Project X: Service Learning

and STEAM
Abstract:
For my Project X, I wanted to come up with a service-learning project that
integrates STEAM. Service learning is incredibly important to include in the
classroom because it teaches students to give back to their communities. For my
project, I will have students create a product that they can sell to teachers, family
members, and friends. The students will need to evaluate what the community
needs and what they can sell that people would want. This is a great opportunity to
integrate economics (need vs. want, supply and demand, etc.). This project will take
place over the course of a few weeks. Students will use the profits from selling their
product to give back to the community. For my example of a project, I will be
creating vinyl decals and selling them to students, faculty, and friends. I saw that
this would be a desirable and cost-effective way to earn a profit. With the profits, I
will be donating the money back to my mentor teacher’s classroom. She is a
science and math teacher for a 4th grade class in Springdale, Arkansas. My mentor
teacher works extremely hard to give students a fun and active learning experience
but could definitely use more tools to do so.

The following is a list of researched evidence of the benefits of service learning:

● Increase in academic rigor through relevance and application of content and

skills
● Participation in social analysis as students investigate an authentic
community need, typically through action research using media, interviews,
surveys, and observation
● Learn to take initiative, make plans, and follow through on their ideas
● Engage in inquiry-based problem solving
● Use literature, fiction and nonfiction, to advance knowledge
● Experience intrinsic growth rather than depend on extrinsic rewards
● Find out about an array of career opportunities as they develop as social
entrepreneurs
● Make global connections to increase international mindedness
● Integrate cognitive and affective development as they develop an aptitude
for becoming reflective
● Apply acquired knowledge and skills in purposeful ways that benefit other
people or the planet while showing evidence of learning

Research from: https://www.bu.edu/ccsr/files/2014/03/CBKandMC-

article.pdf
Standards Addressed: Grade
Level: 3-5

Social Studies Standards

● Grade 3
○ E.4.3.2 Identify problems, alternatives, and trade-offs involved in
making a decision
● Grade 4
○ C.3.4.3 Analyze group actions and responses to local and global
problems
○ E.4.4.2 Apply economic decision-making models when making
decisions
■ (e.g., PACED Decision Making Model)
● Grade 5
○ C.2.5.1 Evaluate various ways of fostering citizenship and civic virtues

ETS Standards for Grades 3-5

● 3-5-ETS1-1.
○ Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that
includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials,
time, or cost.
● 3-5-ETS1-2.
○ Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based
on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the
problem.
● 3-5-ETS1-3.
○ Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and
failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or
prototype that can be improved.

Standards for Technological Literacy for Grades 3-5

● Standard 3: Students will develop an understanding of the relationships
among technologies and the connections between technology and other
fields of study.
○ Technologies are often combined.
○ Various relationships exist between technology and other fields of
study.
● Standard 6: Students will develop an understanding of the role of
society in the development and use of technology.
 ○ Because people's needs and wants change, new technologies are
developed, and bid ones are improved to meet those changes.
○ Individual, family, community, and economic concerns may expand or
limit the development of technologies.
● Standard 8: Students will develop an understanding of the attributes of
design.
○ The design process is a purposeful method of planning practical
solutions to problems.
○ Requirements for a design include such factors as the desired
elements and features of a product or system or the limits that are
placed on the design.
● Standard 9: Students will develop an understanding of engineering design.
○ The engineering design process involves defining a problem,
generating ideas, selecting a solution, testing the solution(s), making
the item, evaluating it, and presenting the results.
○ When designing an object, it is important to be creative and consider
all ideas.
○ Models are used to communicate and test design ideas and processes.
● Standard 10: Students will develop an understanding of the role of
troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and
experimentation in problem solving.
○ Troubleshooting is a way of finding out why something does not work
so that it can be fixed.
○ Invention and innovation are creative ways to turn ideas into real
things.
○ The process of experimentation, which is common in science, can also
be used to solve technological problems.

*Note: Not all of these standards would be used at once. These are all listed to give
teachers an idea of how many different standards this project can be connected
with. Teachers should choose the standards that best align with their grade level
and desired focus for this project.

Big Ideas:
● Understand and utilize the PACED decision-making model
● Define key terms:
○ Decision Making: The mental process that leads to the selection of an
action among several alternatives which lead to a final choice.
○ Scarcity: A condition that forces you to make choices about how best
to allocate limited resources among a variety of options
○ Opportunity Cost: The opportunity cost of a decision is the value of the
best alternative that could have been chosen.
 ○ Benefit-Cost Analysis is the process used to measure the benefits of a
decision minus the costs associated with taking that action.
○ Want: A want is something a person would like to have but is not
absolutely necessary.
○ Need: A need is something a person has to have, and they cannot live
without it. (Ex: food, water, shelter)
● Understand how to create a neat product ready to distribute
● Solve a problem that you did not initially know how to solve
○ Understand how problems can be solved in a variety of ways
● Use the engineering design process to solve a real-world problem
● Work cooperatively as a class

Essential Question(s):
● How can we make a product that can be sold for a profit to help our
community?
● How can we identify what our community needs?
● How can we identify what people would like to buy in order to turn a profit?
● How can we save on costs in order to turn more of a profit?

Scenario:
Our STEAM class decided that we would love to learn about magnetism and
architecture. We wanted to learn about magnetism and architecture through
creating various structures using magnetic building tiles. If only we had the
resources to purchase these building tiles! How can we come up with a product that
people would want to purchase in order to raise money to buy these magnetic tiles?
Can we follow through with our idea by producing, selling, and distributing this
product to buy something that will improve our classroom community?

*Note: My mentor teacher mentioned that magnetic building tiles would be

something she would be interested in receiving through this fundraiser. She has a
small set already in her classroom that students take turns with almost every day.
This is a large set I found on Amazon that I would like to purchase for her classroom
as a result of this project.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07313R4BF/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_9?
smid=ASF8BHKCCAGVIpsc=1

Challenge:
Students will work together in order to decide on a need in the community that they
would like to contribute to. This need can be within their own classroom, a different
classroom, the school, or even in their town. The students will then decide on a
product that they believe would sell. They need to create the product using the
engineering design process.
For my example, I will be creating vinyl sticker products using CorelDraw to design
the sticker and then a vinyl cutter to print the design. If we were doing this in a
classroom, I would have each student design their own sticker. As a class, we would
vote on 2 stickers that we think are the best and people would purchase. This
project will take place over the course of a few weeks.

Tools, Materials, and Resources:

● Vinyl
● Vinyl Cutter (Or Cricut)
● Transfer Paper
● Water Bottles
● Exacto Knives
● Graphic Design Program that Works with the Vinyl Cutter (Corel Draw
Program)
● Computer

Content Information:
Economics
● Economic Decision Making (PACED Decision Making Model)- Resource for
teaching the PACED decision making model:
https://www.econedlink.org/resources/you-decide/
○ (P) Problem: What decision needs to be made?
○ (A) Alternatives: What are all of the options?
○ (C) Criteria: List positive and negatives of each option.
○ (E) Evaluate: How well does each option fit?
○ (D) Decision: Which is best for you?
● Opportunity Cost- Resource for teaching opportunity cost:
https://vimeo.com/307566929
○ Scarcity: A condition that forces you to make choices about how best
to allocate limited resources among a variety of options
○ Opportunity Cost: The opportunity cost of a decision is the value of the
best alternative that could have been chosen.
■ Opportunity cost is important because when we make decisions,
we need to compare the benefits and cost of each option in
order to make a wise choice.
○ Benefit-Cost Analysis
■ Benefit-Cost Analysis is the process used to measure the
benefits of a decision minus the costs associated with taking
that action.
● Wants and Needs
○ Want: A want is something a person would like to have but is not not
absolutely necessary.
 ○ Need: A need is something a person has to have, and they cannot live
without it. (Ex: food, water, shelter)
● Supply and Demand
○ Supply: The amount of goods available
○ Demand: A person’s desire for a good or a service
Graphic Design
● Students will need to be given a lesson on how to use the online design
program being used for the project. This will depend on what programs the
school has available. I used CorelDraw.

Results:
● A completed student design journal
● At least one product sold per student
● Sign in sheet filled out to show active participation in production

Limitations:
● Students will have one class period to come up with an idea for the product
as a class
● Students will have two class periods to come up with and create their own
design, at the end of the second class the students will vote on two designs
that the class will produce
● Students will need to keep up with production during free times in class (I
would have a center for students to work on this throughout the duration of
this project.)
● Be designed using the engineering design process
● Be submitted to the teacher along with the design journal
● Must demonstrate ideas that are purposeful, thoughtful, and creative
● Must demonstrate knowledge of economic decision making, wants vs. needs,
and supply and demand

Assessment/Evaluation:
Students will be assessed on the following criteria outlined in the checklist. This
checklist is worth a total of 100 points. Each section is worth 20 points.

Criteria Yes or No

Did the student turn in a completed design journal?

Was the student able to sell at least one product and keep
up with production?

Were the products the student created neat and complete?

Did the student demonstrate knowledge of economic

decision making, opportunity cost, and cost-benefit analysis?
Did the student demonstrate ideas that are purposeful,
thoughtful, and creative?

Total Points: _______/100

Bonus Opportunities/Incentives:
● The student who sold the most products will receive 5 bonus points.
● Students who spend 30 minutes of their free time working on this project
weekly will receive 5 bonus points. (There will be a sign in sheet by the
center dedicated for this project so the teacher can monitor student
participation.)

Resources

https://www.bu.edu/ccsr/files/2014/03/CBKandMC-article.pdf

http://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/divisions/learning-services/curriculum-
support/humanities/social-studies/social-studies-programs-and-
opportunities/community-service-learning
Name: ________________________________________________ Date:
_________________

Student Design Journal

PACED Decision Making Model

Problem: What product do we want to create as a class to sell in order to make a

profit to buy something for our classroom community?

Alternatives and Criteria: Come up with five alternative options to solve the
problem. Decide on three criteria that this product needs to meet. Rate each
alternative 1-5, five being the best and meeting the criteria the most, under each
criterion listed.

Alternatives Criteria #1 Criteria #2 Criteria #3

___________________ ___________________ ___________________
___________________ ___________________ ___________________
___________________ ___________________ ___________________

1.

2.
3.

4.

5.

Evaluation: How well does each option fit? Add each row up for each alternative.
The alternative with the highest amount would be the best fit, hitting the most
criteria.
Totals: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Decision: Which option is best for the class and why?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

What is the opportunity cost of that decision?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Design Ideas for the Chosen Product

Design #1 Design #2
Which design do you think is better and why?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

How can you make that design even better?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Final Design
My Final Products:

*Note: In the fall, the TEECA RSO will potentially follow

through on this project to donate back to our local
school communities.