Creating a kid-friendly student handbook
Abstract
To meet the needs of the student population at Fuller Middle School in Framingham, Massachusetts, a group of seventh-grade students created a kid-friendly student handbook to accompany the school's traditional handbook. The students personalized the handbook with original illustrations, quotes, and helpful hints. The service-learning project taught the students problem-solving, communication, writing skills, and how to understand the monetary system. Excerpted from Community Lessons: Promising Curriculum Practices by Julie Bartsch.Issue
The traditional student handbook at Fuller Middle School in Framingham, Massachusetts, did not fully meet the needs of the school's student population. Missing from the list of rules, regulations, and school procedures was the student perspective on adjusting to a new school.Action
The seventh-grade students at Fuller Middle School felt students needed a kid-friendly handbook, written in easy-to-understand language, to supplement the traditional student manual. They used the traditional manual as a resource to ensure the accuracy of essential information. Then, students 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 and layout designers, and investigators. Investigators were given a special building pass approved by the principal to investigate lavatories, water fountains, and the cafeteria.
The students presented their book, Fuller: Our Point of View (The Cool New Kid Handbook), to the principal and guidance counselors. The guidance department now distributes the handbook to all incoming students.
Timeline
January
- Introduce the community service-learning philosophy to class and select a project.
- Determine topics to be included in student-generated handbook.
- Write letters of introduction to new students.
- Conduct research and interviews.
- Create original artwork.
- Organize information.
- Type text and scan artwork.
- Create table of contents.
- Proof final copy.
- Begin layout of handbook.
- Complete layout.
- Publish the handbook.
- Formally present the handbook to the principal and guidance department.
- Provide students with certificates of participation and an official copy of the handbook.
Context
The seventh-grade class at Fuller Middle School decided to pursue this service-learning project after discussing the definition of "community" and deciding to focus on the school as its community.Citation
Bartsch, Julie. "Cool New Kid Handbook," Community Lessons: Promising Curriculum Practices. Massachusetts Department of Education, March 2001. pp. 23-32.Outcome
The student-generated handbook addressed new student concerns such as which bathrooms to use, what's cool and what's not, and how to fit in at Fuller Middle School.
In the process of reflecting on their expectations as new students at Fuller Middle School, seventh-graders became sensitized to the adjustments of underclassmen. Rather than harassing younger students, upperclassmen came to see themselves as mentors. Students learned to:
- Identify a need and employ problem-solving skills to address it
- Compose questions and conduct interviews
- Work cooperatively capitalizing on each student's talents
- Organize diverse types of information into a logically sequenced document for a specific audience
Posted On
October 26, 2001For More Information
Resources
From The Resource Center library:
Community Lessons: Promising Curriculum Practices
Item number: C1977
Also check out the Community Service-Learning Promising Practices projects from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for more project ideas.