Pennies for Pandas (... and Pumas ... and Pelicans ...)

To one 2nd-grade class, the study of endangered animals was a vague subject.  They grasped the definitions of words like "threatened" and "extinct," but it was difficult to imagine animals that were so familiar to them — like pandas — simply not existing.  A student-led fund-raising project in support of endangered animals brought the issue into focus.

The students prepared by reading a play about rainforest animals.  They worked cooperatively to chart information about a variety of endangered animals and make illustrated books about each one.  The 2nd graders then pulled key ideas from what they'd learned and created flyers that they distributed to households near the school.  In the flyers, the students informed their neighbors about issues facing animals and asked them to contribute aluminum cans and pennies, which the students counted and used to adopt two animals from the local zoo.  The students also organized a school-wide contest to see which class could contribute the most pennies. 

In celebration of the successful fund-raising drive, the students performed the play about rainforest animals for parents and fellow students.  Even before the curtain rose, they knew they were already playing one of the most important roles of their lives: caretaker of the Earth.

Adapted from "Route to Reform: K-8 service-learning Curriculum Ideas," © 1994-95 National Youth Leadership Council.