K-16 Education: Curriculum, Tools, and Training

Curriculum

K-12

"Students Building Community" Service-Learning Curriculum

SOLV presents its new, updated Students Building Community curriculum, a comprehensive service-learning curriculum enabling students to meet Oregon Department of Education learning goals and outcomes in all content areas and Career-Related Learning as they benefit their community.

The curriculum consists of hundreds of suggested learning opportunities, organized according to six broad categories:

1. Planting
2. Birds & Butterflies
3. Construction
4. Around Your School
5. Streams and Ponds
6. The Restoration Process

Within each category, we present educational activities in each of the following content areas:

• the Arts
• Career-Related Learning
• English/Language Arts (Reading, Literature, Writing, Speaking and Listening)
• Health Education
• Mathematics
• Physical Education
• Science
• Second Languages
• Social Sciences (Civics and Government, Economics, Geography, History)
• Technology

All activities are individually aligned to related Oregon Department of Education CIM benchmarks and standards (K-12) across the content areas, and to the CAM Career-Related Learning standards. The Restoration Process unit further provides a comprehensive series of monitoring tools for student use in completing site assessments, vegetation and photo point monitoring of the selected restoration site.

The program is suitable for all grade levels. Two adapted versions of the curriculum meet the needs of Functional Living Skills and Life Skills students, by including appropriate modifications in activities and learning benchmarks.

SOLV introduces the curriculum with a free 4-hour workshop for teachers and potential community restoration partners. For more information, or to schedule a workshop that meets your school needs, please click here for more information regarding our service-learning training.

K-6

R Oregon

This step by step planning guide that helps elementary students plan and complete a service-learning project. Click here to view more information about R Oregon.

6-12

Make It Right

This step by step project planning guide helps middle and high school students plan and complete a service-learning project. Click here to view more information about Make It Right.

Tools

SOLV's Service-Learning Tools Series provides educators and students with all the "tools" they need to plan, implement, reflect upon and evaluate a good service-learning project. For your convenience, a number of these tools are posted on the right sidebar of this page, ready to download and use.

Training

SOLV has been acknowledged and recognized nationally for its leadership as a community partner in service-learning. Our service-learning training is endorsed and recommended by the Oregon Department of Education to introduce and support schools across the state in the strategy.

SOLV provides training:

1. For teachers, addressing:
   What is service-learning?
   How can I connect a service project to my curriculum?
   How can service-learning help my students meet Oregon’s new High School graduation requirements?
   How do I find community partners and members to help, and how to I build the partnerships?
   How can service-learning help my students become leaders?
2. For students, addressing:
   How can I plan and implement a successful project in my community?
   How can SOLV help me do my Senior Project or Extended Application?
   How can SOLV help me improve my leadership skills?
3. For community partners/members, addressing:
   How can students help meet the service needs of my organization or agency?
   How can I connect with schools?
   What do I need to know in order to be a good service-learning partner?

Youth Leadership (MS/HS)

SOLV’s Education program offers two Youth Leadership opportunities:

• Youth Leadership for Community Action:
  
  This 3-year pilot program sponsored by The Ford Family Foundation is a comprehensive leadership-through-service-learning program for youth in selected rural Oregon communities. Students collaborate throughout the process with adult community members, leading them through projects.
  
  

  Youth Leadership for Community Action is designed to help students satisfy all of the Oregon Department of Education high school diploma requirements, including the development of an Education Plan, an Extended Application, and the Career-Related Learning Standards.

• Youth Leadership Institute:
  
  Selected SOLV staff are certified Points of Light Foundation Youth Leadership Institute (PYLI) trainers. SOLV adapts this acclaimed national curriculum to accommodate the needs of both in-school and after-school groups, linking them to a variety of SOLV programs and projects.

For more information, or to schedule a training event for your school or community, please contact Susan Abravanel, SOLV's Education Director, susan@solv.org.