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Giraffe Club in the Classroom
You may think The Giraffe Club has something to do with the local zoo. In fact, this second grade social studies curriculum does include a study of this beautiful African animal, but has nothing to do with the zoo. The Giraffe Club unit of study is all about community service for young elementary students. How is the connection made between a giraffe and community service projects?
Second graders first listen to African legends about two giraffes, Moyo and Dafina. Each giraffe tells a different story of how their necks came to be so long. Moyo's story explains that when he was young all giraffes had short necks. The family needed protection from the enemy, a fast running cheetah. Moyo was the one giraffe brave enough to stretch his neck high above the savannah trees, in order to spot danger. He stuck out his neck to help others. This way giraffes evolved through the generations, all with long enough necks to protect themselves. You can hear the story online here: http://www.giraffe.org/stanandbeastory.html
This story sets the stage for many more stories, true to life today. Stories are all about being brave enough to stick out your neck to make the community and world a better place. Students hear about everyday heroes of today. Hazel Wolf, a Seattle woman, was in her 80's when she became a Giraffe hero for her work in improving the environment. The Giraffe Club, headquartered in Langley, Washington, honors heroes like Hazel once a year.
As students hear more inspiring stories, they are planning their own service projects, in order to qualify for a Giraffe Club award. They first must see a problem in their community. They learn to be brave enough to actually take action. As a culminating activity, they prepare a poster and present their story to their classmates and parents. We invite the principal to our celebration, making this a special time of recognition for work well done.
Here are some examples of typical second grade Giraffe projects: weed and plant a garden, build a bird house, visit nursing homes, collect clothes for the homeless, pick up trash on the roadside, raise money for charity via bake sales, and many more. One boy collected school supplies from his classmates which he packaged and sent all the way to Haiti. To explain the dire situation in schools of Haiti, he invited a family friend to show her slides taken while on a mission trip to this small country. Views of children walking miles and miles to school, which only lasts a few hours a day, made the need very clear to second graders. They generously gave a large quantity of basic school supplies to children who had few pencils and crayons.
In another project, a student and his two brothers performed a musical program for a local retirement home, 3 stringed instruments accompanied by mother on the piano. I was touched by the story of one girl. She played the piano and read a story at the nursing home where her great grandmother lived. One week later her great grandmother passed away. Another young Giraffe hero was featured in the local newspaper. He played his violin at the grocery store in order to collect money for the needy. All these students receive a Giraffe Club certificate and are heartily applauded at our classroom celebration. Hopefully this second grade project is the first of many more acts of giving throughout the school years and beyond.
In the 8 years I taught at Lakeridge Elementary School approximately 800 second grade students completed a service project. Similar numbers would be true at the two other elementary schools. One new requirement at the 8th grade level is to perform a certain number of community service hours. So, opportunities continue through the school years and beyond. Learning the value of giving back in our community has long term results that improve the lives of others world wide. It has been a great pleasure to help turn young students in this direction.
Marilyn Handeland was born and raised in the Seattle/Everett area, graduated from the University of Washington and began her teaching career in the Lake Washington School District. While her children were young she taught preschool and substituted for the Mercer Island Schools. Then, at the end of her career she returned to full time classroom teaching at Lakeridge Elementary on Mercer Island. Her experience has been in the primary grades; kindergarten through third grade. In June of 2003 she retired after 37 years teaching in the greater Seattle area.
© December 2003 New Horizons for Learning
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