Building Character Through Community Service

What's In This Kit?
This training kit is designed to introduce teachers to the idea of service learning. It contains:

• Expected training outcomes
• Preparation instructions
• Training strategies and tips
• Implementation steps
• Follow-up activities for teachers
• Follow-up activities for administrators/directors
• A learning assessment
• A training evaluation/further needs assessment
• A resource list
• The article “Building Character Through Community Service” by Jenny Friedman
• A training certificate to award to teachers for attendance and participation
• A certificate for the trainer and other presenters

Who's the Target Audience?
The target audiences for this kit are beginning, intermediate, and advanced teachers. This kit will introduce teachers to the benefits of community service and suggest appropriate community service projects for young children.

Teacher Skill Level

beginning intermediate advanced

Children's Age Level

infants toddlers preschoolers school-agers birth to 8

Kit Timeline:
Preparation time for this kit is estimated at 1.5 hour. Implementation time is estimated at 1.5 hours.

Training Outcomes:

1. Teachers will describe the connections between community service and ethical development in young children.
2. Teachers will select an appropriate community service project to implement with children and families in their classrooms.
3. Teachers will identify the benefits of service learning to children’s educational experiences.
4. Teachers will choose community service project possibilities that emerge from their observations of children’s interests and concerns.

These training outcomes address the following professional standards:

• B7a, B-7b, and B-7h of the Accreditation Criteria and Procedures of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (naeyc, 1998).
• 1, 2, 4a, and 4d of NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation, Initial Licensure Level (naeyc, 2003).
• 1304.21(c)(1)(v-iv), 1304.40(a)(4-5), and 1304.40(g)(1-2) of Head Start Performance Standards (Federal Register, Nov. 5, 1996, Volume 61, Number 215).

Note: Downloadable PDFs are only available for download in pdf format. Directions for downloading follow immediately after purchase.