Students Encouraged to Give Back to Their Community
Southside Middle School 7th and 8th grade teachers have implemented a collaborative and cross-curricular program to encourage students to contribute to the growth and development of their community and begin life-long habits of philanthropy. Once each month, students from the 7th and 8th grade honors program at SMS meet with students in grades K-3 at Grissom Elementary School. SMS students assist Grissom classroom teachers with English, math, science, and social studies instruction. Grissom teachers assign SMS students specific activities and students to work with. SMS students help with small groups and individual students who can benefit from one-on-one interactions. After each visit, SMS students write a reflection on their progress at Grissom, highlights and challenges of the visit, and what they look forward to for the next visit.
This project was implemented at Southside to encourage students to give-back to their community. Many of our students come from Grissom Elementary School. The majority (89%) of our student population receives free or reduced lunch. Teachers felt a need to help students develop altruistic behaviors and value charitable giving, in ways that did not require a monetary donation from students. This project has enabled students to help younger students in the classroom and to see the benefits of making positive contributions to their community.
How this project was implemented:
- Dea Young, Principal of Grissom Elementary, met with SMS students to explain her expectations on procedures, behavior, dress, and confidentiality.
- SMS students were assigned to a Grissom classroom teacher. 7th graders were assigned to kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. 8th graders were assigned to 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms. 5-6 SMS students were assigned to each participating Grissom teacher. These groups remained consistent; the same SMS students visited the same Grissom classroom each month.
- Before Christmas break, SMS students invited Grissom students to Southside. Grissom students moved through 4 stations, each focusing on a holiday-themed activity in English, math, science and social studies. SMS students instructed the Grissom students at each station. The event ended with a visit from Santa and candy canes for the students.
- Looking forward to next year, 2016-2017, SMS teachers are considering how to incorporate general education students into the program, integrating iPads into classroom activities, and increasing collaboration with Grissom teachers regarding ways our students can be most beneficial in the classroom.
Challenges or Obstacles:
- Scheduling: Finding best times for SMS students to be most helpful at Grissom, while minimizing lost classroom time for the students at SMS.
- Teacher and Student Buy-In: Ensuring that both SMS and Grissom teachers and students understand the the value of participating in this program for both schools.
- Travel between Buildings: SMS and Grissom are a short (less than 5 minute) walk apart. This could be an obstacle if the distance between buildings were greater.
Benefits and Successes:
- Grissom students gained middle school role models and help in the classroom.
- Southside students gained experience in working with young children and volunteering to help their community.
- SMS Student Quotes:
“I thought that they would be wild and crazy and really short but I guess I was wrong. I can’t wait to go back.”
“I wish that we were able to do it more than once a moth because the kids could get to know us more better and feel more comfortable!”
“They told us that it was great having us and they will be glad to see us next time.”
Additional Information:
bsubestpracticesgrissomsouthsidepresentationSubmitted by: Miranda Pattison, Crystal Cooper, Lea Chinn, Taryn Beckman, and John Brendel, Southside Middle School and Grissom Elementary School