Describes activities that can be adapted for students in elementary to high school grade levels that link teaching about local government to the concept of community and provide starting points for project ideas centering on the active involvement of students, teachers, and local government officials. (CMK)

Outlines approaches for student evaluation in service learning projects. Maintains that most service learning project participants' goals fall into three broad areas: civic development, academic achievement, and personal or social development. Assessment in these areas can be accomplished through tabulation of service hours, student journals, and…

Presents six service learning lesson plans from the Constitutional Rights Foundation. Each lesson plan represents a step in a larger service project. The plans include "Defining and Assessing Your Community"; "Choosing and Researching a Problem"; "Examining Policy"; "Exploring Options"; and "Taking…

Briefly describes a service-learning grant program and provides examples of elementary, middle, and high school projects awarded grants in 1996. Projects included efforts to educate the community about river pollution, multicultural murals, and a school activities news show. Includes application form and general guidelines and suggestions. (MJP)

Stresses the importance of experiential educators being prepared to teach environmental education to students in specific contexts. A model for urban African American students includes the introduction and selection of a relevant local environmental issue; teaching strategies to investigate the issue; and techniques for initiating environmental…

Presents four brief essays expressing the importance of combining service learning and citizenship education. Authors Benjamin Barber, Joan Schine, Harry C. Boyte, and James C. Kielsmeier stress the advantages of learning democratic concepts and principles, as well as understanding civic government, through student participation. (MJP)

Provides 11 guideposts for teachers and students planning constructive community action projects. These include avoid overanalysis at the beginning, write your original idea down before you modify it, ignore negativity, do your homework, build a core group, and recruit community allies. (MJP)

The Priority Country Area Program is a Rural Education Program funded by the Commonwealth Schools Commission and jointly administered by the Queensland (Australia) Department of Education and the Queensland Catholic Education Office. The program develops educational strategies to address problems engendered by the social and geographical nature of…

One of a series designed to help school arts support groups increase public commitment to their programs, this monograph addresses the concerns of local school boards in instituting or maintaining arts education. Content is divided into 10 sections that cover rationale for arts education, local problems of budgeting and cutbacks, obtaining backing…