Learning Modules
Perry Service Learning (PSL) is an elective for seniors at Perry High School that combines English and social studies curricula with volunteer opportunities to promote social involvement through education and service. The learning modules below represent topics studied throughout the year. Click on the image associated with each topic to see learning targets and lessons.
Each topic explored in PSL is driven by essential questions. According to Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, essential questions "are not answerable with finality in a single lesson or a brief sentence - and that's the point. Their aim is to stimulate thought, to provoke inquiry, and to spark more questions, including thoughtful student questions, not just pat answers." The questions below are intended to serve as doorways through which learners can explore important concepts, themes, theories, issues, and problems within the course content and deepen their understandings.
Service Learning 101Effective service learning programs engage students in a process of preparation, action, and reflection. Service learning 101 serves as an introduction to the service experiences students will encounter in the PSL program.
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Poverty & HomelessnessAn estimated 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year, 39 percent of which are children. The recent recession and foreclosure crisis resulted in increasing numbers of families experiencing homelessness and poverty. This unit affords students the opportunity to examine the social, institutional, systematic, and internalized causes of oppression against the poor and homeless while analyzing the progress of organizations attempting to end poverty and homelessness.
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PhilanthropyAs a Magnified Giving partner, students in the PSL program receive a $1,000 grant, along with up to $500 in matching funds with the expectation that the money is invested with non-profits serving the people of Lake County. In this unit, PSL students learn to be philanthropists – quality decision-makers who identify community needs, research organizations working to address those needs, and invest resources in programs that produce positve results.
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Education ReformToday, there are almost as many ideas about how to reform the United States' education system as there are people in the United States. Reformers address a wide range of issues: teacher evaluation, standardized testing, school choice, funding, and cultural attitudes toward education. This module will afford you the opportunity to analyze and evaluate proposed school reforms.
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Meaning and PurposeThis unit affords you the opportunity to reflect on the meaning and purpose of your service experiences, and to articulate how your actions affect our community. As part of this process, we will consider the people and experiences that characterize your service and studies. We will also engage with the reflections of others to better understand our individual and collective responsibilities.
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The Power of RelationshipsBuilding and maintaining relationships is the foundation of a powerful service experience - and a meaningful life. This unit challenges us to closely examine the core elements of powerful relationships and practice those philosophies through service experiences. Specifically, students will examine the loneliness epidemic faced by many elders in our community use reminiscence therapy to promote wellness for the young and young at heart.
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ImmigrationThis unit will afford you the opportunity to discover where today's immigrants to America are coming from, what is motivating them to leave their homeland, and what obstacles they face upon arrival. Along the way you will analyze proposed immigration reforms from a variety of perspectives and identify strategies that can be implemented to address immigration concerns in our country and in our community.
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Inclusive CommunitiesFederal legislation in the 1970s and 1990s helped millions of Americans with disabilities lead more independent lives. Although great strides have been made, people with special needs still face bias, harmful stereotypes, and irrational fears that result in their social and economic oppression. This unit challenges students to raise awareness about the abilities of people with disabilities in an attempt to build a more inclusive community.
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Environmental JusticeIn his book titled Man and Nature, George Perkins Marsh asserts that great civilizations decline because they adversely affect their environment. In this unit, students will assess the impact of human activities on current and future generations from a variety of perspectives. Specifically, students will examine the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens in Northeast Ohio and raise awareness about environmental justice issues through photographs.
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Community ActivismMany in our community are struggling with the devastation caused by the heroin epidemic gripping our county and our state. This unit challenges us to become community activists. As we collectively fight this silent and often stigmatizing crisis, we seek to provide resources - and hope - to those ravaged by its effects.
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ReflectionService exposes students to realities that often differ from their own. In order to take meaning away from these experiences, students must actively and regularly engage in the process of critical reflection.
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Civic EngagementPSL was carefully designed to help students practice civic engagement by working for justice, becoming advocates, and affecting change. These experiences consider how students learn, how they think, the nature of experience, and how to educate for active participation in democratic life.
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