FAQ #3

Q- Is there a role for elementary school students?
Ans- Actually, Another Way has a role for everybody in the entire community. The participants in our first pilot project was San Carlos Charter School located in the Silicon Valley area of Northern California. The Foundation had designed the Another Way curriculum with high school students in mind but found that with minor adjustments and enthusiastic dedicated adults, most everything could be done by students in grades K- 8.

Q- How about kindergarten children specifically?
Ans- The Another Way lesson plans combine grades K-1-2. These students answer specially designed Exchange Proposal surveys. (Click here to view and print.) Later the information is returned to them as completed Exchange Proposals. They decorate their own Exchange Proposals and might also decorate the Proposals of others in order to free the older students to work on other aspects of the project. At the teachers' discretion, these students make posters and prepare presentations.

Q- Many students this young don't know how to read and write. How would they handle the surveys?
Ans-Older students, at a teacher's request, assist the teacher in administering the surveys to the youngest students who may not yet know how to read and write. Teaching is a marvelous way to learn and this is a lesson in cooperation for both age groups.

Q- How about third, fourth and fifth grade students?
Ans-- Grades 3-4-5 are in charge of Exchange Proposals. First they conduct class discussions re: what people truly want and what people are willing to do to get it. The Exchange Proposals provide thought for class discussion. They may be customized to your school within certain parameters. You will soon be able to click here for optional lesson plans.

Next each student answers the questions posed in the Exchange Proposal surveys and then visits other classrooms and distributes and collects the completed surveys. These students would, as stated earlier, at a teacher's request, assist the teacher in administering the polls to the youngest students who may not know how to read and write.

Then the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade students tally and analyze the polls and following the examples provided by the Singer Foundation, they develop an Exchange Proposal page for each student. They print out the new pages and once again visit classrooms and distribute the newly constructed Exchange Proposals.

The final step for these 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade students is to collect the decorated exchange proposals and scan them into the computer and email them as an attached document to the Singer Foundation.

We are certain there are students, teachers or parents at your school capable of carrying out these instructions while including your students. If not, the Foundation will figure out a way to help. If you are unfamiliar with these steps, please do not be put off. A nine year old can handle it.

Q- I have too much to crowd into a day as it is. How much time do these activities require?
Ans- The estimated classroom time needed for every student in the school to complete a survey is one half to one full hour, depending on whether the classroom teacher elects to have a class discussion or just administer the surveys. Students devote between 15 minutes and a half hour of their art time to decorate their own exchange proposal, or could leave this to the youngest students.

The analysis of the surveys depends on the ratio of other students to the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade students. Assuming all grades in the school have the same number of students, each 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade student would have his own and two other student surveys to work on plus ten adult surveys. The organization and write up is estimated to take a minimum of two weeks of class time. On the other hand, this could well be an ongoing semester-long project. The limiting factor, especially for elementary students, is access to computers to input the data and typing skills. Perhaps teaming up with computer classes or cooperating with older students or volunteer adults or ?? Schools vary. One thing is certain, the experience will give participants an unbeatable sense of accomplishment.

There is no doubt this project was created with high school students in mind. With some creative maneuvering, elementary students can handle it (as enthusiastic adults at Charter School in San Carlos assured us) but there has to be adult commitment to pull it off-----no doubt about it!

Q- That leaves what for the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade students to do?
Ans- Grades 6-7 are in charge of adult Exchange Proposals while eighth grade students work with the nonprofit organizations in your community. Class discussions center around ways to work with nonprofit organizations. Teachers lead students to the realization that first you have to know something about them. Optional lesson plan

Q- Let's go back to the adult surveys. How is this handled?
Ans- The 6^thand 7^th grade students use the same material as grades 3, 4 and 5 for class discussion. They also need to discover what people truly want and what people are willing to do to get it. Of course the emphasis is on adult reactions.
Optional lesson plan

As a homework assignment, each student surveys ten adults using the form provided by the Foundation. They might be family members, neighbors, or other family or school contacts. Students follow the analysis procedure described above to construct the adult Exchange Proposals. and transfer the decorated pages to the Foundation.

The last responsibility of the 6^th and 7^th grade students is to list the combined wishes (student and adult) using the example provided by the foundation and to email this list to the Singer Foundation. They also transfer the decorated Exchange Proposals (which have been scanned into a computer) as email attachments.

Q- Don't tell me---as creative adults we'll figure out the scanning and attachments or find somebody who can help. And the eighth grade?
Ans- We don't mean to minimize the obstacle of dealing with the unfamiliar, but please don't let technology stop you. These activities are becoming more user friendly all the time. It's like using an ATM machine for the first time. To adults, "first time" can be intimidating but kids encounter these "first times" everyday. As a teacher, who knows that better than you, right?

The eighth grade's task is to discover 50 to 100 local nonprofits (private and public). Students can often get information from city hall and/or the local chamber of commerce. Their task is to list these nonprofit organizations (1) all alphabetically, (2) private nonprofits alphabetically and(3) public nonprofits alphabetically. They are then to email all three lists to the Foundation.

Q- That sounds easy enough.
Ans- There's more. Now each eighth grade student adopts his or her own private or public operating nonprofit. (No grant making organizations.)

Q- I'm afraid to ask, but how about explaining "adopt"?
Ans-There's an orderly process, all right. As a group, students collaborate with the teacher in composing a form letter which explains the project. The what, why, how, when and who is discussed in the optional lesson plan with examples. Students should add a personalized paragraph explaining why he/she chose to initiate contact with a particular nonprofit. To speed things up, correspondence should be via email whenever possible, but surface mail works too. Of course it depends on the size of your community, but we have found that a student should make initial contact with at least ten organizations in order to establish a potential working relationship with one.

Q- That's it?
Ans- Not quite. Each student follows up the written correspondence with a phone call asking how the organization prefers to answer the proposed survey---suggest email, phone or a personal visit to the school. Specify an early deadline. Some organizations may decline and the student will have to make another selection.

Each student administers the nonprofit survey to at least ten organizations in order to locate one that sounds interesting and will also give the student some time. Using the information obtained from the surveys (and examples provided by the Singer Foundation) each student prepares the organization's wish list descriptions for an Organization Page.

Q- If I remember correctly, Organization pages contain job opportunities also.
Ans- That's right. Here's where creativity comes in and young people get a chance to shine!

Students and teacher conduct brainstorming sessions. Each student reads a list of twenty-five new jobs to the entire class and gets feedback. Optional Lesson Plan

Students send personal thank you letters to those organizations that responded to the surveys. The letter should include a draft of the organization's wishes and job opportunities suggested by the student and end by asking for a second meeting via phone or in person to collaborate on creating 25 actual jobs for the organization page.

Once the nonprofit agrees to the 25 new proposed job opportunities, the student refines the Organization Page and submits it for final approval.

The final step is to thank the nonprofit, of course, and email the completed organization page, and separate list of wishes by number, to the Singer Foundation.

Q- What about the rewards?
Ans-Contacting potential donors is not a job for eighth grade students. We have a program for high school students which will help them develop the poise and confidence potential employers prize so highly. Remember, if you are one of the six pilot projects, the Singer Foundation will fund many of the wishes automatically.

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