Community Building & Development
Looking for project ideas? Browse or use the advanced search to find examples that meet your desired academic subjects, grade levels, project types, and keywords.
Tip: The grade levels and subjects listed are only our suggestions. With a bit of creativity, project examples can be adapted to meet the needs of different ages and curricular goals.
Students constructed computer systems from donated, out-of-date computer equipment to create a pool of systems that would be available for home use by students and families who do not own a computer. The program was designed to remove barriers that prevent families from having access to computer technology.
Sixth-graders identified an unmaintained area of land that had become a polluted eyesore. Their project started as a simple plan for tilling the land and planting wildflower seeds. When the students researched the history of the area, they discovered that the land was once a lake, which was drained nearly a century earlier. They felt that this background provided even more reasons to restore the area as a wildlife habitat.
Eighth-grade students in a language arts class chose relevant community issues, and created public service announcements to raise peer and public awareness. A group of six students focusing on teen pregnancy became immersed in the project and wrote, designed, and later participated in the production of a public service campaign for television and print.
To one 2nd-grade class, the study of endangered animals was a vague subject. A student-led fund-raising project in support of endangered animals brought the issue into focus.
After the pediatric wing in the local hospital closed, a class of kindergartners made the existing emergency room more child friendly. They changed the appearance of the emergency room to ease the anxieties many of them were experiencing, and wrote a book explaining emergency room procedures to children and their parents.
A local lake management organization asked high school students to help curb vandalism at a nearby lake and park. The student leaders organized a convention, conducted research, and produced a brochure on stopping vandalism.
What do students get when they transform an empty lot into a thriving outdoor space? A happy, reconnected community, ... and pride in a job well done.
One of the most important lessons a student can learn is how to stay safe. It's a skill he or she will use throughout life. Teachers of one special-needs class addressed safety with their students through academics, individual goals, and collective celebration.
For 4th and 5th graders involved in their school's production of " Annie " the musical was about much more than an orphan and her dog. It was a window into a past era and an opportunity to improve their own time.
School is an introduction to the greater world in so many ways, including how to bridge age and cultural differences. One group of 7th and 8th graders collaborated with 1st graders in an ongoing, multi-faceted project to do just that.
As an increasing amount of land is cleared for buildings and industry, birds are one of many species having a difficult time finding safe wintering areas. Fifth graders decided to help their feathered friends by creating a bird sanctuary outside their classrooms.
Playgrounds are an important part of a school. Where else can students not only blow off steam with healthy exercise but also enjoy some quiet time in the sunshine? So when 6th-grade students realized their playground wasn't meeting all their needs, they improved it.
When they reached 6th grade, students felt they had learned a lot about how to stay safe playing outside and being home alone. They wanted to use their knowledge to help others stay safe, so they created a safety pamphlet for their school's elderly neighbors.
Third graders decided they'd had enough of bullies on the bus. Enlisting the help of 5th graders, they worked with other students, school administrators, and bus company personnel to better understand the problem and implement solutions. As a result of the students' efforts, the number of bullying incidents was cut in half.
A middle school's formal student handbook didn't fully meet students' needs. Missing from the list of rules, regulations, and procedures was a student perspective on adjusting to a new school. Seventh graders created a kid-friendly handbook that personalized the usual rules and regulations with original illustrations and helpful hints.
Seniors and youths have much to offer each other, but the two groups rarely interact in meaningful ways. The relative lack of inhibition in one class of mild to moderately mentally handicapped students allowed them to connect with seniors in a local nursing home, improving the students' behaviors outside the classroom, and establishing a unique and positive relationship within the community.
Fifth graders were absorbed in learning about endangered species. A partnership with the local zoo provided real-world learning opportunities by transforming the zoo into a "learning lab," developing partnerships with city businesses, and supporting the federal accreditation of the zoo's education department.
Taking a broad, multi-disciplinary approach to environmentalism, 6th through 8th graders served as stewards of a state park. They learned how personal decisions affect the environment, and demonstrated their growing awareness of community issues.
When a Head Start teacher expressed the need for books and games for her students, a 5th-grade class decided it could do more than just raise funds to purchase materials. The students created books and games, tailoring them to each Head Start student.
To unite students with diverse learning styles and ethnic backgrounds in a multilevel English course, teachers launched the American Dream Quilt project. Students interviewed family members, composed extensive journals, and assimilated and applied themes from literature to their own family experiences, before creating a quilt representing their heritages and identities.
