Civic Seal Units · Unit 4
The Service Focus Project
Service-Learning, 25 Hours
Civic Seal Units · Unit 4
The Service Focus Project
Investigate, prepare, act, reflect, demonstrate
Grades 9 to 12 · One semester: five 45-minute sessions plus at least 25 hours of documented service and a demonstration event
Teacher note. Handouts: 1. Investigation Guide; 2. Service-Learning Plan; 3. Service Hours Log and Site Supervisor Verification; 4. Reflection Prompts; plus the Service-Learning Rubric and the Lieutenant Governor's service focus announcement for the year.
What this project may count toward
New York
- May count as a Service-Learning Project (Civic Participation)
- The Seal Committee must approve the project
Connecticut
- Can document the required civic engagement project
- Hours log, plan, reflections and product form the community service entry
Rhode Island
- Service alone does not satisfy the civics project
- Choose the advocacy variant and pair with Unit 2 or Unit 7
Teacher note. This is not a promise. In NY the source lists a possible 1 point, which may be repeated; the School Civic Readiness Committee decides. In CT the State Department of Education sets the criteria and districts decide whether to offer the seal. In RI the district confirms. Hours also count toward Youth and Government service recognition.
You will be able to
- Investigate a community need with data and with the people who experience it.
- Write your own learning objectives before you act.
- Plan and complete at least 25 verified hours with a partner organization.
- Reflect in writing and in a roundtable on the civic problem behind the need.
- Demonstrate the project and evaluate it against your objectives.
The five stages
- Investigation
- Preparation
- Action: at least 25 hours
- Reflection
- Demonstration or celebration
Teacher note. New York requires at least 25 hours of demonstrated service on a community-based problem or need, structured in these stages, with a reflective civic learning essay, presentation or product, and approval by the District Seal Committee. This unit follows that structure and uses the Youth and Government service focus as the organizing theme.
Approval first
Get Seal Committee approval before your service begins.
Hours served before approval do not count unless the committee agrees.
Teacher note. Submit the Service-Learning Plan from Session 2. Identify a partner organization before Session 1 where possible; the partner supplies a site supervisor who signs the log. The delegation's Service-Learning Liaison coordinates group projects and collects logs; group projects need individual logs.
What counts
Counts, if it meets a documented need
- Direct service
- Indirect service: building something for a group
- Advocacy service: a voter registration drive, a public education campaign
Does not count
- Fundraising alone
- Y-Corps hours, unless the Seal Committee approved the plan in advance
Teacher note. Y-Corps is the summer service program. Partner ideas: a food pantry, library, senior center, youth program, environmental group, voter registration effort, or the local YMCA's own community programs.
Session 1 · 45 min
Investigation
- The service focus10 min
- Investigation Guide25 min
- Partner match10 min
Teacher note. Plus fieldwork as homework.
The service focus
What does this year's service focus look like in our community?
Teacher note. Read the Lieutenant Governor's service focus announcement aloud first.
Investigation Guide
Choose a need within or near the focus.
- Who is affected
- What the data says: local, county or state
- Who already works on it
- What the gap is
Teacher note. Homework: talk with two people who experience the need or work on it, and record what they said.
Partner match
Name your partner organization and the contact you will make.
Session 2 · 45 min
Preparation and the Plan
- Learning objectives first10 min
- Service-Learning Plan25 min
- Submit for approval10 min
Learning objectives first
Write two learning objectives before you act.
- One skill: organizing, public speaking, data collection, teaching
- One civic understanding: how a policy produces this need, who decides about it
Teacher note. The program's service-learning model puts learning objectives ahead of action.
Service-Learning Plan
- The need and its evidence
- Partner and site supervisor
- The action: what, when, where, with whom
- Schedule to reach 25 hours
- Materials and permissions
- Reflection plan
- Evaluation measures: one number, one quality
Teacher note. 25 minutes to draft, then advisor review.
Submit for approval
Submit your plan for Seal Committee approval. Log the submission date.
Action
25 Hours of Service (6 to 12 weeks)
- Serve on the plan's schedule
- Midway check-in with the advisor10 min
Log every session
Date, start and end time, hours, task, site, supervisor's initials.
Teacher note. Midway, hold a 10-minute check-in with each student: hours on track, objectives still right, any problem with the partner. A student who falls behind revises the schedule rather than padding hours.
Advocacy variants
- A voter registration and pre-registration drive at school
- A public information campaign about an underused community service
- A community listening session whose findings go to a local official
- A Youth and Government recruitment and civic education day at a middle school
Teacher note. These fit Youth and Government well. New York allows pre-registration at 16 and 17.
Session 3 · 45 min
Reflection Midpoint
- Roundtable15 min
- Written reflection, part one25 min
- Hours check5 min
Roundtable
Rose and bud: one thing going well, one thing still growing.
- What has surprised you about the people you are serving?
- What policy or decision upstream is producing this need?
Written reflection, part one
300 words: connect what you have seen to the civic problem behind it and to your two learning objectives.
- What did you expect, and what did you find?
- Who are the people you serve, in their own words?
- Which objective is harder than you thought?
Teacher note. Use Supporting Document 4. Close with a 5-minute hours check by the liaison.
Session 4 · 45 min
Evaluation and the Product
- Evaluation15 min
- Reflective product30 min
Evaluation
Fill in your measures with real numbers and your quality measure. Was each learning objective met?
- Meals packed, voters registered, hours tutored, people reached
- A partner's statement or a before-and-after observation
Choose your reflective product
Essay
- 750 to 1,000 words
Presentation
- 10 minutes
Product
- A short video
- A captioned photo essay
- A guide the partner will keep using
Teacher note. 30 minutes to begin. Any form must cover the need and its evidence, the action, the hours, what the student learned about the civic problem, and what they would do next, including any policy change they would now recommend.
Final reflection prompts
- What changed because of your hours, and what did not?
- What did you learn about the civic problem behind the need?
- If you could put one recommendation in front of an official, what would it be, and to whom?
- What would you do next?
Session 5 · 45 min
Demonstration and Celebration
- Present products
- Assemble the portfolio
- Celebrate
Teacher note. This can be a 45-minute session or an evening event.
Demonstrate
Present your product to an audience beyond the class.
- The delegation and families
- The partner organization
- The Seal Committee
- A YMCA board
- The conference's service recognition
Your portfolio
- Hours log with site supervisor signatures
- The plan, with Seal Committee approval
- Midpoint and final reflections
- Your reflective product
Teacher note. The advisor completes the rubric and signs the advisor verification. The liaison submits the delegation's totals, and Youth and Government recognizes service and learning hours with its own pins.
Service-Learning Rubric (100 rubric points)
- Investigation: 20
- Preparation and Plan: 15
- Action and Hours: 25
- Reflection: 20
- Evaluation and Product: 15
- Demonstration: 5
Teacher note. Action and Hours requires 25 or more logged hours with dates, tasks and supervisor initials, plus the midpoint check-in. Preparation requires two learning objectives written before action and Seal Committee approval obtained.
Before you go
- What need will you investigate, and how does it connect to the service focus?
- Who is your partner organization?
Teacher note. Support: join a group project the liaison already runs, provide the partner, use the presentation option with a slide frame. Challenge: the advocacy variant with a measurable civic outcome and a 40-hour target that can also support Unit 6 if the Seal Committee agrees to count the same hours twice.
Serve, learn, and show what changed
Your school's committee or district decides how it counts
Eyes up here
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