies lessons, we explored the theme of giving thanks.  Then, right before Thanksgiving, we read Beatrice’s Goat, about a little Ugandan girl and the gift of a goat her family received anonymously from Heifer International that lifted her family from poverty and malnutrition.  She was even able to attend school.  The students were very moved by the story and how Beatrice was able to pass on the gift of her goat’s offspring to another family in need.  The students jumped at my initial challenge to “make a difference” and help another family, with their emphatic, “Yes, we want to help too!”  They earnestly wanted the opportunity to give a gift that keeps on giving.

 But where to begin?   I had wanted to undertake a service learning project through Heifer International since first learning about their mission to lift people from hunger and poverty by providing indigenous animals and training to raise them successfully.  I decided to let the children figure out how to obtain the goat.  After discussing ideas for ways to raise money to purchase a goat, the students decided they needed to make posters, “just like the magazines and newspaper ads that get people to buy stuff”. Together, we studied the advertising copy and learned whether the ads were telling us or asking us to buy something. Students learned persuasive writing from the advertisements we studied (and hopefully they will use this new learning when being courted by unscrupulous cigarette or alcohol ads that target young people). Then we made two large charts and brainstormed sentences to be used on their posters that either told their audience why they should donate  or asked them if they knew about world poverty  and then requested  them to give a little money to help.  I was amazed by the maturity of the writing and moved by the level of compassion in the advertisements they created.  Did you know you have the power to help was a common theme in the posters and proved a very effective message.   After completing the text for the posters, we worked with the art teacher in an interdisciplinary unit on creating effective graphic art that would border the text on the posters.  Ms. O’Malley taught the students about elements of design and how to create eye-catching posters.  Students learned about balance, complementary colors, effective use of capital letters and bolding to draw the eye to specific words of emphasis, and use of repetitive patterns and shapes.  During our gallery viewing of the posters, students got to appreciate each other’s work and tell what they felt was effective in the design and text. Students commented on how much they enjoyed working with a partner in their family message journals and were encouraged in this endeavor by their parents who commented how great it was that they were working together and could “learn from each other AND have fun at the same time.”  We proudly hung the posters to generate donations.

One day, while students were busy honing their persuasive writing and graphic arts skills they were also discussing the prospect of buying the goat.  Casually, one student brought up the aspect of what if, by asking, “What if we got enough money to buy more than a goat?  What’ll we do then?”  Suddenly, the classroom was a flurry of comments as students blurted out the animal they would like to see added to the original goat purchase.   As if my magic, challenge number two appeared.  I asked the children if they if they would like to share their message to help world hunger by performing a play for the entire school, thereby increasing their chances of bringing in more donations to purchase more animals for more families.  They met this challenge with the same enthusiasm with which they responded to Beatrice’s story, “YES!”, they yelled.  So once again, we brainstormed ideas and then created the script for our Reader’s Theatre performance, which was finalized into “The Gift That Keeps on Giving.”  Students used what they were learning in reader’s workshop to formulate the format for their play.  We would tell a “story” with props depicting the characters (millions of people), setting (the seven continents), problem (what natural resources were and that there is not enough for everyone’s needs), solution (give a little money so other’s may live better and be able to help others by passing on the gift), and author’s message (YOU have the power to change a life).  Students worked in teams to create props and posters with magazine pictures depicting the parts of their story. They checked each others work and helped each other complete this component like little elves working on Christmas gifts.  Teamwork was obvious as “This is fun” echoed around the room!

Practicing the play helped students learn public speaking skills such as adjusting the volume of their voice to accentuate specific points and pacing.  They also learned how the use of repeating phrases can emphasize their message.  After practicing the script in school, students then took it home to practice with parents, strengthening a home/school connection.  This element provided rich dialogue in the Family Message Journals as both students and parents commented on this endeavor that built empathy for others and awareness of the ripple effect possible when people choose to make a difference. “I’m glad you’re working to help others who are less fortunate.  This makes the world a better place for all”.

Prior to the school play, the class did two dress rehearsals with props for the upper grades which bolstered their confidence for the final performance.  Recognition of the growing “classroom community of learners” appeared during reflection time after the different activities the students were undertaking for their cause.  Students liked what they were creating with each other and felt moved to share these feelings.  For instance, “I like the way everyone is working together on our play” was a common statement heard during our Morning Circle time.  This was a direct outgrowth of using TRIBES cooperative learning strategies which always end with reflection time on the learning.  Other adults who worked with the students also recognized something was happening.  For instance, the art teacher exclaimed in an email to me not long after our poster making session, “Whatever you’re doing - keep doing it!     She elaborated on how the students take in what she says and digest it, think and reflect on it, and then dive in to her activities.  “They WANT to give a lot to their artistic expression.”  She was surprised by their energy at the end of the day especially for such young ones.   I believe this comes from the reflections we have been doing after lessons, which is grounded in brain research that states reflection time allows children to internalize and develop deeper comprehension of concepts. 

It seemed the whole school was following our fundraising campaign.  I had teachers, students, and parents commenting on our fundraiser.  In the teacher’s lounge during lunch one afternoon, Ms. Woeffle, one of the kindergarten teachers, excitedly relayed how her students were following our progress.  Every day her class stopped by our poster hanging near the office.  It was a big red thermometer charting the rising donations as they inched toward the top!  The kinders knew exactly what we were doing and were excited by the prospect of buying animals to help families have milk and make some extra money too.  Every day they checked the poster and when the red line reached a new animal on the poster, they would insert the name of the new animal that could now be purchased, “Now they can buy a ……!” 

On the day of the performance, the students presented their message to a packed house.  They were professional, mature and earnest as they presented their ‘story’ to the audience and asked them  to make a difference by donating to their Heifer Project.   Three weeks later, on money counting day, we had two parents help us practice our money counting skills as we gained an appreciation for people who work in banks.  It took us a long time to separate the money into coin and denomination categories and then add it all up.   We had generated $430.31!  The children were overwhelmed by the amount and couldn’t wait to see how many animals we could buy.   We voted on the animals we wanted to purchase and wrote a class letter to Heifer telling them how we raised the money and which animals we wanted.  We also wrote a public service announcement for our principal to read over the school PA system thanking all who helped us make our fundraiser a success.  During reflection circle after counting the money, their empathy was tangible.  One by one, each child excitedly told how happy he/she was about being able to help others who weren’t as fortunate as they.  “I hope that the animals we buy never stop helping the people” was the theme heard round the circle.

In my 15 years of teaching I have never undertaken a project that has affected me so profoundly.  Margaret Mead said, "Never underestimate the power of a small group of people to make a difference".  In this case, there's a twist - never underestimate the power of a group of small people, specifically first and second graders who have created a ripple effect of unknown proportions. This activity brought awareness to the children of how we are all connected in this web of life and how we have the power to make a difference in the world.  Along the way, they also learned some powerful lessons about what effective writing and speaking can do and how cooperative learning can lift each other to new heights as together we choose to make a difference in our world. 

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