Context:
This service learning project was created for CI 3110, Elementary Social Studies Methods, fall 2007, under the instruction of Dr. Claire Mamola.  The activity itself was conducted at Gamewell Elementary School, by a first grade class, under the guidance of Ms. Wendy Greene.  The activity is a service learning project, where my students created thank you cards for our Veterans on Veterans Day. 

Impact: 
The following North Carolina Standard Course of Study standards were met through the completion of this Service Learning Activity:

Grade 1 Social Studies:

Competency Goal 4: The learner will explain different celebrated holidays and special days in communities.
4.03 Recognize and describe the historical events associated with national holidays.
Competency Goal 2: The learner will identify and exhibit qualities of good citizenship in the classroom, school, and other social environments.
2.02  Identify the roles of leaders in the home, school, and community such as parents, mayor, police officers, principal, and teacher.

Grade 1 Language Arts:

Competency Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
4.06 Compose a variety of products (e.g., stories, journal entries, letters, response logs, simple poems, oral retellings) using a writing process.
Competency Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
5.02 Apply phonics to write independently, using temporary and/or conventional spelling.
5.05 Use basic capitalization and punctuation:
                   first word in a sentence.
                   proper names.
                   period to end declarative sentence.
 5.07 Use legible manuscript handwriting.

Alignment:

NCDPI Standards
Standard 4: Elementary teachers have a broad knowledge and understanding of the major concepts in social studies. 
Indicator 11: Teachers promote the basic principles of being a citizen as vital to the development of responsible members of society by promoting an understanding of character development, including: Responsibility, Integrity, Self-discipline, Caring, Respect, Perseverance, Courage, and Citizenship.
This standard was met through the cards that were created by my students as well as the discussion that went with it.  The children in my class learned the importance of being a soldier, as well as ways in which they could be a helpful part of society.  We talked about respect, in terms of both self and country. We also talked about personal responsiblity, and how the classroom was a perfect place to start. 

Standard 7 : Elementary teachers use developmentally appropriate strategies to design and deliver instruction in all areas of the elementary curriculum.
        Indicator 7: Teachers develop and use a variety of formal and alternative assessment strategies as an integral part of instruction and learning appropriate for assessing individual, peer, team, and collaborative skills.
This standard was met during the creation of the Thank You cards.  Before they began working on the cards, we had a discussion on what a Veteran was, why they were important, and what types of things we could talk about in our cards.  Each student turned in their cards.  The content in their cards had to be related to Veterans Day, which was the assessment that showed whether or not they had learned about Veterans.  They also were assessed on their language arts abilities.  Their sentences had to be puncuated correctly, and had to be in letter format.  They were also assessed, through use of the thank you card, to see if the picture that they drew matched their words.  This is another language arts skill that shows comprehension skills. 

Standard 8: Teachers design instructional programs and strategies that build on students’ experiences and existing language skills to help students become competent, effective users of language.
       Indicator 6: Teachers model Standard English
This standard was met, because as a demonstration of how to make a 'Thank You" card for the Veterans, I created one first.  I wrote it out, using an ELMO, to show my students the correct format of a letter.  I also showed them the correct way to spell words that would be common in their letters such as 'thank you', 'veteran', and 'country'. 

Standard 11: Elementary teachers connect social studies with the broad curriculum.
This standard was met, because the creation of Veterans Day thank you cards was in correlation with the first grade language arts curriculum.  When writing their letters, they had to follow a 'letter' format.  They also had to spell correctly words that could be spelled phonetically.  They had to use correct puncuation, primarily focusing on capitalization and periods. 

Standard 16: Elementary teachers develop as leaders in their schools and communities by staying informed about educational policy issues and supporting professional development. Elementary teachers participate in co-curricular activities, provide leadership in student and curriculum involvement, and connect these activities to the development of citizenship ideals in their students.
       Indicator 1: When developing as leaders in their schools and communities, elementary teachers involve students in activities outside the classroom.
This standard was met, because the cards that were created by my students were given to veterans from the community.  My students learned the importance of community, as well as ways that they themseleves, at just six and seven years old, can benefit those around them.  
       Indicator 7: Teachers encourage participation in civic and volunteer activities.
This standard was met, because rather than having my students simply learn about civic and volunteer activities, they were actually a part of one.  They were doing something to support the members of their community.