Cool New Kid Handbook

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 felt that incoming students needed a kid-friendly handbook, written in easy-to-understand language, to supplement the formal handbook. They used the formal handbook as a resource to ensure the accuracy of essential information and designed a brainstorming exercise to determine which additional topics they would offer in the student-generated version.

Students self-selected their roles as writers, typists, artists, interviewers, organizers, layout designers, and investigators. They took their responsibilities seriously, and demonstrated their commitment to the project by sharing and helping each other to achieve the common goal of a kid-friendly handbook.

The student-generated handbook addresses new-student concerns such as which bathrooms to use, what's "cool" and what's not, and how to fit in. The guidance department now distributes it to all incoming students.

Adapted from "Community Lessons: Integrating Service-Learning Into K-12 Curriculum," 2001, Massachusetts Department of Education, Massachusetts Service Alliance, and Learn and Serve America. Used with permission of Massachusetts Department of Education, www.doe.mass.edu/csl, (781) 338-3000.